Zero Turn Cub Cadet Worth buying?

[HotRod Hudson]

I was at HD today & saw the 42” Cub Cadet Zero Turn mower for $2400. Seemed like a heck of a buy but I don’t know much about them. About 18 years ago I had a 42” JD zero turn & loved it but it was sold with the old house.

 

[MParr]

No

 

[Rand]

For a flat yard probably not too bad. just keep in mind if the hydros get a problem its probably scrap time.

I prefer more expensive models that are fixable and worth fixing.

 

[cptbarkey]

On HD's site it looks like one is a Kohler 7000, and the other is a Kawasaki. Thats a bit off the asking price, if it was the Kawasaki I would consider it a pretty ok deal. Unfortunately all the areas I mow require a tractor due to rocks, ruts and obstacles so I doubt i'll ever see a ZT unless a Kubota comes up on auction.

 

[GMBoy]

I am not a fan of box store mowers as they are not as durable as the same units purchased at the actual dealer such as a JD or CC. They are lighter duty home use. I own a Bad Boy zero turn and the build quality and thickness of all the steel is 100x better then anything at Home Depot or Lowes. I did not pay much more overall but got a better unit for sure. I mow 5 acres with it and it's 5 yrs old and all I've done is regular maintenance and 1 set of belts as a preventative measure. The nearest neighbor has a cub cadet from HD and in the 2nd year the mower deck split and had to be welded as it is thin metal. If you truly are just using it for light duty use and not much land then it will probably do you well. I have some ditches and uneven spots and the additional acres that mandated a better mower for me. Before getting this zero turn I went thru 2 Home depot lawn tractors (one JD and one Husqvarna) - the decks and frames didn't last.

 

[The_Eric]

I have a customer with one (has the Kawasaki engine) and my main complaint is the EZT hydros (non serviceable unless removed) and the mower blades. They are tinky thin little light gauge pieces that do not tolerate FOD, let alone any kind of abuse. And for as cheaply made as they are, they're stupid expensive.

As others have said, if you have a nice flat and well cared for lawn that is less than an acre, it'll do okay for you.

 

[jeepman3071]

I have a hard time recommending Cub Cadet or any of the other MTD brands.

 

[SHOZ]

My neighbor got a three blade one last year with 24 or so hp Kawi motor. It's all engineered just like the John Deere Z320m frame, mountings. I would suggest they look like they are made in the same factory but don't know. Only thing different are the gas tank and floor pan and the way things attach. He has about a 1/3 of an acer and gets done in about 20 minutes.