lawn mowers

I notice in the auction time magazine that there seems to be some jd dealers that put some of their used inventory up for auction in fall. I'm wondering if any of them would be a good buy and which letters to look for in the model.

How big of a yard do you want to mow??

What type of mower do you like?? Rider? Zero turn?

What price range do you want to stay in??

How new/low of hours do you want to keep under???

Meaning a better quality mower will be higher if they are the same age and have about the same hours of use. You can go a little older on the better models and keep the price about the same as the lower quality mower that are newer.

Some general knowledge:

The LA100 series offered at the box stores and JD dealers are NOT the HIGH quality mowers that share the same name. They are in the same class as Craftsman, Huskee, and etc. The only BETTER thing about the JD LA series would be parts are easier to get.

The next step up is the X300 series. This equal to the older LX series. This would be the medium quality residential mower or lawn mower. They have some attachments like a snow blade but they are really meant to just mow grass. The higher the number the bigger/more features. Example: X300 is the base mower few frills, an X360 has a larger motor and Bigger deck. Also JD new letter system tells you the warranty period. X300= 3 years warranty.

Then you have the X500 series. This is the start of the garden tractors. The X500 is real similar to the 265 or GT 275 of earlier series. Garden tractor frame manual lift and manual steering. The X540 would be like the 345, GX 345, and the JD 318. Power steering, hydrostatic drive, hydraulic lift, and many attachments.

The top of the line garden tractor style is the X700 series. This is JDs top quality garden tractors. These would be like the JD 400, 445, X485, ETC.

IF your just mowing a smaller yard that is pretty flat and do not want any major attachments,then the X300 series is where I would go.

IF you have a larger yard and have hills then I would go to the X500 series.

If you want a luxury mower that will last a life time and you can afford it, then I would go to the X700 series. I really like the X740s. You have a lot of features but none that will give much trouble down the road like I think all wheel steer machine might.

So let me know how I can help you out. With a little more information from you I can help you pick a model to watch for.

If you have any size of an acre or more I would go Scag or Exmark. Change the hydro oil and filters like you should and will get many years of good service.

well since you asked.... I always get something I can work on . I steer clear of the hydro-pump-motor-tank hydro steering, since it looks like something I could never diagnose, let alone work on. I can fix the simple steering-gear gizmo.
I always go with Kohler engines.... I just do, my Kohlers last and last, I figure they're all probably good, buy Buy American!

(quoted from post at 04:45:23 12/28/14) well since you asked.... I always get something I can work on . I steer clear of the hydro-pump-motor-tank hydro steering, since it looks like something I could never diagnose, let alone work on. I can fix the simple steering-gear gizmo.
I always go with Kohler engines.... I just do, my Kohlers last and last, I figure they're all probably good, buy Buy American!

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FBH44, be aware that as good as the name Kohler is that they have come out with the "Courage" economy line which has a very poor rep. Be advised to stay away from that one.

I need to replace a vehicle this spring so likely I will try to get this craftsman the boss provided running again or just mow with the 4020 and brush hog again this year. I'd like something that will pull a garden cart and maybe a rototiller or small plow and disk around with. I'm on 5 acres with a fair hill and probably about a third of it is tree claim that has a lot of downed trees that need cut up. I've thought about an older cub cadet as well but can't really find any listed where the seller doesn't seem to think they are made of solid gold.
My friend back east who deals in used equipment did a fair bit of business with used mowers for a couple years and I think he kept a 445 around for himself and a 345 sounds like his wife's. I do remember that he bought a lot of them with "blown up" Kawasaki 's and new head gaskets had them running like new. I'd prefer to stay away from the Briggs and scrapiron.
The 500's sound like the way to go. Thanks for the info, at least I have an idea what I am looking at now.

I'm on 5, but maybe 3 can be mowed. And considering a wet year here the lawn may need mowed 4 times I couldn't justify a 0 turn. The boss got a new jd 0 turn in 2011 and it had 8.9 hours on it when I got it out this spring. And they are mowing easily twice what I have to mow.

Thanks for that info. Add that to the Briggs for
avoidance. I'd buy a chinese Honda knockoff before a
Briggs.

(quoted from post at 15:23:48 12/28/14) Thanks for that info. Add that to the Briggs for
avoidance. I'd buy a chinese Honda knockoff before a
Briggs.

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I too had given up on Briggs but have learned on this forum that just as Kohler has their Courage Briggs has an industrial line of engines that the guys here say is a very durable one. So I guess you have to keep an open mind and keep up with forums in order to have the right information on a lot of different topics.