Would you buy the same mower again?

[Beamster]

I'd plow the grass under or buy a herd of goats before I'd buy a TORO Super Recycler again.
Total junk despite being rated #1 pick by a popular review publication. I should have stuck with John Deeres or Lawn Boys that came before.

 

[nortonbyk]

You may not believe it, but last year I sold my mid 70"s Kubota G5200 which I abused since new. I mowed, towed, and cleared hunting trails with that machine. It was indestructible. It even had the original tires on it when sold. I sold it because the deck linkage was so worn out that I couldn't raise it anymore. I wanted to buy another Kubota, but now that I'm retired, the price point was prohibitive. I went to my local JD dealer and bought an X390 gasser with a 52" deck. It does not use as much metal as a Kubota, and its gas use sucks as compared to the diesel. Here on the farm, I have farm fuel storage for other equipment so I wish it was a diesel. I only have one summer on the Deere so only time will tell.

 

[MikeOC]

I purchased a Honda HX 215 in June of 1994, and continue to use it today. With regular maintenance and a couple of carb kits over the years, it still starts easily and runs well. This year, I replaced both output shaft seals on the hydrostatic transmission, with thanks for some guidance from this forum. At this point, I doubt I will ever replace it, but if I had to, I would probably look for a used model like mine, with an intact deck because the new Honda mowers with the hydrostatic transmission have a belt drive rather than a shaft drive. To me, this is a big deal due to the amount of work it takes to change the drive belt and the frequency of the changes.
The first summer with the mower, I picked up a rock the peeled open the right side of the aluminum body. My repair may have been unusual but it worked, and has lasted this long. I used a piece of Marine grade1/8” aluminum to line the inside of the broken side of the deck, held in place with JB weld and #10 stainless steel bolts. It is still intact today. Thanks for the opportunity to share this. if I did have to buy a new mower, yes it would be a Honda.
M

 

[user4579]

Here's one that everybody can chime in on. Would you buy the same mower again, or would you go with a different model? Do you have any regrets about your purchase?

I'll start. My first mower was a John Deere 365 with 48" deck. Loved that machine for 430 hours until we sold it. But I will say that the only thing different I would do is go up to a machine that had the power to handle a 60" deck instead of the 48" deck.

How about you?

I have had many different brands in my life. (I'm 64) most all of them have been the cheaper types (MTD Brands) to the Allis, Dixon and Simplicity. All did the job well if you used them for what they were designed for, just mowing a smaller yards, but I uses them for big yards. So every 5 to 7 years I had to get another. They were just totally wore out from front to back. Now I have a Grasshopper 720K that I bought used. This is one Great mower! I could have saved myself a ton of money over the years if I would have gotten a machine that is built like this from the start.

 

[Tokslut]

I love my old Ventrac 3000,if that thing could lift a little more would be great!

So I may buy a different "utility carrier" next time. Maybe an Avant 4 or 5 series (Finland made) but is very expensive

 

[Honest Abe]

I bought a Case 108, with a blower in 1981, and used it for 25 years. We bought a new property so I made the switch to a zero-turn and my son took the Case and still has in running. The sad part is that I made the mistake of buying a "Gravely ZT2148XL". I know fully understand why the term "Grave" is in the name, as I should have buried it right after the engine blew up with only 278 hours on the machine. This happened after having to replace all the deck spindles twice. I finally went and learned how to rebuild the spindles myself, for 1/10th the cost; and, and no more time since if I had to replace a spindle then I had time to rebuild it while the machine sat idle. The only reason this machine is still being maintained for regular use is because it fits between all our trees perfectly. There isn't a snowballs chance in hell that I'd ever recommend a Gravely to anyone, at least that I liked . . .

 

[CGVande55]

this is true for almost all brands, the thing i dont like about cub cadets are the deck gauges are thinner and rot out way faster then other brands

the LA and D series john deers are made in china and have plastic tranny housings and are made as you would expect cheap chinese crap to be.

the troy builts are the black and decker of lawn mowers, cheap, pretty reliable, but not high quality in any way

one of the best brands out there now to buy would be a husqvarna hands down

I've had a Husqvarna for over 8 years now, and after the issues with the deck and rear axle, no more. My next tractor/mower will be a Kubota. I'm not a JD lover.

As to your comment on the plastic rear transaxles, their manufactured by Tuff Tork, the same company that manufactures over 98% of transaxles used in the mower industry. And they're worse than the K46. The low end junk of the line. Most riders on the market today would be better off if they were equipped with the K66 or better.

 

[CGVande55]

Yes I will when the time comes ,right now I have a Kubota BX 2200 .

What's your repair rate on the Kubota? Looking at it as my next purchase.

 

[Ida-Boy]

Well, yes... if I could afford it. My Grasshopper is 20 years old and still running strong and no oil usage, but I did have to rebuild the bottom side of the deck over the winter. Even with my annual cleaning and coating with paint when putting away for the winter the tin rusted out that led to trails of grass being left behind.
And my Honda SXA215 is still running after 25 years but a good carb cleaning is required even though I use rec fuel for winter storage.
I say I made the right choice because some riding mowers purchased at big box stores would have long ago given up the ship.

 

[Eliot Ness]

I would certainly buy my WALKER MBK-23 again. It was fine with a 60" deck with ample power however not nimble enough over the rough stuff. However I eventually realised it was a 'one trick pony' and I needed another mower. Instead of buying another mower, I downgraded the deck. I now have a 42" deck that does it all. Cuts the lawns as well as the >10" rough stuff, plus I can get around trees easily and also through most spaces.

Great piece of kit with tons of attachments available and power to drive them all