Hello all.... I'm new to this forum. Just purchased my second John Deere X-300 Series. My first was an X-300 which I had for about five years until a tornado pretty much destroyed our house in 4/11. My 600 lb. X-300 was sucked out of my garage and deposited on the front steps of the house (what was left of it), upside down and pretty mangled. It was not salvageable but I did give it to my JD dealer to use for parts. We just finished rebuilding the house (took almost two years) and it was time to get the lawn back in shape with spring around the corner. I decided on the X-304 this time as I thought I could make good use of the 4-wheel steering to help me around what trees are left and some tight places around the flower beds. I just ordered it yesterday and it will be a few days before delivery. I really never considered any other brand for my replacement mower due to the fact that my original X-300 was such a fine machine. I hope I like the 304 as well. I just wish it had the Kawasaki engine on it like that X-300 did.