Are new Sears Craftsmen riding mowers still competitive quality wise and service wise

preventec47

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  • / Are new Sears Craftsmen riding mowers still competitive quality wise and service wise
Currently Sears is offering the biggest discount of any supplier on a $1200 - $1400 but I am a bit
scared due to the apparent corporate trajectory.

I believe the less sophisticated and fewer fancy features model is going to be the most pleasant to own
for the long haul and I personally believe all the hydrostatic and CVS transmissions to simply be
the cheaper to build manufacturing components. I bellieve the pure belt and pulley to be the best
and most reliable and then the good old fashioned real transmission with actual gears. I guess those
have disappeared because of hi expense to make.

Lowes, Home Depot and Tractor Supply seem to be the volume suppliers but I hear bad things about
almost every brands low/medium entry level rider mowers.

Then I look at SEARS and when going to their site right now their clearance model 42 inch rider has
a lot of negative reviews.... actually way more bad than good. That is a huge concern. I have almost
never paid much attention to reviews in the past but this time if they are bad perhaps they are not fake.

I would probably like to go back 15 or 20 years and buy a new Snapper that was using only belts and pulleys.
 

7394

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  • / Are new Sears Craftsmen riding mowers still competitive quality wise and service wise
My former 2008 craftsman rider turned out to be a pos. & it was a belt drive system 6 speed. but the one I bought back in 1998 was a good machine.
The quality is just not there anymore. And I don't think they even care.

& Briggs bought Snapper, but not the commercial line & Simplicity, they need new places to put those chinese engines.

It's not a good deal if the unit is of sub-quality.
 

RajunCajun

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  • / Are new Sears Craftsmen riding mowers still competitive quality wise and service wise
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The Briggs and Stratton Company's Products segment product lines are marketed under its own brands, such as Briggs & Stratton, Simplicity, Snapper, Snapper Pro, Ferris, Allmand, Billy Goat, Murray, Branco and Victa, as well as other brands, such as Craftsman, GE and Troy-Bilt.
Massey Ferguson mower division bought by Briggs and Stratton, shut down production in early 2018.

CDB5D18C-6D2C-4408-AE8F-304B1F2713B4.jpeg
 

bertsmobile1

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  • / Are new Sears Craftsmen riding mowers still competitive quality wise and service wise
They are on per with the other mowers in the makers range.
Some are made by AYP & Some are made by MTD and I see no difference quality wise, Craftsman sitting about mid range, pressed from lighter steel than the equivalent Husqvarna but heavier than the equivalent McCulloch or Poulan.
Your current model Craftsman will not get here till next season so have not seen any new , new ones.

To be honest there is not a Lawn tractor made in the USA that I would happily pay for. they are all on a downhill race to become the cheapest pile of landfill .

What has become important in the days of social media is being able to post selfies of you standing in front of a shed full of shinny new machines, not having machines that will do the job effortlessly for decades.
And if that is what the market wants to pay for, that is what the companies will make in an unregulated market.

We get both the European & USA made mowers down here and with the exception of the tiny Stiga , all of the European mower are head & shoulders above the USA made ones.
The reason is simple, Europe have minimum life service life regulations for consumer durables and manufacturers liability for the disposal of the product after it has reached the end of it's service life.
So the European companies make much better quality mowers, down side is naturally they cost more to buy but of course end up substantially cheaper in the long run.
And of course the European export mowers made in the USA are almost on par with the European made mowers so the USA companies can make quality products, they just choose not to for domestic consumption.

It is the age old arguement.
China can & dose make excellent mowers, o par with any from anywhere else in the world.
However importers just bring in junk because like any plumber will tell you ,,, "all the money is in crap"
 
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