New X300 owner,Are they good mowers? Owner Opinions

Last week I purchased a new X300 48" cut mower.My grass is not high enough to cut yet so I have not used it,it has .2 hours on the clock. I was hesitant about the purchase,I had to dig deep to pull out right out $3600 including tax.It does have the JD 30 day promise.The only issue I have is when unloading it off my trailer I noticed all the tires have bad splitting on all the tires around the tread,it was in a crate at the dealer and looks like the tires were flat and they cracked.I let my dealer know but he has been very slow about resolving this,sent him pics and he says he has to contact JD Corp but after 2 emails and 2 phone calls to the salesman he has not contacted me which is making me wonder about service after the sale.As far as the mower are they good mowers if maintained? I like the feel of the mower,it handles well what little I drove it,the Kawasaki is smooth running.I hope I made a good choice.My old mower is a 15 year old well maintained Craftsman with a 15.5 Kohler Command 42" which still runs fine but the deck is thinning along with a few minor issues. All I know is there is a huge difference between the JD and my old mower.I'd like some owner opinions of their X300,how many trouble free hours,tips,advice ect.. Thanks

Hi TreasureHunter,

15 year running a JD LTR180 and finding it maintenance challenging (costly). Looked at the X300R as that's the successor and they got rid of the timing belt but this must mean more vibration. You look at the jd.com website for user comments. whilst most are of proud new owners the one that struck me was "A $4000 mistake". Next check the web to see at what price recent (low hrs) X300R are being offered. Here they loose 40% of their value in the first year.
Hope this helps you take the right discussion before the 30days are up.

Best of luck,
Roel

Thanks,I've thought about the cost of parts after the warranty expires on the Deere.My 14 year old Craftsman has has breakdowns over the years but parts are easy to find and they are cheap and that's a plus,overall I've put maybe $200 in it over a course of 11 years not counting the typical blades,filters ect.As mentioned I've took care of the old mower I have which cost around a grand when new and it was 3 years old when I got it for $500.My dealer not being eager to help me in a timely manner has made me question my purchase which again does not effect the quality of the mower,I'm sure not all are like this.Seems like mowers has changed alot over the years.

I would take it back and go get a craftsman or a cub cadet they both are a better built mower then the JD.

The dealer should have never sold you a mower with bad tires.

Called the dealer after5 days of not hearing from him,he states "waiting to hear from JD,if we have to eat the tires we will,I will contact you as soon as we hear from them,the replacement that come in also had cracked tires and we contacted JD about the issue" We told him we may bring it back for a refund,trade it for a D140 or look at another brand mower.I'm not sure about the B&S on the D140,the website states a KW but if not mistaken it is a JD branded B&S,it is $1899 which is alot cheaper than the X300.I wish Craftsman still used the Kohler Commands on their mowers like they did years ago,it is a great motor

duplicate,sorry

Nothing runs like a Deere.

Carscw said:

I would take it back and go get a craftsman or a cub cadet they both are a better built mower then the JD.

The dealer should have never sold you a mower with bad tires.

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I have an X300 had it for a year no problems at all. I had JD la135 for 6 years I did not like as well. The X300 is a much better mower. I would keep it if i was you, just have dealer change tires. I wonder how old the mower is.

So did they ever reeplace your tires? My new X300 was perfect out of the box and cuts the lawn like a carpet. Love the thing.

I've had my X300 since 2009. In that time I only had one complaint; the reverse was always slow. I finally found out why, however, and the dealer didn't know this himself. The rod that links the pedals to the transmission is adjustable with two nuts on the threaded end around the reverse lever on the tranny. It's hard to see and harder yet to work on, but if you can its worth it. I adjusted my link rod to be snug on the tranny arm (the reverse side had to much play) and now my reverse is snappy and nice.:thumbsup: