Craftsman vs John Deere

Thanks!

I firmly belive in JD's nice line of garden and compact tractors, those are really nice and would never wear out if well maintained and not abused, but I see you've already found out about the "nice" pricetag they have after reading one of your posts on the JD 455, but you gotta figure it would most likely be the last tractor you would ever have to buy if nothing happens to it, garage burns, stolen, etc... Of course for the cost of that one you could buy almost 4 craftsman lawntractors, but I belive the 455 has power steering, bigger platform and easier to get on and off, a diesel engine which should outlast a gasoline engine by a long shot, but watch those fumes, a bigger wider mower deck, a much more powerful engine, a greater variety of implements made for the tractor and I think possibly 3pt?, larger tires, a pto of some sort for attachments, etc... thats quite a few plusses and over the years, especially when you get older, some of those you would be thankful for.

Another big plus is deere dealers carry alot of parts and can get them right away if they don't have them, but of course green parts cost alotta green, but it would be worth it if say you were losing money by not being able to use the machine. I don't really know where sears stands on parts. I know the salesmen at our store don't seem to know a sparkplug from an oil filter and can't fix anything there, they send all their stuff away.

Duane.

If you're interested in the John Deere's quality but don't want to spend the money for the "GREEN" paint job take a trip to Home Depot. The Scott brand is manufactured by John Deere. It even has the decals to prove it. The Scott brand is an exact duplicate of the John Deere with the exception of two things. The paint job and price tag! I just purchased a Scott 17hp/42in on sale at Home Depot for $1,399. The same mower with green paint would have cost me over $2,000. These mowers are built to last! Steel frame, Heavy guage steel mower deck, INTEC motor and CAST IRON front axle! Just my 2 cents.

So my question remains: The Sears unit is $2600 and the JD is $3400. I am open to some intelligent discussion on specifics of how the JD is worth the extra money. Sears, in Hawaii, does a terrific job with service and repair, too. We just bought a 3-acre farm and the seller showed me his 8 yr old Craftsman garden tractor which which he's been mowing the fields twice a month for all those years. The machine showed little signs of any maintenance, was covered with rust, but still did the job. The owner told me that Sears was right out there with same day service for the duration of the 3 yr warranty to repair anything that went wrong, including belts, a battery, a tire, and tuneups! Since the expiration of the warranty, repairs were limited to a drive belt every year and a deck belt every other year.

I'm still open, though. I know all about how terrific the older JD machines were, but I need real-time input on what's available now. I'm willing to spend the extra money, but only if I am convinced it's worth while. I've heard, and it is plausible seeing as how everybody else is doing it, that JD has used its good name to promote its consumer line of lawn tractors, at the same time downgrading them to basic consumer quality. Any feedback on this?

I'm listening... Aloha!

I have a Craftsman 2000. I purchased it about 15 months ago. It is a decent unit. The features that you identified are why I bought it. The heavy gauge deck, rollers, greasable mandrels, Kohler engine etc. A couple of thoughts on the tractor. It is very comfortable to use, I mow about 2.5 acres with hills and some fairly rough terrain. The Kohler engine is a real jewel. It runs like a top. The mower deck does a nice job of mowing, provides an even cut and does a decent job of spreading the clippings. There are a couple of items that have been problematic. At about 20 hours of use the plastic discharge shield broke. Sears replaced it with a heavier better designed model. The nose roller didn't deal well with a small stump that I didn't see. The brackets were bent and the roller rendered useless. The ventilated mower deck attracts grass clippings in a hurry. If they are dry they can be removed easily with a leaf blower, however if they are damp you need to get under the unit and take them off by hand. The greasable mandrels are nice, however it is a little bit of a problem accessing the middle one. Very recently the deck lift lever starting acting up, I am making a service call to get that resolved. The unit is still under warranty. Also, I have had trouble at times with the drive belt coming off. Not a big deal to put it back on but a pain never the less. All in all I am satisified with the mower, I looked at almost everything out there and purchased this because of the price. Our Sears dealer can't keep mowers in stock. He sells several hundred each year. They have been good to deal with. My old tractor was a JD, and I would have purchased another but I was moving up in size and the thought of spending 4-5k was out of the question. I did not buy the hydro, most of my mowing is in large open spaces so I don't need to manuever in tight quarters. I paid $1,900. I do not bag clippings, I have a good friend who owns a hydro model and bags. He reports very good luck with that. His mower has been very reliable. Hope this helps.

Thanks!

I don't want to hear how good somebody'w 1965 JD tractor was/is; I know all about them. I am no stranger to old equipment, having had lots of it in years gone by. They don't make them like that any more. You cannot compare a new JD LT-180 lawn tractor to a 10 yr old JD tractor. They are not the same animal. JD now builds a consumer line of lawn tractors and I still would like to hear from somebody who really knows the specs and the facts just why it would be to my advantage to spend the extra money on a JD. I'll do it if somebody can convince me! I'm willing to come up with $3-4000 for a good lawn tractor that will handle 3 acres of mowing twice a month. I will not pay $5-6000 for a top-of-the-line anything, so let's compare apples and apples. The Sears machine, BTW, is $2600 here and teh JD-180 is over $3400.

Thanks for your time!

So my question STILL STANDS UNANSWERED after all these postings: In what specific ways is the JD LT-series lawn tractor better than the Sears DLT-2000? The DLT-2000 has a cast iron axle with spindle zerks, a 10 gauge steel deck with four gauge wheels mounted in very stout brackets, greasable deck mandrels, a 20 hp Kohler engine, a hydrostatic drive that I hear is mfgd by the same folks who make the one for JD, and last but not least, a plastic hood like the JD, which is fine here in Hawaii where at least that's one part that won't rust. It seems that a lot of teh guys knocking Craftsman equipment haven't looked at any of their newer high-end offererings. I've spent some time inspecting the JD mowers and I just can't find any mechanical differences worth noting. Now if that low-end JD only had a shaft drive . . .

Any answers?

Thank you!

Again, Let us know what you decide to get, and what your rational was in you decision... Thanks..

It boils down to three things: Parts, Service, Reliability.

I've owned nothing but Deeres. I have owned brand new units, and I have purchased used units. Parts are still available for 1963 John Deere 110s, with a few exceptions. That's nearly 40 years. I doubt that you'll find a 40 year old Craftsman and be able to find new parts for it through Sears.

Deere publishes service and parts manuals that are great. I've been able to do things myself, that without their manuals, I'd not want to attempt. Their dealer network is also well established, althogh some dealers are better than others. (But then some Sears stores are better than others.)

On average a John Deere lawn or garden tractor, will retain 48% of its purchase price after 4 years. A Craftsman loses about 50% of its value after two years. By the end of four years, its value is at about 25% of its original purchase price.

Follow your heart on this one. Buy the one you like the best, and enjoy. 100 years from now, it won't have made any difference anyway.

Dave