Sub $2000 Riding Mower Recommendations?

[gamer_jim]

Greetings,

I am researching a new riding mower. Currently we have 1/2 an acre but looking to move to a 1-2 acre place within the next couple years. We would like to buy something that we could take with us to our next home. Our current home is on a pretty decent slope. We have about $2000 for this mower plus cart.

I read this guys review of the Craftsman YT3000 (28853) and couldn't find too many negative reviews on the interwebs. Except when I was googling the Kohler Courage motor which brought me to this forum. I read through the threads and now I'm kinda scared to pull the trigger on this purchase.

I am very unmechanical and can only do basic maintenance. Last night we went to Sears and the sales guy made it sound like the included 2 year warranty for this model was useless and we really need to purchase at least the extended 3 year warranty. He said that if anything was deemed not to be a manufacturers defect by the technician then we would have to pay for the service call and repair. He said with the extended service plan everything is covered except abuse. Internet price for this model is $1595 + 3 year extended warranty + cart = $2100. Just a hair over my budget but if it means not having to worry about this thing for 3 years I'm ok with that.

Lastly, the complaints I have read on that Craftsman model were mostly related to the tires with poor tread designed to not damage lawns. The article I linked says you cannot put chains on this model (he didn't explain why). Would adding wheel weights be enough? If we put after market tires on would that threaten any warranty service? In my old riding mower there were a couple spots on our lawn I would get stuck.

That said here are my questions:

Does anyone have any comments on that particular model?
What about issues with the Kohler Courage that I read a lot about on this forum?
Given I'm not good with mechanical things would getting the extended maintenance warranty be worth the $350?
Does anyone have any recommendations for other riding mowers?

Thanks!

 

[TnHusky]

Welcome to the forum Jim,

I too had some reservations about the Kohler engines then I got to digging deep in the problems and it seems that most of the issues came from the single cylinders by not being properly tq'ed together from the factory causing the block to shift and creating havoc. I even called a couple of independent dealers and asked questions about this and one of our local Co-Op dealers said that all the problems they had was the single cylinders and they never had problems with the bigger engines. With that being said I also read a lot of bad reviews on the Briggs Inteks, probably more than the Kohlers.
So after all my research I chose this. The YTH24K48 Fast tractor(Husqvarna) from Lowes. This was priced at $1899 with a 5% discount with the Lowes card. I also bought a 4 yr warranty for $280 I think also with the 5% discount. They also was throwing in a free trailer with purchase. I'll have to admit about the lose of traction a little bit but my other mower did the same as well. The Husqvarna will scoot for a riding mower and the power is great as well as the cut.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

I'll let others reply in response to your other questions, but here is a thread on the Kohler Courage engine: http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/general-mower-discussion/10747-kohler-courage-really-bad.html

 

[motoman]

Well I also have read good and bad about Kohler. It seem that a while back they had it together. There were overheat warning switches, and hydraulic lifters, but commercial pressures and change of ownership/build facilities/ personnel etc etc is hard to keep up with. After valve train failure on my Intek I always listened with envy to my neighbor's old Kohler in Craftsman. But who knows? I think research, research, research is good along with lady luck. Seems like drive trains are more reliable than the AC engines, but I only have had one rider. Seems like Japanese motors ought to have the edge in AC.

 

[gamer_jim]

Thanks for input folks. I ended up going with the craftsman, the 28853. Got delivered today and mowed my yard. Freakin' love this thing. I never realized how much time I wasted in my old mower not being able to back up so easily. The turning radius is sick and also helped cut down on the mowing time. The cheap cart I got with it paid for itself 10 fold today. We have a slight decline in our back yard. We throw our yard waste back in the treed area. Prior to getting this cart I would do it with a wheelbarrow and be worn out after a few trips. This thing handled it like a Boss. The cart alone is really going to help us maintain our yard.

Some items of note:

• Delivery guys were on time, prompt, professional and curteous.
• Manual said mower is shipped with overinflated tires, one was over inflated, 2 were even and one was under.
• The deck washing plug thing is a waste and I got almost no value out of it compared to just hosing the inside myself.
• Only got stuck in a couple spots in my yard, could easily manuver out of them. My old mower did much worse.
• The transmission seemed to groan a lot, didn't have any problems but sounded like it was protesting much.
• Didn't come with an hour meter, would like to add that to keep track of maintenance.

Thanks again for this forum. Being able to read the other threads here helped me make my decision.

 

[djdicetn]

Thanks for input folks. I ended up going with the craftsman, the 28853. Got delivered today and mowed my yard. Freakin' love this thing. I never realized how much time I wasted in my old mower not being able to back up so easily. The turning radius is sick and also helped cut down on the mowing time. The cheap cart I got with it paid for itself 10 fold today. We have a slight decline in our back yard. We throw our yard waste back in the treed area. Prior to getting this cart I would do it with a wheelbarrow and be worn out after a few trips. This thing handled it like a Boss. The cart alone is really going to help us maintain our yard.

Some items of note:

• Delivery guys were on time, prompt, professional and curteous.
• Manual said mower is shipped with overinflated tires, one was over inflated, 2 were even and one was under.
• The deck washing plug thing is a waste and I got almost no value out of it compared to just hosing the inside myself.
• Only got stuck in a couple spots in my yard, could easily manuver out of them. My old mower did much worse.
• The transmission seemed to groan a lot, didn't have any problems but sounded like it was protesting much.
• Didn't come with an hour meter, would like to add that to keep track of maintenance.

Thanks again for this forum. Being able to read the other threads here helped me make my decision.

View attachment 13902

gamer_jim,
Hope you got a good one....Craftsman lawn tractors are generally good bang for the buck. I had a 2006 54" Craftsman YS4500(made by Husqvarna for Sears). Mine had a GREAT Husqvarna tractor/deck/etc. but had a Briggs & Stratton Intek(24hp) that was a piece of junk. We all know that Craftsman/Sears doesn't "manufacture" anything, so the trick on their lawn tractors(90% of them made by Husqvarna and 10% by MTD) is to find one that's a Husqvarna, find out what Husqvarna model is "almost identical" to it(deck size and engagement, tranny, seat...... everything except more than likely the Husqvarna will have a different engine). Once you determine that, you will find that the comparable Husqvarna model is $100 or less......MORE than the Craftsman, but the better engine and other components used to build that lawn tractor will be worth $200-$300 MORE than those parts on the Craftsman. Like I said, the Craftsman is a "good" lawn tractor but it's Husqvarna counterpart will be "much better" quality for not that much more money.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

Thanks for input folks. I ended up going with the craftsman, the 28853. Got delivered today and mowed my yard. Freakin' love this thing. I never realized how much time I wasted in my old mower not being able to back up so easily. The turning radius is sick and also helped cut down on the mowing time. The cheap cart I got with it paid for itself 10 fold today. We have a slight decline in our back yard. We throw our yard waste back in the treed area. Prior to getting this cart I would do it with a wheelbarrow and be worn out after a few trips. This thing handled it like a Boss. The cart alone is really going to help us maintain our yard.

Some items of note:

• Delivery guys were on time, prompt, professional and curteous.
• Manual said mower is shipped with overinflated tires, one was over inflated, 2 were even and one was under.
• The deck washing plug thing is a waste and I got almost no value out of it compared to just hosing the inside myself.
• Only got stuck in a couple spots in my yard, could easily manuver out of them. My old mower did much worse.
• The transmission seemed to groan a lot, didn't have any problems but sounded like it was protesting much.
• Didn't come with an hour meter, would like to add that to keep track of maintenance.

Thanks again for this forum. Being able to read the other threads here helped me make my decision.

View attachment 13902

I'm glad you are happy with the mower you got....it looks great! :thumbsup:

 

[midnite rider]

Nice mower Jim and a good choice. Carts come in handy. :thumbsup:
:welcome: