Originally Posted By: doitmyself
For homeowner use, I have always wondered if this mower might hold up o.k.? It is available as a Cub Cadet, Sears, or Troybilt version. I assume it is made by MTD, usually an indicator of junk. But, who knows? It has zerks! At this price point it is all belt driven.
Does anyone have experience with this
as a homeowner mower? It goes on sale every fall for under $1,000 at TSC.
PS,
I'm not seeking any lessons on Cub Cadet/Troy Bilt = evil MTD. Just asking if anyone has positive or negative actual experience with this model.
http://www.cubcadet.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category2_10051_14101_1210164_33830_33830_-1_image
I worked for a power equipment repair company and we serviced these models sometimes.
We had a couple of them come in with transaxle engagement issues. IIRC, we just threw new transmissions in them as they were under warranty.
Other problems tend to be related to the electrical system and deck spindles (for blades). We replaced a lot of various safety switches on these and other MTD products all the time. The deck spindles are sealed and can wear out under hard use, common with all MTD products. Also, we put lots and lots of new carbs on the Briggs engines. We always kept those carbs in stock.
These aren't really indications of widespread problems, as all we saw was broken equipment. These did come in for repairs much less often than other MTD products, but that could be due to lower sales.
Personally, I'd look at used commercial mowers at that price point before settling on the Cub Cadet. You give up having a warranty, but you can gain a lot of nice heavy duty features like Kawasaki engines, Hydro Gear dual hydro transmissions, fabricated decks, greaseable deck spindles, etc. A lot of the commercial stuff is designed for quick in-field servicing too. Even though it's overkill, you get a mower that will last forever under homeowner use assuming it hasn't already been beaten to death commercially.
I think for home use though, these hold up fine, just be prepared for the usual MTD headaches. $1000 is the absolute bottom rung for this type of walk behind, so they cut costs wherever they can.