I had heard that the John Deere motors will only be worked on by John Deere whereas other brands (Cub Cadet, Husqvarna, Ariens, etc.) all use shared motors built by Kohler, Briggs, Kawasaki and will be worked on by most independant dealers.
I bought mine from Lowes and it has a spin-on oil filter.
I got my John Deere at Lowes, and they “assign” you to a local (not actually local) repair shop that is the place guaranteeing the warranty. Once I registered my lawn tractor with the repair shop, they sent me some info on a yearly maintenance thing I could buy that included pickup and dropoff.
I didn’t go with them, I went with a local place. Both places are expensive…I only get the maintenance every other year.
My dad’s got a really bad back and neck (two surgeries) and other than the bumpiness of our yards, he’s got no problems running his hydrostatic John Deere.
I just bought a JD D-140 Hydrostatic and am pretty happy with it. Runs well and cuts well. I have used it half a dozen times this year so far. I have 2 1/2 acres but only about 1 acre or less is lawn and much of it is on a slope. I like that I can hook up a hose and clean off the underside and it just feels good when I am cutting.
I got mine at Home Depot–but had it delivered and even though there is a Home Depot about 4 miles from my house, it was delivered from the John Deere factory in the Quad Cities manythousands of miles from here. For free too, as they had free delivery. I still have no idea how that makes any business sense, but there you go.
Spent a fair amount of time investigating things and ended up with the JD, but I was very close to getting a Cub Cadet and/or the Troy Bilt. I really wanted the zero turn but just wasn’t willing to spend the money. The D-140 has a good turning radius though so I am turned out great.
Good luck!
If you and Zipper could comment on the hydrostatic transmission versus a regular geared unit that might add to the conversation. I can’t over emphasize how much labor goes into shifting gears and clutching on a small lot. It’s a lot of work for the added benefit of sitting down. Also, how much more was the zero turn radius mowers?
Zero turns were about $1000 or more depending upon the model. I got the D-140 for $1799 (normally $1999), the zero turn as I recall started at $2999 and the JD one is $3999.
Most of the JD are Hydrostatic as I recall–I think only the smallest one is geared. I know it shifts smoothly without ANY effort from me, and I like that, but how that compares to the geared D-100 I couldn’t tell you. I don’t have a clutch on the D-140 so it acts more like a automatic, I just sit on it, give it the gas, and engage the PTO and cut. I also like that I can go in reverse (although the pedal to go in reverse is a bit tricky to get figured out).
My only experience with riding mowers is from watching Mad Men, so I’ll just say…be careful.
I will say even though I prefer the gear transmission because of my experience of unsuccessfully trying to fix a broken hydro transmission, the JD gear transmission can be jerky when you take off if you’re not smooth on the clutch/brake pedal. Shifting isn’t hard if you’re stopped but shifting while moving is a difficult sometimes. I just figure a gear transmission is more reliable, never had one go bad on me.
I would agree and would advise on an older geared mower but in this case I think ease of operation is a major part of the purchase. I HATE riding mowers in small yards. It’s more work to change gears and flip between forward and reverse than it is for me to walk behind a self propelled mower.
I can’t comment on the geared. I’m a big dummy and can’t drive a manual car so there was no way I was going to get a manual lawn mower.
I too just turn it on and go. It takes about 2 months to get really good at flipping to reverse. You have to do it if you want to cut in rows and not circles. I used to be really impressed watching my dad handle the thing but now I’m just as good on mine (we have the same model).
Buy used.
Everyone and their brother seems to need a riding mower as some type of status symbol and a brand new shiny tractor is required to fill that void. New tractors are very expensive and depreciate in value faster then new cars. Considering the number of people that can’t afford the mortgages they bought their tractor for I’m sure you can find something for a fraction of the cost.
On buying John Deer at Lowes or Home Depot. John Deer enforced MAT pricing. Lowes and Home Depot can not offer tractors for cheaper than the local dealers. Every tractor that Home Depot and Lowes gets can not be sold until they pay one of the local dealers to ‘check it in.’
The warranty is handled by the local dealership.
Basically it makes no difference where you buy a new John Deer. Personally I’d buy it from the dealership just because I would rather establish the relationship with the place you’ll probably have to deal with in the future concerning the tractor.
I prefer John Deer machines over all others and if money is no object get a one, for most funds aren’t unlimited so you’ll find better value to cut for lawn elsewhere.
Also to many people considering a lawn tractor, do the math, you might find paying a landscaper to keep the lawn cut a better option then buying maintaining and storing a tractor.