Testing a E130 / Thinking I may want a X350 - Help!

Guys, I need your recommendations. I brought home my first riding lawn mower on Friday, the John Deere E130 with a rear bagger. I was at Lowes and I had been thinking about buying a riding lawn mower for several months but had not done a ton of research. The reason I went through with the purchase is because I have a 30 day test period with the E130 and I can return it with no questions asked for a full refund. I did get a great deal, total for the E130 and Bagger $2,025 plus tax. Now that I have the E130 I have caught the tractor bug and can not stop reading reviews and info on all types of riding lawnmowers. I have about 3/4 of an acre to maintain in a neighborhood setting. My front yard is flat but my back yard does have a slope, nothing drastic but probably 6' of slope to every 150'. I live in Alabama and have Bermuda Grass in my front yard and Zoysia Grass in my backyard. I love to work in my yard and I am very particular about the way my yard looks. That is one of the biggest reasons I have never used a riding lawnmower before, I didn't think I could get as nice of cut with a riding lawnmower as a push mower. I have a Honda HRX217HYA Push Mower that I have used the last 4 seasons. I bag and mulch with the Honda and it takes me 2-3 hours to cut the yard to my liking. Saturday I used the E130 to do the first cut of the season and cut the grass low (2") and bagged all of the dead clippings. The E130 did a good job, I did notice a few areas that scalped but this is not very noticeable now because the grass is still manly dormant. I guess my first questions is can I get as good of cut with a riding mower as I can with my push mower? If I can then I am tempted to return the E130 and purchase a X350. I got a quote Saturday from my local John Deere and I can get the unit for $2999.00, the rear bagger is an additional $628.00 installed. I may not get the bagger with the X350, but mulch this summer and then get a sweeper in the fall for leaves. I don't want to waste my money if the E130 is sufficient for my property but I have always been one to spend more upfront and buy the best. I don't spend money often but when I do I don't mind paying for the best. Is there another mower / brand that would sever me better. I looked into Simplicity Mowers but there is no dealer anywhere close to me. I called the only one I could find in the state and they said they didn't stock Simplicity but could order them, they then tried to sell me a Snapper and said it was the same thing so I don't feel like I would get good support even if I had them order me a unit. I have read so much info over the last 3 days that my head is spinning and I just want to make the best decision. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

The X300 series of John Deere's are excellent mowers! The step up from the E130 would certainly be noticeable, especially in the frame, steering, deck and engine performance. While you are paying a premium price for the X series, you will end up with a better machine, one that will also last you longer. Unfortunately, while the transmission in the X330 and up are a bit more robust than the one in the E130, you don't get a ground engaging capable hydrostatic until you get to the X380. So, keep this in mind if you are at all considering pulling any loaded trailers up that grade you have, or using a dethatcher/aerator, etc.

FYI - Lowe's return policy requires your mower to be in "like new" condition which will require a Manager's approval to process the return. I got stuck in a situation where I had a mower with 1.5 hours that a Manager still would not return after I had been verbally told over the phone by a customer service person that I could return.

cruzenmike said:

The X300 series of John Deere's are excellent mowers! The step up from the E130 would certainly be noticeable, especially in the frame, steering, deck and engine performance. While you are paying a premium price for the X series, you will end up with a better machine, one that will also last you longer. Unfortunately, while the transmission in the X330 and up are a bit more robust than the one in the E130, you don't get a ground engaging capable hydrostatic until you get to the X380. So, keep this in mind if you are at all considering pulling any loaded trailers up that grade you have, or using a dethatcher/aerator, etc.

FYI - Lowe's return policy requires your mower to be in "like new" condition which will require a Manager's approval to process the return. I got stuck in a situation where I had a mower with 1.5 hours that a Manager still would not return after I had been verbally told over the phone by a customer service person that I could return.

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cruzenmike - Thanks for the feedback, I am really considering the X350. I was told by Lowes that the 30 day test drive is exclusive to the John Deere mowers they sell and not applicable to any of there other mowers. I assume JD must be requiring this of Lowes.

Do you have any thoughts on how the JD X350 cuts compared to other mowers on the market. I believe the cut quality is the most important to me. If I stay with JD I think I will upgrade to the X350.

Thanks again for your input!

I do not have any personal experience with using a X350 but from what I have seen the AccelDeep deck is supposed to leave an excellent cut. It should also be noted that the deck on the X350 will have the option of mulching or discharging with the flick of a switch. There is a guy on YouTube that did a quick review of the X350 and his overall opinion of it was positive.

cruzenmike said:

The X300 series of John Deere's are excellent mowers! The step up from the E130 would certainly be noticeable, especially in the frame, steering, deck and engine performance. While you are paying a premium price for the X series, you will end up with a better machine, one that will also last you longer. Unfortunately, while the transmission in the X330 and up are a bit more robust than the one in the E130, you don't get a ground engaging capable hydrostatic until you get to the X380. So, keep this in mind if you are at all considering pulling any loaded trailers up that grade you have, or using a dethatcher/aerator, etc.

FYI - Lowe's return policy requires your mower to be in "like new" condition which will require a Manager's approval to process the return. I got stuck in a situation where I had a mower with 1.5 hours that a Manager still would not return after I had been verbally told over the phone by a customer service person that I could return.

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I support this choice, there is a positive experience!

I have both the Honda and the x350. I'm very particular about how my front lawn looks. The x350 does a great job on my lawn. I mulch the front and I can't believe how much better my lawn responds to the JD. It has never looked better! I purchased the x350 April 2019 and followed the same lawn care routine as always. The only difference is the JD and really it's incredible.

If you go ahead with a X300 model, consider taking a look at replacing the mower blades with Gator G5 blades. I found out thru trial that the G5 blades give the deck more lift to pull up the grass blades for trimming by the G5 blades and result in a more even cut. Plus they are mulching blades so returning the cut grass to the yard for decomposing is a benefit. I also believe the X300 will be worthy of your money over a 100 series as it is built a little better. Just take a test ride and you will notice the difference.