Need opinions on a new riding lawn mower

[Jdeere562]

That statement is not true. The John Deere that are sold at the box stores are John Deere and not some rebranded model.

The Deere mowers sold at box stores, are not the same quality as ones bought at the Dealerships.
Been 20 years since I worked with Deere, so I forget the differences.

When you need that mower in busy spring and need warranty work done, that is a different story.
Guess whos mower was repaired first at the Dealership? One we sold or the one bought in the box store?
Plus we offered free pickup and delivery. Box mowers were pushed back in repairs for idle time.

Couple $100 was worth buying from a Dealer. If you wanted a cheap mower, just go buy an MTD or Craftsmen mower.
Good luck for parts and service.

 

[TomYoung]

The Deere mowers sold at box stores, are not the same quality as ones bought at the Dealerships.
Been 20 years since I worked with Deere, so I forget the differences.

When you need that mower in busy spring and need warranty work done, that is a different story.
Guess whos mower was repaired first at the Dealership? One we sold or the one bought in the box store?
Plus we offered free pickup and delivery. Box mowers were pushed back in repairs for idle time.

Couple $100 was worth buying from a Dealer. If you wanted a cheap mower, just go buy an MTD or Craftsmen mower.
Good luck for parts and service.

You will need to do a little better than that. The S120 model, which meets the needs of the poster, is at Home Depot and on the John Deere website. It is not differentiated and has the same model number, cutting deck, engine etc. It is the same item. I don't have any problems with going to the dealer, but would not want to operate on some incorrect and outdated notion of a quality deficit on the big box product lines.

 

[Jdeere562]

You will need to do a little better than that. The S120 model, which meets the needs of the poster, is at Home Depot and on the John Deere website. It is not differentiated and has the same model number, cutting deck, engine etc. It is the same item. I don't have any problems with going to the dealer, but would not want to operate on some incorrect and outdated notion of a quality deficit on the big box product lines.

No idea on today's difference. Been 20 years since I worked there. As I recall, some of them were plastic bushings, instead of actual bearings on the Deere. Take your Home Depot mower back there, when it needs repair and see what you get. I have no skin in the game. They will refer you to a Deere Dealer. And as stated before, your mower WILL be at the bottom on the repair list.

Raise all the stink you want, the Service Manager will just tell you to return it to where you bought it.
Get what you pay for sometimes.

 

[Exhaustgases]

That statement is not true. The John Deere that are sold at the box stores are John Deere and not some rebranded model.

Right on, the only difference is you can go to the JD dealer and pay more for it.

 

[Exhaustgases]

The Deere mowers sold at box stores, are not the same quality as ones bought at the Dealerships.
Been 20 years since I worked with Deere, so I forget the differences.

When you need that mower in busy spring and need warranty work done, that is a different story.
Guess whos mower was repaired first at the Dealership? One we sold or the one bought in the box store?
Plus we offered free pickup and delivery. Box mowers were pushed back in repairs for idle time.

Couple $100 was worth buying from a Dealer. If you wanted a cheap mower, just go buy an MTD or Craftsmen mower.
Good luck for parts and service.

Maybe in the old days of the plastic transmissions, but at least since 2021 the box store ones are the exact same as the ones in the JD dealers, just go check and look at all the numbers on them parts etc. box store warrantys are done at the JD dealer not the box store.
You go to the dealer to buy parts for them. All this "Box store" BS is just that BS.

 

[walterjay]

Right on, the only difference is you can go to the JD dealer and pay more for it.

Home Depot and John Deere dealerships are identically priced. I think JD prohibits price cutting

 

[Jdeere562]

Home Depot and John Deere dealerships are identically priced. I think JD prohibits price cutting

20 years ago, a Dealer could sell at any price they wanted. Just could not advertise at a lower point.

 

[Tdbo]

I don't think that it is the "best solution," but certainly appreciate the economical approach to repairing plastic.

It certainly works for people who have the problem, I picked up this idea on one of the Deere forums that I frequent.
It certainly beats three bills plus for a new hood.
It certainly presents much nicer than some of the other "Redneck" approaches for repair, in that you don't see it unless the hood is up.
And, as you said, it is an economical approach to repairing plastic.

 

[Tdbo]

For those that have JD X series or older with plastic hoods... After years of experience with them here is how you can help prevent cracking them. A large majority of the time the cracking starts in the middle top part of the hood when people pull up on them. Instead of pulling up hard in the middle of the hood, do this: From the seat, gentle pull up on the bottom of each side of the hood to pops it up, once it is "unlocked" then dismount and pull up in the middle.

This does help. This is the process that I have always used.
That is why the crack in my hood is only about 5" instead of 2'.
However, if it is old enough or one has it long enough, it is going to crack.
One can basically make book on that.
It's a design feature.

 

[SHOZ]

I went from a front mower JD F510 to a zero turn belly mower JD Z320m. The zero is turn a lot different mowing and some good some bad. The front mow is great for trimming but not so much the wide open spaces. The zero turn is made for wide open spaces speed wise and can cut pretty good fast if your kidneys can take it. Traction on the zero turn is not the best, and on inclines you can get into the position of only one way out plants be darned. The zero turning too is not always the best as it will tear up the grass. Still three point is best.

The front mow issue was slow and when you turn at full speed the cutting deteriorates due to blade time over the swept area being reduced. It had most excellent backing up a hill traction though. Most certainly built the old way from JD at 750 lbs vs the zero turn at 450. The zero turn can't hardly haul anything either, 150 lbs limit. I haul 1000 lbs with the F510

 

[SHOZ]

Home Depot and John Deere dealerships are identically priced. I think JD prohibits price cutting

JD parts no matter where you get them are all the same price as the dealer if new. I get OE belts and minor OE parts from eBay or Amazon. But the dealer is close too and usually has what I need in stock. The 24 year old F510 may take some special ordering if you want new parts.

 

[Tdbo]

Home Depot and John Deere dealerships are identically priced. I think JD prohibits price cutting

Absolutely.

I know that when I shopped the box store models, they were the exact same price at the dealer then they were at HD and Lowes.
The only difference that I noted was that the box stores were more apt to do promos on them, such as throw a "Free" cart in with a purchase, or throw some promo financing on them.

To me, if I am going to pay a premium price for a product, I want a premium product, and the experience that that entails.
The vast majority of what is offered at the big box stores are made to compete with the "MTD" grade equipment.
So, if that is what I aspire to have, why pay the premium for green paint? I'll just buy the MTD.

Why would I want to pay the premium price knowing that if I God forbid, have a problem with it, that I have the joy of taking it to the Deere dealership, where I more than likely will be treated like a second class citizen, and will be placed in the second queue of the "Back of the line." This happens. I know people this has happened to.

Deere actually had the right idea when they had their "Sabre" line and a line that was sold under Scotts branding. Both were branded "by John Deere." That differentiated grade of product, and did not create unrealistic expectation for the consumer.
However having units that look like "Mini Me's" in the big box stores create unrealistic expectations. The average box store buyer does not understand the difference between a LT or a GT, or the differences in motors, or what the difference is between an a K46 transmission and a K66 for instance. All they know is that it is Green, says JD on it, and then take it home and work the machine beyond its capabilities, with poor results.

When I bought both of the Deeres that I have owned over the years, I went to the dealer. The first one I owned was a STX 38. I could have come very close to this unit with one of the Sabre/Scotts units, but I wanted easy access to service. When I bought my second, I went to a dealer. He asked what my use of it was and I told him. He walked me over to a LA series. I told him not interested, and that I wanted an X300 (these are dealer only units.) He couldn't understand why I would spend the extra money until I said if I am going to pay the Deere premium, I want Deere quality. I still am happy with the purchase 17 years later.

 

[SHOZ]

Back in '99 I went to my local JD dealer and told them I wanted a F510. They would not order it. I asked why and they said they didn't want to get stuck with it when I traded it back in. I went over to a Indiana JD dealer and got one fresh off the factory line delivered 4 days later.

Just found the receipt today. $4700.00 for the F510 in '99 The Z320m was $4000 in '23

 

[TomYoung]

No idea on today's difference. Been 20 years since I worked there. As I recall, some of them were plastic bushings, instead of actual bearings on the Deere. Take your Home Depot mower back there, when it needs repair and see what you get. I have no skin in the game. They will refer you to a Deere Dealer. And as stated before, your mower WILL be at the bottom on the repair list.

Raise all the stink you want, the Service Manager will just tell you to return it to where you bought it.
Get what you pay for sometimes.

Why would any dealer turn away work?

 

[userfriendly]

Why would any dealer turn away work?

Because they are booked solid for the next 90 days working on million dollar farm machinery?

 

[jeepman3071]

Why would any dealer turn away work?

I actually take in a lot of dealer "turn aways". Our local power equipment dealers have a base price of $175 for a tune-up, and $70/hour labor rate not including parts. They have a 3 month back log last time I heard. It is a waste of time for them to do a diagnosis on an older machine that the customer likely won't want to pay the bill on, especially something small like a chainsaw that isn't under warranty but will still take several hours to take apart and repair. Most won't even work on the box store machines, or will give you the "I don't want to work on this" price estimate.

 

[jeepman3071]

Maybe in the old days of the plastic transmissions, but at least since 2021 the box store ones are the exact same as the ones in the JD dealers, just go check and look at all the numbers on them parts etc. box store warrantys are done at the JD dealer not the box store.
You go to the dealer to buy parts for them. All this "Box store" BS is just that BS.

This is only partially true.

They do sell the same models found in the box stores at the Deere dealerships, the "100 series" aimed at the lower end consumer market, but the dealer is the only place you can find the X-series and better built machines. An S140 at Home Depot is the same as the S140 at the dealer, but you won't find an X570 at Home Depot.

 

[wpod]

Because they are booked solid for the next 90 days working on million dollar farm machinery?

I live in an area with lots of ag still and 2 years ago my neighbor was looking for a tractor so I went to the Deer dealer with him. Million dollar machines is spot on.. The huge tractors and Combines are pricy , small tractors are pricy . They are all fun to sit in.

 

[wavinwayne]

I made a mistake in my earlier post about my old JD LA110 from 2007. I said I got it from Home Depot, but I remembered that I actually got it from Lowe's. Also Lowe's must have had some arrangement with the local JD dealer at the time because the mower was sold with a sticker from the local JD dealer prominently placed on the back of the mower.

 

[jeepman3071]

I made a mistake in my earlier post about my old JD LA110 from 2007. I said I got it from Home Depot, but I remembered that I actually got it from Lowe's. Also Lowe's must have had some arrangement with the local JD dealer at the time because the mower was sold with a sticker from the local JD dealer prominently placed on the back of the mower.

We bought a G110 from Home Depot in 2005, and same thing it had a sticker on the back advising us to take it to the local Deere dealer for service and warranty.