Repair or replace lawn tractor because the desk has rusted through? (John Deere LA145)

[mmahoney626]

I have a John Deere LA145 that I purchased from a neighbor before they moved, used but extremely low hours and in like new condition, in 2016. I have not had to do any unreasonable or unexpected repairs or maintenance in the entire time I've owned it. I now have 222 hours on it. Most of the paint has come off. The engine seems to run great, I've never had any issues with it. The desk is rusting through. A couple days ago I accidentally hit a root that had broken and was sticking up further past where it was the last time, and managed to catch the desk when I passed over. Well the desk broke because the area was already week from the rust, so now I have what you see in the picture. I bent the deck away from the blade and was able to finish the work. I'm looking at this from a worst case scenario of two options, to either buy a new desk assembly which is $1100 plus $235 shipping, or a new mower probably starting in the neighborhood of $2700 for something entry level decent. I don't know if this is one of those situations where you're better off sticking with something manufactured in the past versus the quality of what is currently being manufactured unless spending a large sum of money. Right now I'm considering only 2 options since I knew this day would come eventually, and I was unable to find a used desk in any better condition than mine. Since this was also my first riding lawnmower, I don't know what I'm supposed to do with this one if I get a new one. (Just sell it?) So I'm looking for thoughts on what to do, what makes sense.

 

[ILENGINE]

I think you are at a crossroads. The powder coat has done what it does. Peel off in sheets. The replacement cost of the deck will amount to about 50% of a new mower cost. So this one could go either way in my opinion. The hood looks to still be in good shape which is normally the first thing that goes. So you could replace the mower with a new mower warranty, or replace the deck and do some touchup painting on the tractor side of the equation.

 

[SeniorCitizen]

If it still mows grass keep searching for a pre-owned deck while using the one you have . A thought : let it be known at a few mower repair shops you want a pre owned deck in good condition .

 

[Auto Doc's]

Where are you located? Are there any mower repair shops or salvage operations in your area. Finding a good deck for one this age might be quite a challenge. Many of the LA series mowers had similar decks.

 

[mmahoney626]

Southeast Louisiana, not that I'm aware of that would be able to assist in this particular manner, but I haven't really checked in depth since everything was workable until I cut the grass on Wednesday.

 

[mmahoney626]

I was curious as to what other people did in the same situation.