Help selecting residential mower $2000 range,Cub Cadet or Snapper

[TreasureHunter11]

Greetings!! I really need some help selecting a new mower 46-48" cut in the $2000 range.I have right at 2 acres to cut and my current mower is a 14 year old Craftsman 42" with a great running Kohler Command 15.5 but the deck is thinning,needs new tires ect,it has served me well. I know from experience that the Kohler Command is a durable motor. I was looking at the Cub Cadet 1000 series,some have the single Kohler Courage,twin and the twin Kawasaki,I've heard some bad in the past on the single cylinder Courage motors but not much on the twins,the other mower I like is a Snapper SPX 22/46,it has the B&S Professional series twin on it. It would be great if I could find a residential mower like what I have with a Kohler Command but have not found one.I'm leaning toward a Cub Cadet but which motor is the most durable.Any other mowers recommended? I do plan on buying from a dealer and not a box store.I take really good care of my equpiment which is a big part on the life of the mower but some engines are better than others.My concern revolves around the heart of the mower "the motor"

 

[clpolcar]

Get the one with a Kawasaki engine. Your not going to find a Kohler command engine on a residential mower

 

[TreasureHunter11]

Thanks,I'm leaning toward the Kawasaki.Amazing in the late 90's a simple Craftsman like mine come from the factory with a Kohler Command engine,it has been on 2 frames and has been abused but well maintained,it likely if I had to guess over 600 hours.

 

[clpolcar]

If the motor only has that many hours on it still has a lot if life left in her.

 

[djdicetn]

Greetings!! I really need some help selecting a new mower 46-48" cut in the $2000 range.I have right at 2 acres to cut and my current mower is a 14 year old Craftsman 42" with a great running Kohler Command 15.5 but the deck is thinning,needs new tires ect,it has served me well. I know from experience that the Kohler Command is a durable motor. I was looking at the Cub Cadet 1000 series,some have the single Kohler Courage,twin and the twin Kawasaki,I've heard some bad in the past on the single cylinder Courage motors but not much on the twins,the other mower I like is a Snapper SPX 22/46,it has the B&S Professional series twin on it. It would be great if I could find a residential mower like what I have with a Kohler Command but have not found one.I'm leaning toward a Cub Cadet but which motor is the most durable.Any other mowers recommended? I do plan on buying from a dealer and not a box store.I take really good care of my equpiment which is a big part on the life of the mower but some engines are better than others.My concern revolves around the heart of the mower "the motor"

Just some food for thought....if you go to the Kohler official website and click on the Courage series you will find that of the 19 different models, all but 3 have been "retired" including ALL of the V-Twin engines. That's not a very good sign and would be a real red flag for me if I were looking at a mower that the only engine option was a Kohler Courage. There have been numerous reports of serious design flaws and major problems(and somewhere I heard that it was just the single cylinder models) but if Kohler has discontinued the Courage V-Twins I would be hesitant to get one. Just sayin!!

Kawasaki engines, by far, are the most dependable small engines on the market right now.