Sears Lawnmover

[daengmei]

Bought a new one last late August cause I was tired of rebuilding the carb on an older Husqvarna. I used the Craftsman twice last year and the second time this year it stopped running after about 100ft. Under warranty for 2 years from purchase, I only looked at the carburetor to see if it was starved of fuel...then off to the repair center. Finally after 3 weeks I get a automated call stating I will get store credit because of parts availability, pick up another. I have a coworker who says their mowers are **** and now I believe it.
So I want to know if you folks have any advice on which one(s) to get or not. I did like the new feature of all 4 wheels adjusting with one lever pull but I just don't want to borrow goats for ever.:kidding: I use a push mower, but the new one was self propelled 2 wheels.

[Freightman]

I have had a Craftsman mower for several years never had any problem with it, not saying there the greatest but as good as most. If you ck. you will find most are built in the same factory (not by Sears) neighbor has a Toro it is the exact copy of mine except the brand.

[lefty o]

the craftsman name, and quality isnt what it was 20yrs ago. pretty sad, but sears is on its way down the toilet.

[2wheelDuke]

I've been using a "Yard Man" one I picked up at Wally world several years ago now. It's got the standard Briggs motor, but it's not self propelled.

I do change the oil about every year, blade as necessary, plug and filter a couple times since I've owned it. It still starts on the first pull.

[garym1a2]

For a push mower get a "Push" mower, Spec Big back wheels and largest motor you can. Self propelled mower always have isues. The old style adjusters are much better than the common one that will fail.
My Chraftsman from 5 years ago is still running strong. The one before lasted 9 years.

[MBTcustom]

Where are you moving your lawn to?

Couldnt resist.

[daengmei]

Figures, only thing I liked will fail. Husqvarna has been given braces, the wheel mounting area wasted away, new blade and a new pull cord till the rebuild. I have to say nearly 8 years not much to fix. Maybe I can get them to dissolve the sale on the card...

[daengmei]

Where are you moving your lawn to?

Couldnt resist.

Anywhere I don't have to cut it!

[montana_charlie]

Sears Lawnmover
Bought a new one last late August cause I was tired of rebuilding the carb on an older Husqvarna. I used the Craftsman twice last year and the second time this year it stopped running after about 100ft.
How far did you need it to go?
Or, to use different words to ask the same question ...
When you fire up your lawnmover, how far away do you intend to move your lawn?

[Artful]

Most libraries subscribe to consumer reports - I'd go check on their testing/review.
http://www.newsnet5.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/consumer-reports-which-lawn-mower-is-worth-your-money-honda-troy-bilt-craftsman

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/06/many-top-self-propelled-mowers-use-same-blade-and-deck/index.htm

That Said I'm using an electric (B&D) and found it much less aggravating than gas. And part of that is the "Gas"
I get now has junk put in under .gov decree
that eats the plastic's.

Other links
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/lawn-garden/how-to/g146/best-lawn-mower-reviews/

http://gas-lawn-mower-review.toptenreviews.com/

http://www.mowersdirect.com/reviews/s4/self-propelled-lawn-mower-reviews

http://10rate.com/best-self-propelled-mowers-reviews/

http://www.simplyadditions.com/Article/Top-10-Self-Propelled-Lawn-Mowers-for-2012.html

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

how long does it take to mow your lawn? this is a more important question than most people think

[waynem34]

Always had pretty good luck with the briggs and stratton, That being said I add the fuel stabilizer in the winter. Had one mower last 15 years never changed the oil or cleaned the filter. I was young and dumb back then. If I would have done that I would probably be cutting with it today. I like the idea of the electric mower too. Try a reel mower haha.http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/185842/185842000231lg.jpg

[country gent]

We had an old Gravely power unit that had both a reel mower attachment and sickle bar attachment. A 3 horse Brigs motor on it . Bought used in the early 60s from a nieghbor Dad used it for trimmimg and rough work up into the 90s when the motor finaly gave up. It was self propelled and had a little 2 wheel cart to stand on if you wanted to ride. The sickle bar attachement would cut circles around rotary mowers of hte day. Dads had 4 "new" push mowers since that old gravely died. Maybe we need to put a new motor on it.

[daengmei]

Cut time close to 2 hours. Nearly 3 to trim everywhere. I stored the mower empty in the winter and used only premium gas. I have rebuilt too many weedeaters and chainsaws and see what the fuel does. Now those tools are from Stihl and I use their fuel only. I asked a couple of repair centers what they didn't see often and they say Stihl.

[Rick Hodges]

My Husky is 11 yrs old. I replaced the blade/plug and changed the oil and air filter for the 2nd time this spring. It is still going strong. Front wheel self propelled (assisted more than propelled) It does need new drive tires. It takes me an hour to an hour and a half to mow. It has a 6 3/4 hp Briggs motor. I use the enzyme treatment to combat the ethanol in the gas.

My next mower will be a Toro....perhaps a rider...dunno.

[mph911]

Still using the Lawnboy my Father bought in '85.

[MBTcustom]

Always had pretty good luck with the briggs and stratton, That being said I add the fuel stabilizer in the winter. Had one mower last 15 years never changed the oil or cleaned the filter. I was young and dumb back then. If I would have done that I would probably be cutting with it today. I like the idea of the electric mower too. Try a reel mower haha.http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/185842/185842000231lg.jpg

Are you saying you're not a reel man? ROFLMAO!!!
I gotta stay away from this thread. LOL!

[jonp]

We had a Craftsman push that my wife got when she worked at Sears for a couple of years. People would bring stuff back for whatever reason and they would sell it at clearance. Got a lawnmower for $50, a rototiller for $75 and a bunch of powertools brand new for next to nothing. The mower worked fine for a couple of years when she got a Cub Cadet 2166 off of a guy who had bought a zero turn. Paid $100 and it worked great for 6 yrs. finally put it into the shop to get the deck fixed and other stuff tuned. Came up to $200.

The Craftsmans worked fine for us. You can always get a lemon. The question is when you put it away for the winter did you treat the gas, pull the plug etc?

[MBTcustom]

Always had pretty good luck with the briggs and stratton, That being said I add the fuel stabilizer in the winter. Had one mower last 15 years never changed the oil or cleaned the filter. I was young and dumb back then. If I would have done that I would probably be cutting with it today. I like the idea of the electric mower too. Try a reel mower haha.http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/185842/185842000231lg.jpg

Are you saying you're not a reel man? ROFLMAO!!!
I gotta stay away from this thread. LOL!

Personally, I use a riding mower, but to be honest, I always enjoyed the lightest push mower I could get with a Briggs on top. Last one I bought was a Weedeater brand and it lasted for about 6 years and was going strong when I parked it.
FWIW.

[375supermag]

Hi...

I run a Cub Cadet 16hp riding mower here on the Estate.
I do use a Husqvarna self-propelled and a Sears self-propelled for trimming around the flower beds and the edge of the woodlot and wherever the Cub can't go.
The previous Yardman and Murray self-propelled units couldn't take the stress of mowing the steep banks and hills here on the Estate...they wore out in 2-3 years.
Of course, until 10 years ago, I mowed the entire Estate with self-propelled units. I really didn't need a riding mower until I turned 50 and the hills seemed to get steeper every month. Since my big bout with cancer three years ago, my son does 80-90% of the hills and banks around the Estate...missing part of my left lung has adversely affected my stamina for that sort of foolishness.
Our lawn mowing routine takes about 4-5 hours if we do it all at one time.

The Cub is about 10 years old...runs like new. The Husqvarna is about 7-8 years old and needs a little tune-up right now. That is my son's job.
I bought the Sears unit off of a friend as a back-up to the Husqvarna. It runs great...no idea how old it is...I've had it 2-3 years.

My son does the maintenance on all the mowers and power equipment around here. He took a small engine repair course his last year in high school and he is a big help in that regard as I get older. He tunes the engines, changes the oil, sharpens and/or replaces the blades, winterizes the engines, etc.

He does most of the maintenance on my vehicles as well. The older I get, the less interest I have in crawling under vehicles or turning wrenches on cars and trucks. He enjoys it and gets some useful experience at the same time. And, I get to practice my supervisory skills.

[TXGunNut]

I have had a Craftsman mower for several years never had any problem with it, not saying there the greatest but as good as most. If you ck. you will find most are built in the same factory (not by Sears) neighbor has a Toro it is the exact copy of mine except the brand.


That's right, most made by a company called MTD. Place called SEPW (Small Engine Parts Warehouse) sells most anything you need, just record your model # and serial #.

[wv109323]

I have a Troy-bilt 22 inch. It is self propelled with a Honda engine. It has been running strong for 8-10 years. I had to replace the blade as it was worn thin. We use it with a mulching blade.

[rockrat]

Grandad bought a lawn-boy when I was about 11. I inherited it when I was 33, and used it for a few years , then broke down and bought a riding lawn mower. Still have the lawn boy. still works even though its about 50 now. I do take care of it and know how to also.

[Huskerguy]

I wouldn't have anything but a Honda motor. When you say craftsman it can mean anything. I read that craftsman can have different motors. Just like Huskqvarna can have different motors including a Honda. Troy Build can have different motors including Honda.

I have an old Honda and it was purchased when my son was maybe a teen and he is 35 now. It never fails to start. The bag is finally wearing out and the wheels are starting to fall apart (plastic). Just bought my daughter a new mower this past weekend and we went with a Troy Built (slightly lighter than the Huskqvarna) with the Honda motor.

If you want something that will last a long long time go with Honda all the way. Best mower I have ever used.

[shoot-n-lead]

I like Hustler mower's and Kawasaki engines...the only mower/engine that I will buy.

[Frank46]

In the last 20 years I have gone through 3 craftsman riding lawn mowers. First one cracked the transmission and too much to fix. Sold that one for parts. Second one was running but have to rebuild the front end as it had an argument with a piece of pipe. Third is the newest on its second carbruator and starter. These mowers were used to cut 3.5 acres every two weeks. ear protection is a must. Now have a Kubota L3800 with a bushog on the back and that will only take a couple hours. Kept the old starter and will get the rebuild kit and keep it as a spare. Frank

[MaryB]

My 5 year old Craftsman rider is still going strong. Starts right away, runs good, only thing I have replaced is the battery. Has that Briggs single cylinder 21hp engine...

[Bad Water Bill]

I bought a SEARS EAGER ONE that would only start after inhaling a dose of either.

My son took it to the highschool shop where they completely rebuilt it including honing out the cylinder.

No it still refused to start unless it got a shot of go juice.

[Boyscout]

My Craftsman self-propelled mower lasted until just past warranty. The authorized repair shop called me to tell me it would cost double what I paid for it to repair. I told them to keep it. I bought my second Toro. It has lasted me about 15 years now. My first Toro went 13. One hour cutting a week Late March through October with intermittant leaf mulching and bagging in the late fall. A few repairs here and there nothing major.

[Bad Water Bill]

A little off topic but I bag all of my grass clippings and deposit them in my compost bins.

From there they are roto tilled into my garden.

After 40 years or so when I plant my tomato plants I install a 10' piece of thinwall tubing.

As the plant grows I tie it to the tubing for support.

I can not remember the last time that a plant did NOT measure at least 10' at the end of the growing season.

[FISH4BUGS]

One of my great pet peeves - three years ago I bought a Toro 22" recycler. Like BWB, I use it for mulching and put the clippings/leaves, etc in my compost which in turn goes into the garden.
But it says it has a "personal pace" which is a different way of saying self propelled.
BS on that!
Give me a self propelled that locks in to gear and all you do is control the throttle and guide it. Maybe a clutch so it can stop the self-propelled part. I can't find one of them anywhere any more.
Toro lies. Personal pace is pure BS. I get no help from this mower at all.....and that is after a $250 rebuild and tune up.
Toro is junk. Period.....and they lie in their advertising....other than that I have no strong feelings one way or the other.http://castboolits.gunloads.com/images/icons/icon7.png

[Tackleberry41]

Unfortunately anymore it doesn't really matter what you buy, its the same mower. MTD makes pretty much everything like that, they just put different names on them. Went thru this couple years ago buying a riding mower. Thinking ok well if I go here its better, no their all MTD made. John Deere, Cub Cadet, what ever it might say on the side. You can buy a snapper apparently thats still made by them. I take very good care of my stuff, and lawnmowers still fall apart. Gets old buying something so expensive every so often because often its more to fix them than their worth.

I have enough land that it was worth it to invest in a proper tractor with a bush hog. Got rid of my Troy bilt riding mower, hadn't had any issues with it...yet. At $1200 it wasn't exactly cheap, but a pretty flimsy thing. So its the bush hog for most of it, a cheap push mower to get what it can't. Its a flimsy *** that push mower, cheap bolens brand. Call it the cow as it chews more than it cuts, stop unclog it every so often, bolts rattle out of it. But not any worse than a higher priced one my mom had bought, be using it and the handles or wheels would fall off again, bolts rattled out of it, was tempted to weld them on.

Your not supposed to buy a mower and use it for 20 years anymore, not a very good business model. Designed to fail so you can buy another one every so often.

[Riverpigusmc]

I've used a Weedeater brand mower from Walmart for 10 years now. Green, big back wheels. Change the oil, clean the air filter every year, replace plug as needed. Paid 100 bucks for it new. Reckon I've been lucky

[dakotashooter2]

I have had pretty decent luck with craftsman. That said, unless you get into a commercial grade mower most of them made now days, any brand, are "disposable". Finding the right parts for a craftsman can be a real chore because they have 100 different models (probably because of engines, as someone stated, plus the Kali compliant models). My uncle does small engine repair and just repaired 2 brand new Huskvarnas (one was a $1000 model). Both had plastic carbs and both had the same problem, The factory didn't get all the drilling debris out of the carb and it clogged the ports. He figures he will get them back in about 2 years when the carbs have dissolved because of the fuel...... FWIW the majority of his work on anything he fixes is carb problems due to crappy fuel.

[jcwit]

I live in town and have a very small lawn. I've fought with single cylinder motors both 4 cycle and 2 cycle. Years ago I went to B & S, Lawnboy, Kohler, Clinton "remember those?", repair schools.

This year I gave up, bought an electric powered mower, weighs less than 30 lbs, and cost $70 bucks new, even has a clippings catcher. Takes me less than 1/2 hour to mow the yard, and I'm not going to have a heart attach yanking on the starter cord.

Do I have to step over the cord? YUP, that I do, but I don't have to run get gas when I discover the can empty 1/2 through getting done either.

[Motor]

My Craftsman push mower was a "house warming gift" from my dad. That was 2 houses and about 13 years ago. The deck has a spot where it has rusted through.

This spring we wheeled it out from under the back porch. I showed my son how to check the oil them showed him the pre-starting routine. It, even to my surprise, started first pull. Needless to say I have no complaints. :)

Of course I use Stabil in all my fuel for gasoline powered equipment.

Motor

[daengmei]

I got a recorded call that I was given store credit for another mower, parts availability or something. Got another to "test". I hope this one lives longer.

[blackthorn]

10 years before I retired we had a 75x130 foot lot with a 1600 square foot house, all the rest grass. We got an electric mower because Gail said she would cut the grass and we thought that mower would be light enough for her to push. We found it was not. A friend who worked for a moving company gave me an old Sunbeam electric mower that someone had abandoned at his workplace. It is light and we used it for the ten years we lived at that house and we brought it here to Kamloops when we moved. It is now used for cutting the bank and places the ride-on will not go and it still does its job! It has been abused by hitting rocks, wood branches and lots of other stuff that was hiding in the long grass here. I even knocked the corner off one blade making the mower look like it had the "hebe jebees". My solution was to turn it upside down and grind the opposing blade to the same configuration. At that time I also took a dremel with a stone and sort of sharpened the blade. It just keeps on going!!!

[Mtnfolk75]

What is a lawn ..... ?

LOL, I guess I have lived in the mountains too long. I bought a Brand New 1200 Sq. Ft house in 1984 & promptly bought a $500 Craftsman Front Throw. 2 years later I got transferred to the desert, decided to live in the mountains and commute. Gave my $500 mower to my youngest brother and never looked back ..... Natural landscaping among the Aromatic Cedars is much nicer that a lawn.

[popper]

Gave up trying to clean the stihl weedeater carb this year, got an ehco. It did run for 4 years or so, given to me by SIL who didn't want to fix it. When I was a kid dad got an electric, sunbeam I think. Motor burnt out so he replaced it with a BIG elec. motor and converted to belt drive. It would chop anything you fed it but I hated the cord and no grass catcher - blue grass needs to be picked up and I don't like raking. When it finally quit or he got too old to push it he got one of the sunbeam twin blade ones. Gave the toro to the son & got the Honda with the plastic deck, maybe 10 yrs ago, still starts first pull. I understand when the trans? goes, get another. I used WD40 for starter fluid till they changed the recipe. Especially on the old lawnboy 2 stroke.

[TXGunNut]

MTD makes pretty much everything like that, they just put different names on them. Went thru this couple years ago buying a riding mower. Thinking ok well if I go here its better, no their all MTD made. John Deere, Cub Cadet, what ever it might say on the side. You can buy a snapper apparently thats still made by them. I take very good care of my stuff, and lawnmowers still fall apart. Gets old buying something so expensive every so often because often its more to fix them than their worth. -Tackleberry41

IIRC that's only partly true. The mowers sold in department stores and big box home improvement stores are for the most part MTD products built to the specs of John Deere, Cub Cadet or whoever. The top of the line products sold at the John Deere or Cub Cadet dealers are a but different, or so I hear. My Cub Cadet is a Home Depot special but still a cut above (pun intended) the no-name riding mower it replaced. I have learned that name brands make a difference even in lawn mower parts. That Cub Cadet deck drive belt is head and shoulders above the standard MTD belt, well worth the extra money.

[Dhammer]

I won't ever own anything with the craftsman name. A while back their CEO said they could lower quality on their products and people would still buy because of the craftsman name. That's exactly what they did.

I bought the craftsman push mower with biggest engine they had. It was a joke!!!! Had 30yr old mowers that ran better and harder. Sears had my weedwhacker three times and were never able to fix it!!! Put it together backwards gas lines, missing screw etc.

FYI, Local JD dealer back in midwest refused to carry the JD lawn tractors because he said they were garbage. He'd switch over to another brand on his farm tractors etc if JD gave him anymore grief. He wouldn't sell something he didn't believe in. The only difference between the one and the MTD was they swapped colors from yellow to green to green to yellow on the body pannels. I don't recall model.

I had the unfortunate experience having to deal with mtd on a snowblower. No one knew what they were doing in customer service or their tec part. Finally went to a snowblower shop who helped me get part numbers. Told me, he loves MTD. They are his number one small engine equipment they get in for repairs.
He said usally after 2nd or third time he ends up selling person one of brands he carries and has a customer for life.
After over a month of not getting parts I needed I called MTD and inquired since I knew they were in stock. I got a bunch of F bombs dropped at me. Local shop sad that's not surprising.

[TXGunNut]

For MTD parts I deal with SEPW, excellent online catalogs with factory parts diagrams, decent prices and quick & reasonable shipping.

[Lloyd Smale]

yup there tools now come from china. Used to be one of those American you can count on it type of companys.
the craftsman name, and quality isnt what it was 20yrs ago. pretty sad, but sears is on its way down the toilet.

[Petrol & Powder]

When it comes to consumer / homeowner type mowers everything is a bit suspect these days. They are all trying to hit a price point. There's nothing wrong with that as long as you go into that process with your eyes open. Within a price range there is little difference between the manufactures other than color.
Some models cut quality to get the price down a little more but overall there's no big jump in quality until you leave the consumer grade market and step up to commercial grade equipment.
Surprisingly to many, the engines are often the most reliable part of the mower! It is usually the decks, spindles and related items that fail most often. Even the old flathead Briggs & Stratton gave decent service and the new OHV engines are very good. Kawasaki has claimed the throne for most of the upper end homeowners & all of the commercial markets.
If you get past all of the plastic, thin sheet metal, colors and look at what you're actually buying you can make a better decision and compare apples to apples.

It is very difficult to justify the expense of a commercial grade mower that will last twice as long as a consumer grade machine when the commercial grade costs 4 times what a consumer grade machine costs. It is difficult for some of us to look at machinery as disposable but economically sometimes you have to.

[dragon813gt]

If you can afford one buy a Honda. They are far from cheap but are well made. The engine is going to most likely outlast the metal deck.

I have a reel mower as my yard is rather small. But I can't use it. It's cuts grass extremely well. The problem is the weeds. Maybe it's jus the variety in my yard but it doesn't cut them well. Going over them four to five times is an exercise in futility.

[Petrol & Powder]

Honda does make a good small engine.

[alamogunr]

I've had a Craftsman w/Honda engine for about 5 years now. Always starts first pull. I can tell that the self-propelled mechanism is going to fail first. When that happens, I'll hire one of the local lawn services to mow my yard. I've never liked yard work anyhow.

[Elkins45]

The EPA killed the best mowers. I have to push mow a really steep hillside, and nothing does it better than a 2-cycle Lawn Boy. 4-cycle engines die from oil starvation on steep hills.

Unfortunately you can't buy them anymore because of emissions regulations. I dread the day when I can't fix the one I have.

[kweidner]

Had the craftsman 3000gt "lawn tractor". Bought it 2008 sleeve hitch and all the attachments for my garden. Was gonna sell the big international then. and try gardening with it. By year two I was welding on it. The 25hp Kohler pro never failed to start or run. The steering linkage broke in year two, I put two decks under as they are junk. Finally sold the big international last year and this year the craftsman. Bought the sub compact Kubota deisel with FEL, belly mower and tiller for my garden. Why oh why I didn't do that in 2008 I will never know. kubota cuts better than the 3000gt ever thought about, is queiter, stronger and because it sits so high, i don't get dirty when I cut. It can easily get into anywhere the craftsman could even with FEL. My cut time has decreased 200 percent and I can do my garden with it. Win Win. Hope I feel like this in 20 years.

[MaryB]

And cheesy things like needing to use a bungee cord on the hood of my Craftsman to keep it from flipping forward then bouncing off... It has a few dents from when I ran over it the first time it happened. Bungee cord came out immediately! Same for this skid plate piece of tin foil under the front axle. It is mangled from mowing into tall brush.


When it comes to consumer / homeowner type mowers everything is a bit suspect these days. They are all trying to hit a price point. There's nothing wrong with that as long as you go into that process with your eyes open. Within a price range there is little difference between the manufactures other than color.
Some models cut quality to get the price down a little more but overall there's no big jump in quality until you leave the consumer grade market and step up to commercial grade equipment.
Surprisingly to many, the engines are often the most reliable part of the mower! It is usually the decks, spindles and related items that fail most often. Even the old flathead Briggs & Stratton gave decent service and the new OHV engines are very good. Kawasaki has claimed the throne for most of the upper end homeowners & all of the commercial markets.
If you get past all of the plastic, thin sheet metal, colors and look at what you're actually buying you can make a better decision and compare apples to apples.

It is very difficult to justify the expense of a commercial grade mower that will last twice as long as a consumer grade machine when the commercial grade costs 4 times what a consumer grade machine costs. It is difficult for some of us to look at machinery as disposable but economically sometimes you have to.

[higgins]

My son still does the trim work with a 20" Craftsman mower with Tecumseh engine that I bought in spring of 1979. No special treatment, just change the oil occasionally and use fuel stabilizer.

I have a Craftsman/Tecumseh self-propelled mower circa early-80s that is on its second deck and drive mechanism. Years ago the drive mechanism locked up, but I found an identical mower someone had abandoned to a repair shop because the crankshaft was bent after hitting something. The shop owner took $10 for the mower, so I put my engine on the damaged mower's deck and it would still run if I would clean the carburetor.

After I figured out that the old Craftsman/Tecumseh mowers were so durable, I started accumulating a few of them that people left at the convenience center when they got a new mower. I got several of them running with nothing more than a carburetor cleaning; not even a rebuild kit or gaskets, etc. The carburetors seem to always be the problem, and they're easy to fix with carburetor cleaner and small copper wires to clean out the passages.

[Fishman]

Had the craftsman 3000gt "lawn tractor". Bought it 2008 sleeve hitch and all the attachments for my garden. Was gonna sell the big international then. and try gardening with it. By year two I was welding on it. The 25hp Kohler pro never failed to start or run. The steering linkage broke in year two, I put two decks under as they are junk. Finally sold the big international last year and this year the craftsman. Bought the sub compact Kubota deisel with FEL, belly mower and tiller for my garden. Why oh why I didn't do that in 2008 I will never know. kubota cuts better than the 3000gt ever thought about, is queiter, stronger and because it sits so high, i don't get dirty when I cut. It can easily get into anywhere the craftsman could even with FEL. My cut time has decreased 200 percent and I can do my garden with it. Win Win. Hope I feel like this in 20 years.

I bought my Kubota tractor 13 years ago new and it works just as well today. The subcompacts are so much better than any of the box store "garden tractors" that they can't even be reasonably compared. That said, most people don't need that level of capability to mow their grass.