Cheap riding lawn mower

I have an acre, half of its currently wooded but I may brush hog it in the future, depending on how much the kids like tromping thru the woods and how much poison ivy there is. 

I’m looking to spend maybe $600 on Craigslist or FB Marketplace. Is there anything in particular I should look out for pro or con? I see hydrostatic on a few of these postings, is that good or bad? Clearly I’m not getting a zero turn at this price. There’s a gradual incline to the property, nothing too bad. 

My old church’s John Deere has a Kohler that’s apparently indestructible so I’m leaning toward getting something with that. We have a small driveway here in Michigan so ability to push a plow or snowblower attachment isn’t really that important.

I’d look for something made by mtd with a kohler engine and try to not get the one that was the $949 lowes special when new.  Look for one that was 1200-1400ish new.  

Patrick went in my direction. 

Im a fan of the “craftsman” garden tractors. 

Specifically the Kohler command engines. Decks between probably 42” and i think 54”. They were about the last of the consumer grade beefy mowers that were available for less than the price of a nice car. The GT’s(garden tractors) have bolt on rear wheels, 12” rims i think. If you dont see lig nuts holding the rear wheels on, i’d pass as its a mower, not a GT and isnt going to handle real work as good. 

The hydrostatic rear in mine weighs about 70-80lbs if i remember right(had it out to fix a part), the current new rears are fragile and some weight less than 20lbs. No bueno if you plan on really using it.  The manual hi/lo gearboxes are nice too. Have a few of those. 

My brother just got a nice one, running and cutting for like 150$. Ive bought 4 between 200-300$. A new machine thats comparable as far as ability and beefyness is going to cost probably 6 grand or more.  Forget anything sold at big box stores now. All flimsy disposable stuff that wont last. 

And at the risk of being lynched, avoid any john deere made in the last 10-15 years. The lower end stuff is overpriced big box store stuff. You will know it when you find a nice older or newer nice john deere. They were probably like 8000$+ new and people will still want a fortune for them. Unfortunately they think the lower end stuff is also worth a fortune just because its yellow and green. 

Pretty much shoot for something made before like 2005. Go as far back as the late 60’s. You will probably get a great machine. 

Lemme dig a pic up.  I usually searched craigslist for “mower” as adding any other terms would probably be misspelled and you will miss out. Found a few that way. “Mower” was the only search term spelled right. 

Then they multiply

Although I’ve never owned a Craftsman tractor many were made and many replacement parts are still available. I’ve also seen some pre Craftsman era Sears tractors pop up for sale periodically that are still in decent shape. Those usually are real heavy duty units compared to the new stuff.  If I was looking for a tractor I would likely look at these, or as already mentioned the real Craftsman tractors. If you go to some of the garden tractor forums and even Facebook garden tractor groups,  you will find a lot of GT tractor enthusiasts and likely answers to specific technical questions and situations. 

As far as hydrostatic transmissions in tractors, you get what you pay for. For example the Sundstrand unit thats in my old early 80’s vintage Ariens is rather expensive to replace or rebuild should it ever come to that. Many of the newer tractors sold in the big box stores may claim they are “hydrostatic” units and in design they probably are, however they may be completely sealed units with no easy way to change oil/fluid in them. 

You mentioned your church’s old John Deere. Some of the older and more durable Deere’s (317,318) had the Sundstrand hydrostatic units in them. 

Peerless use to make fixed gear units for various manufacturers years back. I have heard those are pretty sturdy and can take a lot of abuse.

I'm a fan of Wheelhorse.  Picked this guy up (minus the blower), with a Honda powered leaf sucker last fall for 400.  48 deck, hyrostatic drive, 16hp Onan. 

Also have an older WH C160 which has been a great machine, that was $300 if I remember right.  High, low range. Biggest problem is that I apprently kill mower decks?

Just scored the blower for $150!

If I didn't have the WH bug already, I'd go shopping for the Craftsman GTs above.  Accessories are cheaper. I like big decks and I cannot lie.

I'll just echo the comments above, buy an older GT and avoid anything that's ever seen the inside of a big box store. Just make sure it's well maintained Cleetus hasn't had his grubby little hands all over it . Hydro trans is nice, especially if you have a lot of obstacles.

I went from an 80s vintage MTD, to a Wheelhorse 312-8, to a JD 318 in the <3 years I've owned my house. The MTD was a disposable POS about 20 years past its expiration date, bought as a temporary solution because it was the cheapest thing advertised as running and mowing on Craigslist.

Got fed up with that and sold it for the Wheelhorse the next spring, which was at one point a nice machine, but had all kinds of issues because Cleetus had owned it previously. Think i bought that one for $450 with a snowblower and blade (neither of which I got to use) and sold it for about the same in non-running condition.

Bought the Deere last year for around $1200 and aside from a bit of an oil consumption habit it's been great. Built like an absolute tank, its got an Onan twin, Sundstrand hydro, hydraulic deck lift, and dual hydraulic outputs on the front for things I'll probably never use but are fun to dream about. I plan to keep this one for a long time.

In reply to Brotus7 :

That's a steal for the blower!

One word of caution with some of the older single cylinder Kohlers, which probably applies to more small engines... Don't let them idle for too long.  I lost a connecting rod in the old Horse the first year I had it because I let it idle quite a bit when moving wood pellets from my driveway to the trailer, and trailer down into the basement.  I don't think the splash lube works well at low rpm for extended periods.

This isn’t mine however it’s a very clean example of a tractor that possibly could outlive its owner if taken care of properly. These heavy duty New Holland tractor’s later became Ariens in the early 70s and lasted in this same basic design until the 1990s! Mine is an Ariens S-16 and not nearly as clean as this one. 

Certain parts for these old New Holland/Ariens tractors are somewhat hard to find now depending on what it is. The Craftsman, Deere and older MTD’s etc probably sold more and parts now may be easier to find?

Oh hell... I read this thread and immediately went to Craigslist and found an old Craftsman with a Kohler $150. I'm at total project saturation now and no room for another machine. I need to stop reading these sorts of posts.

Thats a good machine AAZCD. I have one of them i set up for my dad. Im not a fan of the kohler opposed magnum motor, i just prefer the more modern v twin command as i have MUCH more experience with them.  Also looks like the front wheels were swapped. They should be white 10” rims. 

Just parts wise you did good at 150$. If it can be fired up and used, even better. The oddball is that boxy hood, towards the end of that line it got the kohler command but had the old hood. The rest of the machine is pretty much the same as the newer ones. It was a “facelift” of sorts. 

The lo range first gear in these is stupid low. Great for plowing or whatever work.

 I replaced our old lawn tractor  with a zero turn but my wife hated using it so we had to go back to a standard mower. I almost pulled the trigger on a brand new Kubota unit until I gave my head a shake and realized I was about to spend more on it than my first five cars combined. I ended up picking up a used Craftsman with a 20hp B&S V twin, hydrostatic drive and 46" deck for $400. It's a 2003 with bolt on rear rims and a spin on type oil filter for both the engine and transaxle.  It works fine for our 3 acres of sloped lawn but it takes over twice as long as our zero turn did.  

 Wait for a good deal to pop up on CL and be prepared to jump on it right away.

Hydrostat is so nice, and quite honestly pretty indestructible.

I am not a fan of anything at big box stores in this department.  They are stamped steel, light duty, and are basically a push mower with a seat.  My friend bought one from HD and when we loaded it in her truck, I was able to slide it left and right to get it centered.  The thing was a featherweight.  She couldn't get traction, it broke constantly, and the pulley for the mower deck belt was on a cheap flimsy steel  bracket that kept bending and throwing the belt.

I bought a mid-70s Bolens HX14 for $500.  It has a big, single-cylinder 14hp motor (forget who makes it, but with my luck it's a Tecumseh).  Hydrostat.  The rear axle on it is a massive chunk of cast iron.  The frame rails are nearly 1/4" thick steel.  It had no trouble towing my 19' bowrider in and out of the garage.  Beefy piece.

If you only ever want to mow, get a cheapy and cross your fingers.  It will mow.  It won't be a heavy duty thing that you can use for things like plowing, hauling a trailer full of wood, or jockeying trailers.  It will just mow, and it will do so for a few seasons.

I would buy THIS in a heartbeat.

I would also buy THIS really quick

Think older.  70s, 80s.  Tractors aren't like cars.  A good old tractor can run for thousands of hours.  Dad and I have tractors that have been used every year since 1932 and I remember one needing a clutch and another needing a magneto.  They don't have hour meters on them, but holy moly have they had a hard life.  A new box-store tractor is for suburbia and it will last a few years mowing a dozen times a year.

Any John Deere that says Sabre, or the model number starts with a letter, pass.  Anything that starts with a 3 is pay dirt.  The 322 in my opinion is one of the finest lawn tractors ever made.  It has a 3-cylinder Perkins engine that was originally designed as a 17hp diesel, but they changed the head design and made it a 22hp gas engine instead.  It is a brick outhouse.  316/317 is another brilliant choice.  Nothing wrong with the 1- and 2- series, but they're a little small, very long in the tooth, and hard to find hydrostat.

I like my Ariens GT16. It has a 60" deck, hydraulic lift front, mid and rear with 3 point. 16hp Kohler single cylinder engine. I bought 2 of them for $600 and sold the parts one for $200. 

Some solid garden tractors in here!

i was working on fixing a iseki/bolens g152. Got it super cheap. Parts are stupidly expensive for the mitsubishi k3a diesel and after finding the cylinder walls scored from overheating, i had to admit defeat and drop it. Too much money and time needed to fix a tractor i dont need. 

In reply to AAZCD :

I have had that model Craftsman for about 15  years it has been great.  I recently bought a used commercial walk behind.  If someone is looking for a running garden tractor in the Michigan area let me know.  I will say they don't seem to make tight turns well though.

I've got a Bolens (by MTD) lawn tractor I paid $200 for at least five years ago, and it was old then. Like this one:

All belt drive, but damned if it doesn't keep going. I neglect it but keep it stored indoors. I'm starting to get the itch though for a proper garden tractor, something with a stout transmission and a bucket. I don't have a farm, but I maintain two rental properties nextdoor and find myself in need of more muscle as time goes on.

The lower one would be ideal, but of course I'm broke:

cdowd said:

In reply to AAZCD :

I have had that model Craftsman for about 15  years it has been great.  I recently bought a used commercial walk behind.  If someone is looking for a running garden tractor in the Michigan area let me know.  I will say they don't seem to make tight turns well though.

Haha *I* live in Michigan and I do just so happen to need one! I'll PM you, you know what I'm looking to pay. I'd probably like to make tight turns given my yard but I can live without it

Also, this forum makes me smile. I can ask about the most random things and get a ton of great answers

I have an Iron Horse from '87 with a 10 hp Kohler. Tough old pig.

Well I found this Craftsman with a 15HP Kohler Command OHV for $200. It looks like it may fall into some of the correct categories; a little older, Kohler motor - it looks like a rebranded version of the Deere at my old church, but what do I know? I'm going to check it out tomorrow. It has a stuck brake which is supposedly keeping the safety switch from letting the engine turn over.

Does that sound plausible to anyone? And is there a way to bypass it (short of unsticking the brake?) to see how the motor runs -- ORRR is a stuck brake not worth messing with on these? I've never even thought before about the fact that these things HAVE brakes, much less how they work.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2229401997372359/

Interesting...cupholder. That is a pretty old mower for a Craftsman judging by the body style. I certainly wouldn't pay more than that for it.

Thats a decent mower. It probably wont hold up to heavy use like plowing but it is tougher than anything new. Thats the single cylinder kohler command. They are good motors, i just prefer the v-twin power and i have much more experience with the twins. 

Many of these, i think including the low end john deeres, are made by contract manufacturers. AYP(american yard products) made most of mine. They made husqvarna and a few others i think. Roper made them prior to that.  So some more than look the same, they are the same. Different stickers and paint.