JD vs Cub

[Howdy Doody]

For the better part of a year, I have been looking forward to this Summer since it will be my 50th birthday and my wife promised me I could buy a new riding mower. I had my heart set on either a D130 or a D125 since I only have half an acre of very flat lawn to mow and LOVE the idea of owning a John Deere. Of course, I have been doing lots of reading and comparing of different models and have come to the conclusion based on specs that the Cub Cadet LTX1042KW is a much better deal at least on paper. The D130 sells for $1899, the D125 sells for $1799 while the LTX is now selling for $1699. Frame on the LTX is also much thicker, deck has 4 scalp wheels ( Big pet peeve), better instrument cluster, better engine, I like the "fuel gauge" better... So I guess my question is, is there any good reason to buy any of the D models over the LTX1042KW?

 

[Nwatson99]

Personally I would not buy a D130, the choke system on them sucks and it is a joke for JD in my opinion.
Cub cadet well I would not own period, but if I was buying a riding mower the X300 with 48" deck would be the starting point, this is going to be your mower and might as well get a good one and one that will most likely last you the rest of your mowing career.
My sister has the X540 with 54" deck and dang it is a nice solid riding mower, but she mows 2.5 acres.

 

[BillyP]

I surely wouldn't go with the Cub. The darn thing is named after an animal of some sort.

 

[dadoftim]

I pondered the same thing, I bought the D130. I read a lot about Cub owners having problems with the mower deck when the over lapping blades hit each other it tears up the deck. I have never read of any mower bending a frame, so I didn't fret that. I am happy with the D130, hope you find the one that makes you happy.

 

[RetiredGuns]

The thread title caught my eye because I had a LT1042 and my neighbor still has his D130. I just sold my Cub and bought a Hustler ZT, but the 1042 served me perfectly for 9 years without spending a dime on repairs. Side by side, the Cub was a much more well thought out and constructed machine. Engine, frame, adjustments, controls & zirc fittings on everything. His needed 2 repairs thus far, but nothing major. Moving up to a 300 is indeed a different story but of course a good bit more money as well. I think you would enjoy that Cub & Kawasaki given the choices you listed.

*Just realized my neighbor's tractor is a D110 so not quite a fair comparison..

 

[Howdy Doody]

Thanks for all of your feedback so far guys. I have heard of the deck issues on the Cub, hope they have fixed them by now. I am going to email and ask them and see what they say. I know the frame is not going to be such a big deal, it is the fact that they seem to put much more thought into all aspects of the mower versus the other makers. I mean, if the other makers were so great, why don't they match the Cub Cadet 3 year 120 hour warranty instead of the 2 year 120 hours? That in itself should tell you something! Also in order to get a John Deere with a Kawasaki motor you have to move up to the X300 series which is much more expensive.

 

[Ryan Rognstad]

What is disappointing about John Deere is all of there low end stuff is cheap and obviously they had to cut some corners and make some changes to get the price that low. For instance the low end JDs under two grand have platic belt spindles which can melt or even catch on fire also what dissapoints me more than anything is if you look under one of those d125s the gear box or trans is made of plastic who the heck though of that and that makes me assume the gears in that box are also plastic John Deere is junk unless you opt out for at least an X model. Sorry to disappoint but im a current JD owner and would trade it for anything you would have a better time buying a Husqvarna at least there gearboxes are made of metal and the spindles dont melt.Another option is to get a zero turn they are fun and honestly worth it Home depot has sales on Toro (great company by the way) the come with a kawasaki engine and are about 2 grand but believe me worth it.

 

[Ryan Rognstad]

Thanks for all of your feedback so far guys. I have heard of the deck issues on the Cub, hope they have fixed them by now. I am going to email and ask them and see what they say. I know the frame is not going to be such a big deal, it is the fact that they seem to put much more thought into all aspects of the mower versus the other makers. I mean, if the other makers were so great, why don't they match the Cub Cadet 3 year 120 hour warranty instead of the 2 year 120 hours? That in itself should tell you something! Also in order to get a John Deere with a Kawasaki motor you have to move up to the X300 series which is much more expensive.

One reason why the warranties might not match up is because they know a better mower or commercial mower is going to be rode hard and put up wet and they cant cover that while on the other hand a cheap mower someone rarely uses for light jobs they can cover.This makes sense because commercial warranties are less that consumer warranties. Anyway if you want a good warranty buy an Exmark they have a 5 year warranty and are one of the best.

 

[Howdy Doody]

What is disappointing about John Deere is all of there low end stuff is cheap and obviously they had to cut some corners and make some changes to get the price that low. For instance the low end JDs under two grand have platic belt spindles which can melt or even catch on fire also what dissapoints me more than anything is if you look under one of those d125s the gear box or trans is made of plastic who the heck though of that and that makes me assume the gears in that box are also plastic John Deere is junk unless you opt out for at least an X model. Sorry to disappoint but im a current JD owner and would trade it for anything you would have a better time buying a Husqvarna at least there gearboxes are made of metal and the spindles dont melt.Another option is to get a zero turn they are fun and honestly worth it Home depot has sales on Toro (great company by the way) the come with a kawasaki engine and are about 2 grand but believe me worth it.

Ryan - Not sure where you got your info, but the D125 does not have a plastic transmission, gears or spindles. The only John Deere that has a plastic transmission and transmission gears is the D105. All of their spindles regardless of the model are cast aluminum. This information came right from JD. That being said, I'll bet that most if not all bottom line mowers have this too.

 

[plateauman57]

Thanks for all of your feedback so far guys. I have heard of the deck issues on the Cub, hope they have fixed them by now. I am going to email and ask them and see what they say. I know the frame is not going to be such a big deal, it is the fact that they seem to put much more thought into all aspects of the mower versus the other makers. I mean, if the other makers were so great, why don't they match the Cub Cadet 3 year 120 hour warranty instead of the 2 year 120 hours? That in itself should tell you something! Also in order to get a John Deere with a Kawasaki motor you have to move up to the X300 series which is much more expensive.

I just recently bought a commercial zero turn from JD and what my dealer told me was the reason the cheaper mowers don't have the three year warranty like the commercial mowers do is that "if they did the commercial guys would buy the cheaper mower and say it was being used for residential use". Is there any truth to that I don't know but it's what he said.