re: Riding Mower around $1500 - John Deere vs Cub Cadet vs Husqvarna

My service centers service over 300 units at one location and other three avg 200 units per month. I do have one location that is 100% service center that does 600 units a month for extended warranty companies.

Lawn tractors
Lower end ones Poulon, Craftsman low end etc are 300 hour units.

Cub cadet, JD, husqvarna, and snappers upper end last around 400 to 500 hours. On a residential lawn 1 hour a week times 52 weeks a year that is a good amount of time. I seen some still running at around 10 to 12 yrs old.

Some commercial units I seen guys trash big dog, bad boys commercial, and scaggs destroying them in less than a year. Some of it right unit for right job and also how you take care of a unit.


99.9% of the 10% of the people who have consistent problems with these units is either bad from the start or they use them for field cutting and try to cut on the lowest setting. These units all brands are only designed to cut 10" high at a time. This reduces the life especially when some are banging against rough field grass on 2 to 3 acre lots. Just too much for these units.

Residential zero turns the same way. My father has a 10 yr old 42" Ariens/ gravely which he cuts 1/2 acre of residential grass. The only thing I have done is change the oil and blades 1 time. Again, he is not cutting that much.

My brother in law has destroyed this year alone Gravely commercial unit, big dog commercial unit, and I cannot recognize the scagg I sent him. He cuts 3 acres, does not take care of his stuff, and tried to shade tree mechanic a minor repair which turned a into a major repair. No matter what I give him he will destroy. After I took his Scagg back I told him he really needs a tractor with a bush hog.