What ride on mower NOT to buy?

[KenZakreski]

Hi,

I have been reading over the forum and enjoy the comments especially the discussion on which mower to buy.

I have just under 2 acres of lawn on a 5 acre property in the rain forest that we call the gulf islands in BC Canada. After 20 years of push mowing I am finally considering a ride on mower. I like the John Deere D130 not sure why...

The features I like are : mulching blades, pick up bags to make compost in the spring, hydro drive trans, cruise control, bumper hitch for hauling branches in a trailer, maybe a snow blade, big tires (I have a lot of soupy ground in the spring, did I say rain forest), cup holder.

Any suggestions on what not to buy might be more helpful over what to buy, I will look at used. And thanks for your help.

Ken

 

[jenkinsph]

For two acres of lawn as you describe I would not recommend any of the Deere mowers below the x320 model. I would also recommend you shop for a used model and larger size, lots of these would be a much better choice than a new model for comparable money. The better models with the heavy duty transmissions will last a lot longer. I would not expect the D series to perform well and the similar previous models have had lots of trouble with the k46 transmission.

 

[KenZakreski]

Thanks. For the transmission, i live in a gleann. The hills are such that i need to keep the push mower for some areas. Not considering a snow blade, because i can push downhill. What transmission would be ideal, variable, hydro or geared?

Ken