Which Lawn tractor: cub Cadet or Snapper

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Jeepman3071 is offering great advice. Some lawnmowers/lawn-tractors that are 10 years old will last another 10+ years. Especially old John Deere's.
 
Originally Posted by jeepman3071
How much are you looking to spend? I've recommended to many of my small engine customers to buy a lightly used heavier duty mower over a new box store mower. The box store mowers simply aren't built well enough and even with a warranty you have to jump through hoops. A friend recently bought a new Cub Cadet from Lowes about a year ago with the Kohler Courage engine (against my recommendation). He has had a few issues with it (surprisingly not engine related) and just to get Lowes to look at it to see if the issue is covered under warranty they charge a $75 diagnostic fee. If you don't have a trailer and they need to pick it up that is another $100. I told him I'd look at it, but he is on the other side of the state so he took it to them since it was under warranty. That was 2 weeks ago and they still have it but haven't been able to look at it yet because they are backed up (which by itself should tell you something).

Check around on Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, etc, and you can find some great deals on well cared for riders that people are selling because they are upgrading, have hired a service, or moving out of state. I have a few customers who have bought John Deere X-series tractors in excellent condition with hardly any use for a fraction of the price of new.

Good to know. I've been ogling the ones at Home Depot, use for 10 years, toss when done, that sort of justification. CL does have piles of mowers for $500 or so.
 
I too recommend avoiding any of the MTD variants of riding mowers. Doesn't matter if it's from Home Depot, Lowes, etc. They can be an OK mower for you if you have easy mowing and take care of it, but they are not forgiving machines.

The only exception (again my opinion) is the dealer grade Cub Cadet riders. Some of the higher end belt driven ones are decent as are the shaft drive Cubs. Problem is, you are in John Deere territory in terms of cost, so you might as well go green.

For lower cost riding mowers, I like anything Husqvarana group built. Don't confuse this with machines branded "Husky". Last I checked those were MTD.

Nothing against snapper, it's just that since Briggs bought them and Murray.. well the quality is awful Murray-ish to me. I've got a newer commercial grade Snapper 21" self propelled.
 
Originally Posted by jeepman3071
How much are you looking to spend? I've recommended to many of my small engine customers to buy a lightly used heavier duty mower over a new box store mower. The box store mowers simply aren't built well enough and even with a warranty you have to jump through hoops. A friend recently bought a new Cub Cadet from Lowes about a year ago with the Kohler Courage engine (against my recommendation). He has had a few issues with it (surprisingly not engine related) and just to get Lowes to look at it to see if the issue is covered under warranty they charge a $75 diagnostic fee. If you don't have a trailer and they need to pick it up that is another $100. I told him I'd look at it, but he is on the other side of the state so he took it to them since it was under warranty. That was 2 weeks ago and they still have it but haven't been able to look at it yet because they are backed up (which by itself should tell you something).

Check around on Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, etc, and you can find some great deals on well cared for riders that people are selling because they are upgrading, have hired a service, or moving out of state. I have a few customers who have bought John Deere X-series tractors in excellent condition with hardly any use for a fraction of the price of new.


I agree with this and will take it even farther. Used Honda water cooled or Kubota for the right discerning owner are something to consider. They last forever but of course not for everyone. Check CL, Offerup, ebay, etc. Do your homework, be patient, be willing to travel for the right deal.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by user52165


I agree with this and will take it even farther. Used Honda water cooled or Kubota for the right discerning owner are something to consider. They last forever but of course not for everyone. Check CL, Offerup, ebay, etc. Do your homework, be patient, be willing to travel for the right deal.


Those are excellent machines but the parts are expensive. They last forever and the Hondas are super quiet, but the last time I needed to find a part for one of those liquid cooled Hondas I had to order it straight from Japan through a Honda dealership and it was not cheap.
 
Being a dyed-in-the-wool John Deere guy, I've only owned a few other mowers over the years. I mow about 4-5 acres a week, so it's got to be a good mower. You've gotten some good advice. Stay away from el cheapo mowers, you'll never know the grief you've saved yourself.Of the more "budget" priced mowers, I'd go with Husqvarna. I had a 2010 27hp Briggs tractor with a fabbed mower deck. My neighbor, who is not real mechanical bought it and it threw a belt, it's a long story, not worth telling, but i bought it, put the "correct" pulley on it and never had a single problem with it mowing all day long for two or three years. When I got a chance to buy a really nice John Deere 425, I jumped on it and sold the Husqy to a local church which is still using it, I assume with no issues.
It all depends on your lawn, and how much you mow. If your lawn is flat, and small, almost anything will work, even an MTD. It's when they get hilly, and large that you need to look for more build quality. It amazes me that folks will buy a 5 acre piece of land that's hilly and try to mow it with a 12hp MTD that cost $750-1200 new and can't understand why the hydro didn't hold up. Those cheap hydros are fine for flat landers, but for us hill people, you gotta have something tough to mow all day in hot weather on hills.
 
I've got a 2012 model Cub Cadet RZT 42 with 22 horsepower Kohler engine that I bought new, and it's been a great mower. Only problems I've had are a blade hit a hickory root and broke a spindle, and welding up a hole in the deck from all the sand in my yard. I cut 3 acres a week during mowing season.

I've changed the oil twice a year using full synthetic 10w 30 oil, and only use ethanol free gas. The newer RZT mowers have much thicker decks, and I do wish mine was so equipped.
 
Originally Posted by RHALL
..The newer RZT mowers have much thicker decks, and I do wish mine was so equipped.


That's true for a lot of them.

Problem is, the hanging hardware and overall machine is about the same. The thicker gauge steel is nice and may not rust through as quickly though.

I too had a Cub Cadet Z-Force 44" ZTR back in 2010. I didn't care for the 44" fab'd deck on that machine. It had no smooth contours, so scraping it clean was a chore. It also bellowed out an obnoxious ROAR, clean ,dry or otherwise.

The stamped steel 44" on my 2005 model year Cub 2544 rider on the other hand was super quiet, easier to work on and I feel it gave a better cut.
 
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