Cub Cadet XT2 decision time- new or used?

Mower Man Dan said:

Looking for a XT2 42" LX. New is going to be about $3400 out the door. Found what appears to he a very nice used one with 96 hours on it. Cost is $2000.

I know there will be no warranty on the used mower. I am fairly handy but not a mechanic. I really liked my local dealer when I went to look at the new ones. I am cutting a flat half acre. The machine will see about 30-ish hours a year. Just kind of torn if having a spanking new machine with 3 year warranty is worth $1400 to me and looking for opinions from others as to which they would choose and why.

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Don't want to sound mean, but your question is so very personal, kinda like asking what color car do you think I should buy? It's your money, and you don't say if you're wealthy or on a super tight budget because you were recently laid off. You have two options, buy new or buy used. If I buy used, I inspect the equipment carefully and run a compression test, look at the oil, see if the machine looks well maintained, ask questions and turn your BS detector up to High.

I like buying from private parties, there more room to negotiate, and you're not helping someone pay their overhead. Personally I prefer to buy new when on sale after researching thoroughly and maintain it well, I mean REALLY well. I do all my own work so I know it's done right. I am still using my 1969 Craftsman 20" rotary walk behind for trimming my lawn. 56 years of reliable service. Love it for the super light magnesium deck, hard to find these days. I replaced the engine 5 years ago after the compression fell below 25psi and it no longer fired. Got a free used engine off a mower whose steel deck had rusted out and the wheels were wobbly as hell. It's still a Tecumseh but about 25 yrs newer with electronic ignition which always starts first or second pull. In 1982 I bought a new Sears Craftsman 36" twin blade lawn tractor with a 10 hp Briggs engine. Still mowing with that after 42 years. Converted the points ignition to solid state for $35, super happy I did. BTW I have run full synthetic oil in both machines since 1990, it lubricates better than dino oil and can be run longer between changes. I change oil every third year. My lawn is only 0.4 acres so not too many hours. I'm sure some people will disagree with me but I'm very happy with the longevity of my equipment.

Mower Man Dan said:

Looking for a XT2 42" LX. New is going to be about $3400 out the door. Found what appears to he a very nice used one with 96 hours on it. Cost is $2000.

I know there will be no warranty on the used mower. I am fairly handy but not a mechanic. I really liked my local dealer when I went to look at the new ones. I am cutting a flat half acre. The machine will see about 30-ish hours a year. Just kind of torn if having a spanking new machine with 3 year warranty is worth $1400 to me and looking for opinions from others as to which they would choose and why.

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Well, the new one is ridiculously overpriced as is the used one.
These things have gone up over $1,000 in the past 4 years and I refuse to pay it.
II would go by a little bit older machine for under $600 because you'll certainly get your money's worth from it.
I just had a friend of mine who had me sell his 2011 42-in Cub Cadet zero turn to another friend of mine who wanted a zero turn and all I had to do to get it ready was your place one of the coils on the Kohler twin 7000 series.
He bought that one for $900.
He will likely either use it for five or six seasons which even if he throws it away then he will have gotten his money from it or he may sell it then for six or $700 or heck he may get his money back from it.
We need to stop over paying for things in this world or it will only get worse.

Mower Man Dan said:

Looking for a XT2 42" LX. New is going to be about $3400 out the door. Found what appears to he a very nice used one with 96 hours on it. Cost is $2000.

I know there will be no warranty on the used mower. I am fairly handy but not a mechanic. I really liked my local dealer when I went to look at the new ones. I am cutting a flat half acre. The machine will see about 30-ish hours a year. Just kind of torn if having a spanking new machine with 3 year warranty is worth $1400 to me and looking for opinions from others as to which they would choose and why.

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Whatever anyone does, they should refuse to buy any more with fuel injection and that expensive control module that I've already had two customers call me with problems on these newer Cub cadets.

You simply can't have those types of problems on one with a carburetor.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
I saw a snapper 42-in riding lawn mower that was fuel injected back around 2010 or maybe 12 but it was a long time ago and I thought that was going to be taking over the market but they just disappeared.
Only recently have they come back and they need to go disappear again forever.
I know eventually, regulations will end up making that the only new ones we can get but we can still keep the old ones or buy the old ones and that's my preference.
It's really not like a car. I wouldn't want to go back to carburetors for my daily drivers even though I do have classic vehicles and hot rods with carburetors.
There is nothing as convenient is just going out hopping in your car turning the key (which I greatly prefer over stupid push buttons) and driving away regardless of the temperature or conditions.
We just don't need this with lawn mowers.
Yes, there is one extra benefit that a fuel injected mower like a rider will probably never have a gummed up fuel system etc or you have to let it sit for many years to do that but the fact is the average person doesn't have problems with their riding mower with fuel system.
It's the push mowers and the smaller engines with the tiny jets that clog up not the larger riding mowers.
Also, all a person has to do is put fresh fuel in it before they use it for the last time or add some stabilizer to that tank and they'll be fine.
No $184 electronic control module to have to replace when it stops working or when they're trying to troubleshoot it and don't know what else to do.

Craiger said:

Don't want to sound mean, but your question is so very personal, kinda like asking what color car do you think I should buy? It's your money, and you don't say if you're wealthy or on a super tight budget because you were recently laid off. You have two options, buy new or buy used. If I buy used, I inspect the equipment carefully and run a compression test, look at the oil, see if the machine looks well maintained, ask questions and turn your BS detector up to High.

I like buying from private parties, there more room to negotiate, and you're not helping someone pay their overhead. Personally I prefer to buy new when on sale after researching thoroughly and maintain it well, I mean REALLY well. I do all my own work so I know it's done right. I am still using my 1969 Craftsman 20" rotary walk behind for trimming my lawn. 56 years of reliable service. Love it for the super light magnesium deck, hard to find these days. I replaced the engine 5 years ago after the compression fell below 25psi and it no longer fired. Got a free used engine off a mower whose steel deck had rusted out and the wheels were wobbly as hell. It's still a Tecumseh but about 25 yrs newer with electronic ignition which always starts first or second pull. In 1982 I bought a new Sears Craftsman 36" twin blade lawn tractor with a 10 hp Briggs engine. Still mowing with that after 42 years. Converted the points ignition to solid state for $35, super happy I did. BTW I have run full synthetic oil in both machines since 1990, it lubricates better than dino oil and can be run longer between changes. I change oil every third year. My lawn is only 0.4 acres so not too many hours. I'm sure some people will disagree with me but I'm very happy with the longevity of my equipment.

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I don't really think it's that personal and I don't care how much money someone has they shouldn't waste it and these new mowers are a rip off.

I'm kind of in the middle because I can't stand vintage or old equipment and I won't own anything with points.
Even the last time I had a classic muscle car, the first thing I did was take out the point distributor and put an HEI conversion in it that was recurved.
If I were to end up with any old outdoor power equipment that I actually liked that had points, he would instantly get an electronic points conversion which are cheap and easy to install.
I like modern equipment but I mainly talking about once they pretty much perfected these things and before they cheapen them out and overcomplicated them.

I really think the Golden age of outdoor power equipment was the mid to late 80s up to about 2000 to 2003.
The old ones really hadn't been perfected yet and some of the drive systems were terrible and the bagging systems and even the deck designs.

They got so much better up in those later generations but then sometime after the early 2000s, they started penny pinching and the quality went down and now it's all pretty bad.

So I'm going to be happy to live out the rest of my life using any equipment I need that's good used equipment likely between 1997 and 2012.

TobyU said:

Well, the new one is ridiculously overpriced as is the used one.
These things have gone up over $1,000 in the past 4 years and I refuse to pay it.
II would go by a little bit older machine for under $600 because you'll certainly get your money's worth from it.
I just had a friend of mine who had me sell his 2011 42-in Cub Cadet zero turn to another friend of mine who wanted a zero turn and all I had to do to get it ready was your place one of the coils on the Kohler twin 7000 series.
He bought that one for $900.
He will likely either use it for five or six seasons which even if he throws it away then he will have gotten his money from it or he may sell it then for six or $700 or heck he may get his money back from it.
We need to stop over paying for things in this world or it will only get worse.

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I tend to agree, prices on almost everything are out of hand. My wife thought I was kidding when I told her I was looking at a riding mower that was over $4k (JD x350). And the used mower market around here seems pretty inflated for it being November 1st.
I also agree that no matter how much money you have, you owe it to yourself to be as smart as you can be with it. It can be a struggle to do so. It wouldn't matter how much money I have, $3400 for a mower is a big amount.

With the quality of new equipment declining and prices increasing, used looks like the reasonable option to me. I bought a used Kubota ZT 8 yrs ago for $2500 or about half the cost of a new one. Was 2 yrs old and had 40 hrs on it. I’ve replaced deck spindles and belts in that period of time along with intake manifold and normal oil/filter changes.

I (or I should say my wife) mows 3/4 acre property with it in TX so a long mowing season. I feel we got our moneys worth and have expectations for it to last another 8 years or more.

Take your time while looking at used. Most are over priced but some are not. If you are patient you can get a good used mower at a good price.

Good luck and happy hunting!

My mower was delivered today and I did my first cut with it. I bought a Craftsman T210 with 36 hours on it for $800. I could have popped for whatever. But in the end, I don't think the value is there for a new mower for me. The prices are pretty wild. I am cutting a flat, half acre of residential yard. I am not tending a pasture or mowing commercially and I had to get real with myself that a new Cub is not worth over 4x the cost of this Craftsman for me. Maybe I blew it. Maybe not. Anytime you're dealing with machinery there's always the possibility for misery. However, if I get four years of use out of it, that's $200 a year for lawn care. If not, $800 is not a meaningful amount of money to me and I'll take it as lesson learned.

The T210 is kind of a cool little mower. There's alot of identical components between the Cub and the Craftsman since they're both MTD. Both originate with a 3 year warranty. The tight turn 5 inch turn radius is really cool, I mow around a lot of stuff and this feature helped me save a good deal of time cutting today. I'm pretty satisfied with my decision at this point. The little Kohler 18 hp 5400 seems to run pretty good. It cuts good. I plan to take good care of it.

Thanks all for your input. I enjoy hearing different perspectives, you've all earned your opinions through life experiences and I respect and consider all of them.

Mower Man Dan said:

My mower was delivered today and I did my first cut with it. I bought a Craftsman T210 with 36 hours on it for $800. I could have popped for whatever. But in the end, I don't think the value is there for a new mower for me. I am cutting a flat, half acre of residential yard. I am not tending a pasture or mowing commercially and I had to get real with myself that a new Cub is not worth over 4x the cost of this Craftsman for me. Maybe I blew it. Maybe not. Anytime you're dealing with machinery there's always the possibility for misery. However, if I get four years of use out of it, that's $200 a year for lawn care. If not, $800 is not a meaningful amount of money to me and I'll take it as lesson learned.

The T210 is kind of a cool little mower. There's alot of identical components between the Cub and the Craftsman since they're both MTD. Both originate with a 3 year warranty. The tight turn 5 inch turn radius is really cool, I mow around a lot of stuff and this feature helped me save a good deal of time cutting today. I'm pretty satisfied with my decision at this point. The little Kohler 18 hp 5400 seems to run pretty good. It cuts good. I plan to take good care of it.

Thanks all for your input. I enjoy hearing different perspectives, you've all earned your opinions through life experiences and I respect and consider all of them.

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Hopefully you got a good one. I just read some reviews on Lowe’s and some love it and some have had serious issues. At least you didn’t spend over $2,000 on a new one!

mcspeed said:

Hopefully you got a good one. I just read some reviews on Lowe’s and some love it and some have had serious issues. At least you didn’t spend over $2,000 on a new one!

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Agreed on all counts.

The Kohler 5400 series is generally regarded as a decent (albeit single cylinder) engine. This mower has the same k46 transmission as the Cub, the $3900 Husqvarna and the $4099 JD x350. Most of the negativity on the Lowes reviews I saw surrounded mowers being delivered with dead batteries and used/rusty mowers being delivered as "new". Also, some of the early models had the problematic Smartchoke, which mine does not. Another person left 3 separate reviews that his engine threw a connecting rod at 67 hours and my guess would be somebody didn't check their oil.

There are people who will tell you that this mower won't mow in reverse. You have to turn the key back a notch and press a button and it will mow in reverse all day.

I'll update this forum with a review after I've used it for a while

Mower Man Dan said:

Agreed on all counts.

The Kohler 5400 series is generally regarded as a decent (albeit single cylinder) engine. This mower has the same k46 transmission as the Cub, the $3900 Husqvarna and the $4099 JD x350. Most of the negativity on the Lowes reviews I saw surrounded mowers being delivered with dead batteries and used/rusty mowers being delivered as "new". Also, some of the early models had the problematic Smartchoke, which mine does not. Another person left 3 separate reviews that his engine threw a connecting rod at 67 hours and my guess would be somebody didn't check their oil.

There are people who will tell you that this mower won't mow in reverse. You have to turn the key back a notch and press a button and it will mow in reverse all day.

I'll update this forum with a review after I've used it for a while

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Yes, most of the reviews for items like this are 99% irrelevant.

Most of the reviews are from people who receive their new mower and vote with it once or twice and had no problems, which is what you should expect from a new mower so they leave a glowing review.
Others are from the few people who have some problem with delivery or a dead battery from a key being left on etc or some other type of prep issue who things didn't go perfectly for and they will complain and leave a bad review.

NONE of these reviews have any bearing on how long the machine is going to last, how repair free it's going to be and how fun your overall ownership of it is going to be.

That's the problem with most reviews especially for things like equipment and appliances and even cars.

A forum like this or even a Facebook group with its much worse quality level of information, is better to get an idea what actually happens down the road for most people.

You should be just fine with this more and while there are a few things on the newer mowers that just aren't made as well as the old ones, like those green Craftsman's that a lot of people are still using today that are all pre-2004) but overall these things hold up pretty well.

The k46 can be seen as a very but really only in perception because it is the most common hydrostatic "auto" transmission on riding mowers for over 20 years now.
Since there are more of them in existence than probably any other mower transmission out there, that means you're going to have more failed transmissions be that same one. Lol
They aren't entry level transmission and frankly I really think they shouldn't be on anything larger than a 42-in mower even though they are, and I don't think you should use them for anything other than cutting grass.
A very light cart that you can easily roll around yourself by pulling with only one hand wouldn't be too much of an extra load on them but too many people pull very heavy loads with these and some will even use their mowers to pull out shrubs and stuff like that.

These mowers and this transmission are designed to cut grass on as flat of ground as possible.
Hills do them no favors over the years.
Be gentle with it and drive it like a Cadillac though and it should give at least a decade plus of good service.

Also, don't use your clutch brake pedal for anything other than starting the mower.
What's the lowest started let the pedal up because that starts the transmission spinning which cools it.
You then use your pedals etc, which is more intuitive on these newer ones but the older ones had a handle on the right fender and people didn't realize you can just use the handle 100% and don't have to push the left clutch pedal.

Also, remember that after you get your mower good and hot from mowing, that the rule is if it's mowing or moving, it needs to be at full regular throttle RPMs.
Too many people get done mowing after their mower is nice and hot and they will turn off their blades and then they will lower the engine speed down to below halfway and sometimes almost at idle and then ride the mower back several hundred feet to where they're going to.
This is BAD as the engine is spinning under 1/3 is fast as it was before and the fan on top of the hydro is directly proportional to engine speed so therefore you are spiking the temperature and increased temperature is very bad on hydros.
I also don't like to park it and then immediately press the parking brake and turn it off because that gets the temperature hotter because you just got through moving the heavy Mower and the weight of the operator.

I like to sit there on the mower with the parking brake off so the transmission is still spinning at full engine speed and there is no load on it for at least 30 seconds or maybe a minute. Longer is better.
This cools off the transmission before you shut it off.