My experience comes from repairing mowers not using them so I see mainly the bad ones which of course colours my opinions.
people seem to think there is a fairy out there than sprinkles pixie dust on factories so every thing they want gets cheaper & better every year so they can get more for less.
There isn't. In fact it is the exact opposite you pay a little less and get a lot less.
Not too far back Garden tractors were built onto a wider chassis pressed from heavier steel.
Now days they all seem to be made from the same dies with the GT still pressed from heavier gauge steel , but not as heavy as before
Thus the wider decks that are suspended at the same centres tilt & gauge at the slightest provocation, particularly when turning on slopes. Think of them as a see saw.
With bagging , the wider the deck the more load on the bagging system and wide decks usually need a powered bagging system which adds a lot of weight to an already marginal deck support system.
Wider track is made by moving the wheel centers further in so the wheels sit further out on the axels and this gives them a bigger turning circle.
The craftsman will have the same pressed deck as the LT range with the same mountings and will quickly flog all the mountings holes oval, particulalrly if it is a wider deck.
The same goes for the Husky . A wider version of the same deck with the same mounting centres . They use the same weak spindle housings as the LT's with the same problems only amplified due to the wider deck.
None of them have servicible trannys and hydros have a very finite service life that is built into the product.
Any hydro without a top up reseviour, a drain plug & replaceable filter is a service replacement item and a bloody expensive one to boot.
So the new price went down $ 500 because every "X" years you have to replace the tranny at $ 1000.
Of all of them I would be buying the Cub if I HAD TO but if not, none of the above.
The Cub gets the vote because it has the better deck mounting system which should be bolt on parts that can be replaced when flogged out and it is really easy to remove & replace.
They did have a major belt problem but I think that has been fixed now.
Most of the bottom end GT's still have shafts that run through unbushed holes in the chassis so unless cleaned & lubed regularly flog the holes oval.
I think in the bottom end only the JD's bush holes.
Almost none of the bottom end have adjustable drag links on the steering and few have removable ball ends so hit a gutter or pot hole and your steering is kaput
Same thing goes for the tie rod between the front wheels.
Front steering pins are again plastic bushes that require regular replacements .