If I were in your shoes, I would be looking at used mowers of a higher caliber. Something along the line of a John Deere 425, like I have. Last year mine was in for a simple repair and I had to borrow a cheapie to mow for a week. It was excruciating and I couldn't believe what a difference there is in performance. With all the rage in zero turn mowers, a guy can get a very good lawn tractor for his money and be light years ahead of the box store mowers.
