Looking for a 30" Lawn Tractor, any recommendations?

[Pstreicher]

Looking for a 30" Lawn Tractor, any recommendations?
Thanks

 

[Pstreicher]

I see 28 views but no replies so I just want to add here that I've been researching '30 inch lawn tractors' for the last two days now. My old Sears Craftsman 30", 12 year old model finally threw the rod and blew out the side of the case. I went to Sears and fell in love with this sleek new model they have there for $1,499 but, I found a few things I didn't like about it. If I can find a picture or a link to it I will post it but I believe it is so new it's just not on the web as yet. I did get the salesman's business card and I might just give him a call and get that model number. You might be interested in looking at it too. This new model looks like a sleek go kart style frame. No farings or wrap around anything, just tubing and raw motor mounted on the back. I took a lot of time to look this thing over and it appears that put a good amount of time into it's design but a few things, well, maybe they just ran out of time or changed designers? The saleman told me all their lawn tractors were made by Toro. Not that that matters though. I'd like to do a review of this machine once I get all the info and a link to post. The one main thing holding me back from buying this model is it is not a 'mulcher' and there is no mulching accessory to buy for it, namely the mulching chute and of course the blade. It only has a regular blade. Oh, it's also a 28 inch model. No big deal to me about losing a couple of inches either. Second to note about the deficiency in it's design I found a plastic cover on each side of the machine, just under below the seat line. The one side covers the battery. Well, the plastic screws they use to hold these covers are the type that you find holding your bumpers and what not on your car. Pop in type screw, plastic with threads that don't seem to thread into anything. While I was trying to pop off the cover of the battery compartment I got nailed by a razor sharp end of one screw that was obvsiously abused by someone already trying to take the cover off and on. Luckily, the salesman had a band-aid in his wallet as he takes blood thinners he told me, and it stopped the bleeding. A third concern was the routing of the clutch/brake line through the steering column. Where it enters the tubing of the frame, a really cool design by the way, the wire is pressed up against the electrical wiring of the key starter. From looking at it it appears whoever assembled this machine didn't route the electrical wire on the right side but on the left of the steering column, right where the wire cable from the clutch/brake pedal comes in contact. You know it would only be a matter of time before there would be an electrical problem. Also, the clutch/brake cable was rubbing against the steering column at one point. You'd think the designers would have taken just a little more time and made and welded on a metal wire guide. It's little things like this that keep a product from being, well, perfect. I do have a tendency to go over things with a fine toothed comb before making a long term purchasing decision. I hope you enjoyed my mini review. I only wish I could find you a picture or a link now. I did go to Lowe's and look at a 30 inch Troy Built but was not very impressed with it's construction. Outdated and looks more chinese than anything. It's price is $999. Like they say, buy cheap, get cheap and problems sooner than later. No thank you. I'll keep looking but so far am very dissapointed with the lack of choices in 30 inch lawn tractors that I can find on the web. Any help is appreciated. Oh, I did find a Toro hydrostatic 30 inch that was priced at $2,399 at Home Depot but when I clicked on the link I got, 'No longer available'. I would possibly shell out that much coin for something that nice. Okay, your turn! :thumbsup:

Oh, oh, I'm editing this post, I just found a link to this model.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_07128034000P?prdNo=4&blockNo=4&blockType=G4
It has 26 review also. I'm going to check them out now...