Not sure what to do at all!!!

99ls1ta · Apr 25, 2014

First off complete newbie to newer tractors so I went to a few dealers and am more confused than before I started. I have 2.25 acres of which a quarter acre is trees no mowing. The rest has a few trees fairly flat but the lower section is a flat valley with a long slight slope on one end a steeper slope on the other with a small section that is close to a 45 degree slope. Since I bought the house 7 years ago I've been mowing with a cub cadet 107 my grandfather gave me to "get me started till I get something newer" that never happened, something always came up that I had to divert cash to. Now I fear I may have to do something and I'm lost, the 107 is getting tired and starting to get a little unreliable and parts are getting hard to come by quickly.

I don't have a lot of cash right now maybe 2-2.5k cash, recently married and now our first child on the way but need to do something. I figure my options are as follows

1. Take dealers advice retire the 107 replace with a x5xx or gt2xxx and finance the uncovered balance which would be around 4k lot of cabbage to finance on a tractor. But are those a true replacement for the 107? can I expect 15-20 years reliable service from them?

2. Retire 107 buy cheaper "premium" lawn tractor x3xx, gt1xxx or craftsman gt etc and hope it holds up for a long time but finance much less (I have a atv to push snow and pull the yard cart so the tractor will just be a mower I'm just concerned about the hills strain on the tranny)

3. Keep the 107 buy a cheap craftsman or d1xx as a backup in case it goes down and need to wait a week for parts to arrive. no financing and I have two machines but can those lighter tractors take any kind of slopes at all and last more than a few years even in a backup role?

4. Try and nurse the 107 through this season and give her a major overhaul this winter. But I still have a 40+ year old machine and parts are going to get harder to find as it ages more.

I worry about the downtime, I work in the asphalt industry so my summers = 70 to 80+ hour work weeks I don't want to have to wrench on my tractor for an hour before mowing so I ruled out getting a used one for backup and that is also my concern for the 107 (as much as I love that tractor she may just be getting too old for frontline lawn defence). I also worry about the rear ends in the new ones they are nothing like my old cubs (even the x5xx's) and not sure how they stand up to hills. I just need a few other honest opinions with out dealers trying to say I need a 4x4 diesel ten grand tractor.

Also I only looked at jd, cc and sears if anyone has any other brands or a model recommendation please chime in, opinions very welcome and appreciated. thanks and sorry for the long post.

deerseeker001 · Apr 25, 2014

Welcome from Wisconsin

TnWV · Apr 25, 2014

I mow some really steep ground. I've always run box store mowers and they struggled to pull the hills and would take off sliding going down.

In June 2012, I bought an X530 with the HDAP tires. It doesn't miss a beat going up or down the same hills. Very little sliding and the diff lock works like a charm if it does start to spin. The tranny is very strong and imagine it will hold up for many years. I mow about 5 acres a week in total and the X530 cut my time nearly in half with the same size deck. It leaves a great cut as well.

I don't know how the X530 compares to your 107, but I imagine it would serve you well. The power steering and hydraulic deck lift are absolutely worth the upgrade over the X500. Makes mowing for long periods of time much more enjoyable IMHO.

The X3xx may work fine for you, but I believe you have to get to the X310 and above to get the better tranny(still smaller than the X5xx). I may be wrong on which model the bigger tranny starts in, but not all X3xx's have it. I was able to try them all out on a pretty good slope at the dealer, so I knew the X530 would work best for me, maybe you will be able to do the same at your dealer.

Good Luck!!

LD1 · Apr 25, 2014

Have you considered a zero turn?

99ls1ta · Apr 25, 2014

The dealer seemed more interested in selling me a x7 or x5 that he didn't say much about the x3s (in his defense those probably are the replacement equivalent of my 107 but do I need that much and need to spend that much if its just mowing on a few slopes). you hit the nail on the head TnWV of whats most confusing, which x3s have the heavier rear? One would think all tractors of a given line would have close abilities just different options but that doesn't seem to be the case. I just worry about cost (maybe too much lol) the x530 is a beautiful machine but when they hit me with the $6,700 price tag whew I'd have to finance over 4k with tax. the x500 came in at $5700 still 3k shy of my in hand cash. but then again if I get the wrong x3 and still finance 2k I end up with a lame tractor again after 6-7 years.

And this may be a dumb question but what are HDAP tires?

LD1 I'm not sure about zero turns, they seem pretty complex how well do they hold up? I know all the pros use them but I'm sure those are five figure machines as far as price.

square1 · Apr 25, 2014

I've been mowing with a Cub Cadet 107 my grandfather gave me to "get me started till I get something newer" that never happened, something always came up that I had to divert cash to. Now I fear I may have to do something and I'm lost, the 107 is getting tired and starting to get a little unreliable and parts are getting hard to come by quickly.

I don't have a lot of cash right now maybe 2-2.5k cash, recently married and now our first child on the way

Reread this ^^^. I think your answer lies in there somewhere

TnWV · Apr 25, 2014

99ls1ta said:
The dealer seemed more interested in selling me a x7 or x5 that he didn't say much about the x3s (in his defense those probably are the replacement equivalent of my 107 but do I need that much and need to spend that much if its just mowing on a few slopes). you hit the nail on the head TnWV of whats most confusing, which x3s have the heavier rear? One would think all tractors of a given line would have close abilities just different options but that doesn't seem to be the case. I just worry about cost (maybe too much lol) the x530 is a beautiful machine but when they hit me with the $6,700 price tag whew I'd have to finance over 4k with tax. the x500 came in at $5700 still 3k shy of my in hand cash. but then again if I get the wrong x3 and still finance 2k I end up with a lame tractor again after 6-7 years.

And this may be a dumb question but what are HDAP tires?

LD1 I'm not sure about zero turns, they seem pretty complex how well do they hold up? I know all the pros use them but I'm sure those are five figure machines as far as price.

HDAP tires have a more aggressive tread design then regular turfs. See picture below.

That price seems high. I paid $5,820 plus tax. Of course that was nearly 2 years ago and there may have been some incentive going on at the time built into the price.

I also agree with square1. I originally went in for an X740, but for similar reasons as he points our in your original post, I downsized so that I could pay cash and not finance. Big choice to make and no one can make it for you, only you know what is the right decision for you financially.

aczlan · Apr 25, 2014

How about a Cub Cadet GT3000 series? Those are available for $1-2000 with just a mower deck (one example at a dealership I have used in the past: cub cadet 3205, one closer to you: https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/grd/4432044671.html ) and are well built. They have a locking differential, hydraulic deck lift and hydraulic power steering and split brakes.

Aaron Z

Gary Fowler · Apr 25, 2014

You are in a real dilemma as most good quality mowers are going to be in the near to or greater than $6K price range. If you want a mower that is going to last you 20+ years, you are going to have to part with around $6,500-7500. You can spend $2500 on a box store tractor type or zero turn but it may not last you more than 3-4 years mowing on hills. My advice would be to try to get a few more years out of your present mower if possible while saving your money to buy a good one or bite the bullet and finance a good commercial or near commercial grade mower that will last you a lifetime.

arnoldziffel · Apr 25, 2014

Like it or not, I think you should be looking at a high quality, well cared for USED machine.

In my opinion the biggest bang for the buck would be a Toro Wheel Horse 5xi machine. For your cash on hand budget, you should be able to land a nice 520xi (no power steering) or 522xi (with power steering).

Pennsylvania has always been a honey hole of great used Toro Wheel Horse equipment. There were and still are many Toro Wheel Horse dealers in your state.

Work Craigslist for a few days and I bet you'll find something that will still give you years of service. (By the way, DON'T waste your money on any of the recent Toro lawn tractors. They are built to a price and have abandoned the Wheel Horse over-built philosophy.)

Good Luck.