i will say one thing good about sears though. at one time they made a hell of a garden tractor. for $25 my boys bought a mid-80's craftsman II 18hp, 2 speed rearend, 6 speed tractor for souping up for tractor drags. we replaced the plugs and belt and hoses and when i started looking at how this thing was built, i told them there was no way they were going to ruin it racing it. i use it at my camp for hauling and drunk driving on the trails between camps. its a friggen beast. 2 cylinder v twin engine, sounds like a harley. we call it Mowzilla. it is legendary at our camp now.
I have a 26hp Craftsman garden tractor with the Kohler engine. You're right...its a horse. I have the hydrostat transmission which I might regret someday when it breaks down but it's been 8 years so far without a hitch. I sure makes mowing a lot easier than shifting gears. I have a front blade on it for plowing snow but we haven't had enough snow since I bought it to really test it. It handles 4" great but that's not much of a test.
I don't know if the current models are as good as this one, though.
A couple years ago, I needed new blades and made the mistake of using mulching blades. The dang things kept the deck clogged up constantly. They're ok in 3" grass but not in anything deeper.
