Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Best Used John Deere Riding Lawn Mower?

my john deer dealer told me there are 2 types of jd lawn movers. the top quality models you can only get at a jd dealer (the most expensive and best made in the opinion of the dealer) OR the models one finds at lowes, home depot, and other big box stores. he said the ones from the big box stores are intentionally made cheaper, and you can't get their parts from a jd dealer, but rather have to get them from or through the big box seller. i live in farm country and see lots of farmers using the expensive jd models on their yard. drive in to town and one sees lots of town-folk using the big box jd models. for the man who can afford it, i'd say get your next mower from a jd dealer. ymmv.

Have heard the same but I call BS. On the tractors at Lowes it says plainer than day on a sticker "take to _____ John Deere", for repair or service.

A good friend is a master small engine repair man and works for a company that repairs most of the commercial equipment in the area. He said unless your talking about the $3500 and up model John Deere's, they are all the same. Of course, John Deere doesn't want you to know this.

Bill

I spent years calling on dealers when I sold tractor/skid steer attachments. After too much time waiting in showrooms, I came to the conclusion that most mfgrs would try to build to a price point. The 445's & 455's stood out like a sore thumb, and not just for their price tags. Still, many dealers (especially those closer to population centers) would have several of the "less exensive" mowers on the showroom floor. When I see the Green-n-Yellow offerings at Home Depot these days, I just have to laugh.

The way I see it, you kind of have to buy a mower by-the-pound. They can put a pressure lubricated Kohler engine in a crappy frame that totes a paper-thin deck, and get it to sell. If the paint color is right, & people see a somewhat serious-looking engine, they'll think they're getting a serious machine. When you start getting into beefy frames, decks, and transaxles, the price goes up quickly. If someone's fastidious about maintenance, and is a careful operator, they can get nearly any mower to last quite a while. When you start putting offspring or hired help into the equation as operators & maintainers, mower life will fall off quickly.

I'm on a � acre in suburbia, so I don't concern myself with mowers too much. I grew up cutting 8 acres every week, though, so I know the routine. If I were to buy something just for mowing, I'd check into professional equipment by Exmark, Scag, Ferris, Grasshopper, Dixie Chopper, etc. You'll be giving up the attachment options of a garden tractor, but you'll get top-notch mowing capability, components built to withstand the lowest-paid laborers available, and probably save a buck or two.

Now you can take my $.02, pair it with $1.48 of your own, & go get a cup of coffee!

Good Luck,

FC

You should be able to find a JD 430 for around $3500. They are diesel and are extremely well built.


I've moved up to a larger Kubota and sold my 430 to my brother. He had over 3,000 hrs on it when he sold it for $3,500 but it still ran like new. He had over 2 dozen calls on it.

(not my picture)