I bought my first rider in 1983. It was a JD 216, which was a "plain Jane" for sure. No hydrostatic, but it was tough as nails. I am a machinist and an aircraft mechanic, and I maintain everything that I own, including the airplane, but the Deere required only routine maintenance for the ten years that I owned it. The only downside was having to replace the deck belt every year.
I sold the 216 for well over half of what I payed for it, and I bought a JD 425. It was rock solid as well, and I kept it for 18 years with the only maintenance beyond routine of replacing a carb. By 2011, my next door neighbor was manager of the local Deere store, and he convinced me to go to a zero turn. I mow about an acre and a half in my lawn, and the 930A cut my mowing time by more than half. I loved the machine, but the rough ride was kinda hard on a 71 year old guy. I added an aftermarket seat suspension system, and that helped. I had a coil breaking down two years ago, and I replaced both while I had it torn down. That was the only issue for the nine seasons with the 930A.
Two weeks ago, I got a wild hair, and made a visit to the Deere store. I had been researching the 994R, and I liked what I had learned. My neighbor brought me a demo the next day, and after mowing, I knew that I had found my "forever mower." It had the suspension seat, and I was blown away with the comfort. My neighbor gave me a great deal, and he delivered mine last week. I bought it with the 60" MOD deck, which is what I had on the 930. Now I have a diesel mower to park alongside my 3032E JD tractor. The fuel consumption is unbelievable on both machines.
That's my history of mowers, and if I could not have upgraded, I would certainly have bought each one of them again.
