Looking For Suggestion - Buying a New Riding Mower

[cruzenmike]

I'll keep an eye open for that Cub Cadet 200 Series, but I don't see anything for sale (new or used) in my area.

Any other suggestions would be most appreciated.

Thanks again for all of the guidance!

Anthony
NJ

I am not a huge John Deere fan and unfortunately they do not have anything in the "Garden Tractor" class with a 42" deck but have you considered the X330/350? The X300 series gets a more robust frame, a great cutting deck, choice of Kawasaki engine (X350) and a better version of the K46 hydrostatic. These X300s can do a decent amount of yard work besides just cutting so long as you keep it light and easy like a small yard cart for leaves and branches, etc. Step up to the X380 with the 48" deck and you get the K58 trans which gets you closer to ground engaging attachments. Yes the Deere will set you back a bit more than the competition but they usually have a spring sale with $300-500 off the signature series models.

You could also go for a Husqvarna which offer the beefier K66 or G730 hydrostatics and decent engines but where you save on the overall cost of the mower you end up with something a little less stout than the Deere. Again with the Husqvarna, I don't believe that they have a 42" "Garden Tractor"

 

[bertsmobile1]

You might not find one around the corner, but gas in the USA is fairly cheap.
I regularly drive 1200 miles to see the rellies and always return with a trailer full of mowers & motorcycles.
In Victoria ( Aust ) most of these are about 30% cheaper than NSW despite having the same price when new.
a few examples of the mowers I am suggesting.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cub-Cadet-2186-Tractor-Snow-Blower-Mower/153345312173?hash=item23b417c5ad:g:YzUAAOSw8OFcQmvx:rk:46f:0
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cub-Cadet-Super-Gt-2550-22-Hp-Kohler-50-Hydro-Grt-Cond/123616260402?hash=item1cc81a7132:g:7aMAAOSwn6Jb-dqa:rk:62f:0
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cub-Cadet-Super-Gt-2544-21-Hp-Kohler-44-Hydro-Serviced-Grt-Cond/123591856199?epid=70571684&hash=item1cc6a61047:g:Kc0AAOSw1KRb-dO5:rk:65f:0
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2004-Cub-C...=item4b5d1f2912:g:tNsAAOSwjrFb0gwS:rk:66:pf:0
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cub-Cadet-...=item56c08958e6:g:CMMAAOSwpZpcYdBc:rk:71:pf:0
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cub-Cadet-Model-2155-Lawn-Tractor/352585316027?hash=item5217b8f6bb:g:SMYAAOSwqjhcVwAS:rk:72f:0

They all have common deck mounts and current Cub decks will fit so deck size is not a problem. They came from 38" right up to 60"
Note they all have horizontal shaft engines, you can see the drive shaft tunnel in the photos.
The vertical shaft engines are nowhere near as durable as horizontals as verticals only go into mowers and with mower price ( cheapness ) is king.
Horizontal engines are designed to do 10 hours work a day 5 days a week for 10+ years.
Vertical shaft engines are designed to do 1 or 2 hours a day, 1 day a week for 10 years.

Bolens made a few with horizontal shafts but they have been out of business for quite a while so body parts are hard to come by.
Troy Built took over Bolens and made some good GT's till they went broke .

 

[mzdrati]

You might not find one around the corner, but gas in the USA is fairly cheap.
I regularly drive 1200 miles to see the rellies and always return with a trailer full of mowers & motorcycles.
In Victoria ( Aust ) most of these are about 30% cheaper than NSW despite having the same price when new.
a few examples of the mowers I am suggesting.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cub-Cadet-2186-Tractor-Snow-Blower-Mower/153345312173?hash=item23b417c5ad:g:YzUAAOSw8OFcQmvx:rk:46f:0
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cub-Cadet-Super-Gt-2550-22-Hp-Kohler-50-Hydro-Grt-Cond/123616260402?hash=item1cc81a7132:g:7aMAAOSwn6Jb-dqa:rk:62f:0
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cub-Cadet-Super-Gt-2544-21-Hp-Kohler-44-Hydro-Serviced-Grt-Cond/123591856199?epid=70571684&hash=item1cc6a61047:g:Kc0AAOSw1KRb-dO5:rk:65f:0
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2004-Cub-C...=item4b5d1f2912:g:tNsAAOSwjrFb0gwS:rk:66:pf:0
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cub-Cadet-...=item56c08958e6:g:CMMAAOSwpZpcYdBc:rk:71:pf:0
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cub-Cadet-Model-2155-Lawn-Tractor/352585316027?hash=item5217b8f6bb:g:SMYAAOSwqjhcVwAS:rk:72f:0

They all have common deck mounts and current Cub decks will fit so deck size is not a problem. They came from 38" right up to 60"
Note they all have horizontal shaft engines, you can see the drive shaft tunnel in the photos.
The vertical shaft engines are nowhere near as durable as horizontals as verticals only go into mowers and with mower price ( cheapness ) is king.
Horizontal engines are designed to do 10 hours work a day 5 days a week for 10+ years.
Vertical shaft engines are designed to do 1 or 2 hours a day, 1 day a week for 10 years.

Bolens made a few with horizontal shafts but they have been out of business for quite a while so body parts are hard to come by.
Troy Built took over Bolens and made some good GT's till they went broke .

Hi Bert.

I know it's been a few months since we were discussing this, but life got int he way of my looking for another mower. I found a used Cub Cadet GT1286 somewhat local to me, but it has a few details that I am curious about. The listing states that it has a new PTO clutch, a new battery and a new belt. I know the battery and belt are wear items, but is it normal to replace the clutch in one of these? It has 332 hours. Is that considered a lot?

The asking price is $1000 (USD) which is most of the price of a new mower at local stores like Walmart, Home Depot and Lowes. Is this older model that much better? Thanks SO much for trying to help me...