The Death of my Lawn Tractor-Not for the faint of heart

[SUPERUNDERDOGGIE]

So.....in March when we bought our house I picked up a 15-20 year old Craftsman riding mower from a neighbor for $80...quite a steal right?

Well, it worked beautifully every week since until a couple weeks ago. I guess I left the starter in the "intermediate" position and drained the battery. No biggie, I jumped the mower and it worked fine. When I tried it the next week it was dead, so I went to SEARS and bought a new battery and installed it.....it wouldnt' start.

So....I take it to the local outdoor equipment place and they tell me the air intake valve has come out of the block and that you can't fix it.....$800 for a new block.

I'm perplexed.....how did that happen? They asked me if I wanted them to dispose of it and I said no...please bring it back to me. (I didn't want them scalping parts off my tractor for free...especially the new battery I paid $50 for.) So they bring it back to me...in pieces. Huh?

So.....now I'm in the market for a new Lawn Tractor. Of course, I can't get any 'ol Lawn Tractor because if I fail to spend more than I make then I just wouldn't be able to get into debt fast enough.

So....I'm thinking of the new Cub Cadet i1050 Lawn Tractor. Anyone have any experience with that?

Anyone know if my 20 year old Craftsman is really broken?

[Hulk]

Exercise Dan...

[thunderbolt]

can't you take craftsman stuff back to Sears??

[Bizarro Amy]

Buy a goat

[theantiquetiger]

Just remember, you get what you pay for!! Shop around. Cadet is made by Home Depot or Lowe's, isn't it? The difference between a good mower or a great mower may only be $500 or so, but it pays in the long run.

As for the Craftsman, if you have any mechanical skills, you could probably fix it yourself. Lawnmower motors are pretty easy to work on, especially an old one like that. The $800 they quoted, how much of that was labor? These fix-it-places charge ALOT of money per hour to fix something because it takes no time to fix it.

[Adam West]

The problem with riding mowers is they charge mechanics rates to do work as well as pick up/drop off fees. Just a tune-up can set you back $200 or more just for routine maintenance when a nice brand new mower is no more than $2,000.

I like Cub Cadets and highly recommend them. I have a 1000 series model that has worked wonderfully. The 1000i series looks great...don't know if I'd pay the extra money for the zero turning radius but that's just me.

I previously had a Cub Cadet that I purchased for about $800 (it was a $3,000 model) and barely used. Worked great and found a local guy who did routine maintenance at a reasonable price. A few years later it starts conking out on me as though it was overheating and then would shut off and then rerun once it cooled off. The local guy said he thought it was a bad some kind of coil but just a guess and took it in to be serviced. He brings it back, says he replaced the coil and to pay him for the coil if it solved the problem since he "replaced it without asking". To make a long story short, it conks out again, I say forget it I'm getting a new Cub Cadet.

While I'm looking at them I overhear a guy asking about my model which they don't make anymore. I tell him I have one that is bad but if he wants to look at it and haul it we can work on a deal. I sell it to him for $250, he takes it and calls me with a warning never to return to the person working on my tractor.

Basically, this person placed the wrong size spark plug in (I guess he was too lazy to go out and get the proper one) which burnt the coil (which he never replaced like he said). Once the guy replaced the coil and spark plug it worked like a charm. Definitely taught me a lesson on that one.

[SUPERUNDERDOGGIE]

Guys,

I just ran up to the "Tractor Supply Company" ready to drop several grand on the Cub Cadet.....but they don't deliver....so I had to start home empty handed.

So....on my way home I pass a really old Western Auto store with a bunch of used tractors all over the field next to it and I remember that another neighbor told me that was a good place to take them for repair...so I stop.

I talk with the guy who fixes them and he tells me you can just bang the air intake valve in with a hammer and that he can fix it easily....they can also pick it up and drop it off round trip for $24.

So....they are coming to get it tomorrow. I'll try this one more time. So far, I've paid $200 for my Craftsman riding mower. ($80 to buy....$40 for pickup/dropoff at the first place....$40 for the first place to look at it....and $40 or so for the Battery from SEARS.)

Let's see how much I have in this thing before I'm done. If he can fix it for under $100 I'll still feel like I got a sweet deal.....if not.....Ouch. I'm getting a Cub Cadet!

:-)


By the way...Adam...that's interesting about that guy....that's cool of him to give you the head's up on your repairman. Did he say anything about you buying it back from him?
__________________________________________

Exercise Dan...

Paul...clearly you have no idea how lazy I am.

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

I love the ending of that story...it will be handy to have that guy who fixes em around...hope it works out and you can get to keep your ol favourite...

[Adam West]

I hope everything works out.

He sounds like he fixes lawn tractors the way I fix tv sets but some of these guys that do work like this know how to fix things cheaply.

The mechanics don't want to bother. They want to rip the whole thing apart, replace everything, and charge you in repairs what a new tractor would cost.

[SUPERUNDERDOGGIE]

So....My Lawn Tractor came home today from the new doctor......totally healed!

You mean I really don't need to spend $800 to fix it or impose on the nice people at the first repair shop to "dispose" of it (along with my brand new $40+ Battery from Sears) for me?

Nope....tractor fixed for the low, low price of......$80 bucks....including pick up and delivery right to my door.

I'm a happy camper.

:-)
__________________________________________

So....My Lawn Tractor came home today from the new doctor......totally healed!

You mean I really don't need to spend $800 to fix it or impose on the nice people at the first repair shop to "dispose" of it (along with my brand new $40+ Battery from Sears) for me?

Nope....tractor fixed for the low, low price of......$80 bucks....including pick up and delivery right to my door.

I'm a happy camper.

:-)

By the way, he even sharpened my blades for me....woot!

[batmanmc]

yes a happy ending. i love ahppy endings.

[palitoy]

I have never experienced such a thing, totally jealous.