I have a toro lx426 2006, It’s running ok... but I’m tempted by some newer JD lawn tractors that I’ve seen go up for sale in my area. I don’t want to jinx myself but if there were a big repair on the a Toro I might want be interested in keeping my eyes open for something that will work for the next 10 years especially if it were an upgrade to the Toro. I’m okay with small mechanical problems, bigger stuff would require additional YouTube videos and bandaids 
Full disclosure... I’ve done zero research on JD tractors. I’m hoping for some intro help to point me in the right direction.
To start, are the letter prefixes such as the “e” in e140 indicating the year? Or is it something more cryptic than the year model.
I have about an acre of relatively flat ground to mow, currently I use a toro 22” for “detail” work around the house and the lawn tractor for the bulk of the property. I’ve only just recently started to mulch instead of bag. I’ll miss the good compost from the bagging of the grass, but I don’t miss the additional work to bag it.
In the fall I do use one of those giant bags that drape over the bagger frame. The giant bag works quite well. I have some heavy tree covered areas and mulching wouldn’t work for . The toro does a pretty brilliant job lifting the leaves through the chute. How are the JD lawn tractors with pushing grass and leaves into the bagger?
Should I be looking for a 200 series over a 100 series?
The best 42” JD lawn tractor for my needs is _______ ?
Since I’m looking at a rough timeline of 10 years I wouldn’t be adverse to buying new (from a dealer) with a warranty if that gets me closer to a hassle free experience. But I also don’t mind a little tinkering if needed on a good (newer) used one too. Are the new designs better or have the designs and improvements been relatively flat in recent years,
.... some of this is just thinking about the future (dreaming about a new toy) and that trying to guess how long my current tractor will last before a big repair happens which is impossible. And I have a feeling that a new lawn tractor could break and be just as unreliable as an older one.
So this entire post may be an unfair question to ask. I guess that some parts, like spindles may likely need to be replaced on the Toro sooner than on a newer model.
Is the answer... keep the Toro, don’t fix or replace it if it still works, and stop looking at used lawn tractors
oh well, any thoughts are welcome.
thanks in advance,
Full disclosure... I’ve done zero research on JD tractors. I’m hoping for some intro help to point me in the right direction.
To start, are the letter prefixes such as the “e” in e140 indicating the year? Or is it something more cryptic than the year model.
I have about an acre of relatively flat ground to mow, currently I use a toro 22” for “detail” work around the house and the lawn tractor for the bulk of the property. I’ve only just recently started to mulch instead of bag. I’ll miss the good compost from the bagging of the grass, but I don’t miss the additional work to bag it.
In the fall I do use one of those giant bags that drape over the bagger frame. The giant bag works quite well. I have some heavy tree covered areas and mulching wouldn’t work for . The toro does a pretty brilliant job lifting the leaves through the chute. How are the JD lawn tractors with pushing grass and leaves into the bagger?
Should I be looking for a 200 series over a 100 series?
The best 42” JD lawn tractor for my needs is _______ ?
Since I’m looking at a rough timeline of 10 years I wouldn’t be adverse to buying new (from a dealer) with a warranty if that gets me closer to a hassle free experience. But I also don’t mind a little tinkering if needed on a good (newer) used one too. Are the new designs better or have the designs and improvements been relatively flat in recent years,
.... some of this is just thinking about the future (dreaming about a new toy) and that trying to guess how long my current tractor will last before a big repair happens which is impossible. And I have a feeling that a new lawn tractor could break and be just as unreliable as an older one.
So this entire post may be an unfair question to ask. I guess that some parts, like spindles may likely need to be replaced on the Toro sooner than on a newer model.
Is the answer... keep the Toro, don’t fix or replace it if it still works, and stop looking at used lawn tractors
oh well, any thoughts are welcome.
thanks in advance,
