I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but I have a John Deere 430 garden tractor with a 60" deck, and I am sick of it. It seems like I spend more time repairing it than using it, and John Deere is a real jerk about parts. My alternator is a great example. It looks like I need a new one, and they run about $500.
I don't need a garden tractor. I have a real tractor. I'm thinking I should dump the 430 on some sucker, I mean John Deere fan, and get a zero-turn.
So who makes a good diesel zero-turn that will last forever and give me 60" of width?
I can tell you some features I would like.
1. Not having to pay 5 times what parts are worth or dealing with a company that doesn't supply parts for older machines *cough cough John Deere*.
2. Oil changes that don't require removing an extremely stubborn 340-pound deck or dealing with a messy external oil-sucking machine.
3. Hydraulic cylinders, if any, that aren't welded shut like certain those made by *cough cough John Deere* certain companies.
4. Not needing 3 sizes of wrench to do simple things like adjusting a fan belt.
5. Not having to take the entire machine apart to change a fan belt.
6. A muffler that doesn't cost $250.
7. A total weight somewhere under 1500 pounds, unlike a certain garden tractor I have.
8. Blades that will cut bahia instead of just knocking it over so it can come back up after I pass.
9. Mulching that actually works. On live oak and water oak leaves. Not just on paper-thin leaves that blow away in a slight breeze.
10. Doesn't have the words "John" or "Deere" anywhere on it, nor any green paint.
If your blood runs green, don't bother telling me off. There is no point in making me suffer, because this tractor and the company that made it punish me more than you could every day.