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Been doing some research...

w_r_ranch

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As I said in the OP, pay attention to the transaxle... Cheap mowers, regardless of make, have cheap (extremely light duty) transaxles & are not suitable for pushing snow or even cutting non-level ground. A good garden tractor has a much stronger transaxle, however they do cost more... although not as much as a good 4-wheeler ($8K).

Top 415 Complaints and Reviews about John Deere

Good luck in your search. It shouldn't be this find/hard to buy a quality product, but nowadays it is... Lot of junk out there being hyped/marketed that won't hold up...
 

Lost in mn

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I did some more looking last night and saw all of the horrors about the box store mowers, Only dealers I have here within 100 miles are JD and Kubota. Going to go look at a couple used Kubota 4x4 Garden Tractors today
 

w_r_ranch

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2X on the box store models, the dealer models are better built although many are still inferior to what I would expect. Look carefully at everything because the will still 'cut corners' & use cheap (crappy) transaxles. There are not that many transaxle manufacturers out there...

For instance, Tuff Torq (which supplies many mower/tractor manufacturers)... FULL LINE COMPARISON

Here is an article that may be of interest to you & help in the decision making process:

Lawn Tractor Transmission Types
 

Lost in mn

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Well I was ready to fork out 4 grand for a Husqvarna GT52XLSi, But happened to take a peek at Craigslist. Found a GT52XLS demo model for $2200. Drove down and snatched it up. Had 33 hours on it but full factory warranty from purchase date. Smoking deal on this Tractor. Dealer also threw in wheel weights and chains and I have a plow on order. One hell of a nice machine!

 

w_r_ranch

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Dang, that is a smoking good deal at that price!!! Looks like you'll have your whole setup for what I paid just for the tractor. Congrats!!!!
 

Lost in mn

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Yeah I couldn't believe the deal I got on it. One more good thing about Minnesota, SEASONAL CLOSEOUTS!!! lol I just ordered a set of AG Tires and a snow cab for use this winter. My old man will be plowing n mowing in style now lol.
 
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