I'm somewhat in the same boat.
Had a Husqvarna hand grenade an engine on me 2 weeks ago. Kohler Courage 20 single with less than 200 hours. Tractor, engine and mowing was one giant POS from day one. Reviews are all over the place and nothing is cheap.
On the positive side, I don't have to mow a 5x15 foot section of my lawn anymore as the oil killed it.
