If the pocket stretch far enough always go with an electric PTO option.
There is no slipping belts and they give you much better wear & performance than the manual PTO.
The 42" edge deck is prone to cracking at the welds for the hanger brackets but all of those I have seen are on mowers that get a pounding.
Agree with the others, there are a lot of sales people who should really be outside diging ditches.
Now if you feel like a bit of stirring, ring the dealership, ask to speak to the owner regarding a new mower then tell him you bought the Deere when you really wanted the Cub but you were put off by the attitude of the salesman.
Good luck & enjoy your new toy.
Hey bertsmobile,
Thanks for the reply. With the exception of the D130, which I gave little consideration because of the single cylinder engine, all the models I mentioned have an electronically controlled PTO. My lawn is flat but not as smooth as some manicured lawns, due to the dozens of squirrels that like to bury and dig up their acorns. There are no rocks, stumps or any other protrusions to worry about, no exposed roots and no holes to avoid. I don't anticipate a situation where the deck will be slamming into anything, unless of course my wife is operating the mower, drives off the lawn and slams into a curb while attempting to get back to the lawn. I really like the S240 and to me it's worth the additional $600 over the D140, if you take into consideration the JD $100 incentive on the D140 that expires in August of this year. Otherwise, the difference is $500, which amounts to about the same cost as four years worth of Tanqueray 10 or Bombay Sapphire and the associated tonic water. I'd love to see JD offer an incentive on the S240, although I don't know how I would become aware of it since I can't find any way to sign up for any newsletter or mailing list at JD.
As far as the CC dealer is concerned, it is what it is. I was seriously considering the XT2 LX46. It seems to be a nice lawn tractor but there were other reasons I decided to go with the JD. It seems that it's standard practice for CC dealers to simply unload the new lawn tractor at the curb or on your driveway and then drive away. I've read too many discussions that indicated CC denied warranty claims because the lawn tractor wasn't initially set up properly by the dealer's service department and problems occurred because of it. A final check for adherence to specs seems to me to be a common sense necessity and should be demanded by CC as it is by JD, although I admit that the owner should also be certain that everything is adjusted properly before operating it for the first time. Charging me for the initial delivery, even though it's only $50, also rubs me the wrong way.
My pocket is deep enough to purchase any of the JD X Series lawn tractors but I simply decided that at the age of 65 and with only one half to three quarters of an acre to mow, fertilize, lime and aerate I don't need anything above the D140 or S240. I'll give it a nice, insulated, temperature controlled shed bolted to a concrete foundation and floor to reside in later this summer. If it suffers an early death in four or five years I'll replace it with another JD, although I expect it to last much, much longer than four or five years. As we all know, we get what we pay for.
