I've been thinking about purchasing a cub cadet walk behind mower and have narrowed it down to 2 models. However I've become increasingly frustrated with the lack of knowledge that any of the dealers seem to offer pertaining to these new models. The cub cadet website contains numerous misprints regarding the mower specifications including their downloadable sell sheet. I've visited 1 dealer, called 2 others, and also called cub cadet trying to find out more info on the "cc 98h" model with the honda engine. No dealer has this model in stock and 2 out of the 3 couldn't even quote me a price on it, much less provide any details regarding the engine. So I now turn to the gardenweb experts for some advice.

Based on the engine alone which would be the better lawn mower, the "cc 98h" or the "cc 999es"? They're both 190cc engines while the 98h is a Honda OHC engine and the 999es is a Briggs OHV engine. I like the idea of owning a Honda engine but the Briggs engine is rated at 8.75 lb torque so the only way I would get the Honda model is if it can provide the same amount of torque. Unfortunately there aren't any specifications available online regarding the Honda engine so I have no idea what the horsepower or torque would be. Even the cub cadet representative I spoke to seemed clueless regarding this engine. Which would be the more powerful engine? Which would last the longest?

For a zero-turn mower with a 190cc engine priced at under $500 I know I'm not going to find a better deal, but the lack of knowledge that the dealers have regarding these models makes me wonder if I should just forget about cub cadet altogether. Anyone else have any experience (good or bad) with cub cadet walk behind mowers?

Here is a link that might be useful: cub cadet sell sheet