Very Happy, No Problems Yet
Model Year: 2012
Bought this tractor at Lowe's---convinced them to give me 10% off even without a coupon, so the value was excellent. It's WAY over-sized for our 1-acre place (only about 1/2 acre of grass), but we needed the biggest thing we could get in the $2K range for snow removal at our cabin. We also bought a Berco Northeast model 44" snowblower attachment from Lowe's (another discount). This machine mows our grass all summer long at home without even hiccuping. It's a ridiculously quick job now. Then, in November, we haul it up to our cabin in the mountains, hook up the snowblower, tire chains, and home-made rear weight system, and it clears the driveway up there when we visit in the winter. Last winter was our first with it, and there was very little snow, so it really hasn't been tested with deep stuff. It's pretty easy to pull the deck and swap to the snowblower---maybe a 20 min. job. It takes longer to install the tire chains than anything else. They're a pain, but they do work well. Maintenance has been easy so far (just an oil change), and nothing has broken. I wouldn't want anything bigger without power steering, as it's weight gives a fair amount of resistance to steering. The hand-operated hydro-stat control is precise, but requires some quick moves when trying to control speed, snowblower height, and chute angle all at once.
Pros: Reliable, oodles of power, cuts grass REALLY fast, works well with snow blower.
Cons: Almost too big at times, no locking rear diff.