Riding mower.

[jdc]

SNAPPER!

[Grateful11]

We've had a variety of riding mowers, first a Sears Craftsman GT6000, like an '89 model, tough as tank, moves dirt, snow, cow manure but was never much of a mower, terrible cut quality and shallow deck. Then there was a JD GT235 with a 48" probably the best cut quality of any mower we've ever had but no power steering. Then came a JD 425, more trouble with it than anymore than any mowers we've we've had, wiring harness came loose up inside the frame and the gear box on the mower deck smashed through so many wires the mower just quit moving, at least it was under warranty, then the power steering hydraulic cylinder piston fell off the cylinder rod inside the cylinder, try getting a 1100# rider back to the garage with no steering cylinder. JD wanted almost $400 for that cylinder, had to repaired for near nothing, the nut holding the cylinder piston didn't have enough Loctite on the threads to hold the nut on the cylinder rod. Sold it to a guy in MD on eBay. Then there was the JD LA130, we had it for 3 years, never missed a beat but our yard and my late FIL's yard is hilly and somewhat rough, the LA series now the D series are pretty light and no power steering. We sold the LA130 on Craigslist and got a good price for it. Now we have a JD X720 with power steering, hydraulic deck lift and shaft drive deck. Other than a few fuel related problems its been great other than it burns better than a gallon of gas per hour. I tried my best to get my wife to get the diesel X740 but she didn't want to smell it while mowing. She drives tractors ranging from 40-110hp so noot sure the diesel thing was all about, she's the main mower so what she says goes.

If your yard is flat and that small I would think the D series John Deere would suit you well. As far as servicing hydrostatic transmissions in that price range forget about unless you're going to pull the tranny and dump it out out or turn the rider upside down as there is no drain plugs in them. If you could find a lightly used GT235 or GT245 I think you would be doing well. Also an LX288 is a nice rider and was at one time consider the Cadillac of Lawn Tractors, not Garden Tractors that would be the JD 318 but 318's are starting to get some real age on them and unless you're good with repairs or get one that's been completely restored from the ground up I'd find something newer.

With that size lawn I'd stick with a 48" deck or smaller, a 54" would be ok but overkill.

Here's a database of nearly every lawn tractor ever made.
http://www.tractordata.com/lawn-tractors/index.html

This will give some idea of what's out there:

http://allentown.craigslist.org/fuo/3006335054.html

This is a nice one, it sold new for about twice this much:
http://boone.craigslist.org/grd/2984595339.html

http://frederick.craigslist.org/grd/2927899525.html

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/grd/2977662252.html

http://columbus.craigslist.org/grd/2954668311.html

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/grd/2993469309.html

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/grd/3006473263.html

[haikuman]

I personally would never consider a Club Cadet. Nor would I advise you to buy one.
Get a John Deer. I purchased new. You have to be careful when buying used me thinks.

[Grateful11]

Yep Cub Cadet has gone downhill ever since MTD bought them out.

[lafinfil]

MTD killed a lot of the old great names (Cub, Bolens, White, Troy-Built etc...) There is also a Cub 2000 & 3000 series that are only sold buy Cub Pro dealers and not the big boxes. The big box ones are basically MTD's with a little better build (not much)

Grateful11 - I'm still on the hunt for a 318 to restore one of these days. They are a thing of beauty, but even the beater ones still go for a pretty penny.

[OWC Jamie]

a 38 or 42 inch might be good enough for under a half acre, too especially if your shed door is only so wide.
one advantage to less horsepower (and you'll likely get by on a mostly flat lawn and not hauling trailer loads uphill) is if you hit something while mowing, especially something solid enough to stop you dead, you're more likely to stall a smaller motor out sooner and do less damage to the deck.