Gabbyp,
I know exactly how you feel. I have been looking off and on at ZTR's all summer with the hope of an end of the year sell. To tell the truth I had narrowed it down to a Gravely ZT and the Raptor SD. However, as I was passing through by a local dealer just to see if he was aware of any end of the year sales, he informed me of the Dixon Ultra 52. I wanted a 54 inch cut but with a price of $4,087 it was hard to say no. I asked him about the warranty - I even called Husqvarna directly about the warranty. Both informed me the warranty will be honored.
Long story short I purchased the mower yesterday and 50 minutes later was finished cutting the yard. That includes a learning curve for I never driven a ZTR mower before. Not too bad considering it took around 1.30 hrs to cut on a 46 in lawn tractor. For the price and the ZT3100 trans vs the 2800 from other brands it was really hard not to take a look at them. Although it's a Kohler but my dealer assured me that he hasn't had any issues with the 25 hp Twin.
To be honest the Dixon was not even on my list of mowers just because I've heard such negative about them. It's funny if really think about it. Dixon Ultra really don't get any love but it has the same platform as the Husqvarna M-ZT. Besides the blue is different and looks really nice.