Herus,
Thanks for the anecdotes to back up my comparison... even though you state you disagree in the end, although I'm not sure you do.
I've never studied marketing so you'll have to bear with me here, but isn't "a premium brand going downmarket" and "expanding the customer base" the same thing? Since the most likely category of new buyers to attract are the short-arms-deep-pockets masses, that means bringing the overall product line downhill to position it within the larger market.
I think I see where you're coming from. We probably all agree that we won't be seeing many early 80s GM products at car shows 30 years from now (save for maybe a 145hp Z28), but while John Deere has cheapened their name with the box-store models, they have managed to maintain an uncompromised level of quality on the remaining 90% of their product line.

-Chris

Thinking about what you said, marineguy. Agree that they can be seen as the same thing. I suppose my thoughts were geared more towards cheapening the brand name by compromising quality, which cheapening extends to the upper end of the line whether it deserves it or not.

It works both ways, of course. Lexus's presence, I believe, helped boost Toyota, esp the Camry which was perceived as the "poor man's ES300", rather than the other way around.

I think it comes down to corporate integrity, good design, and not just a little bit of luck. If JD made sure to build some quality into the LA line by using modern economies of technology and materials, notwithstanding the lower price point, it will emerge unscathed and probably stronger. If they back up field problems with immediate and unflinching, bend-over-backwards support for this line, it will convey the message that, even thought the product is cheaper, it is backed by the same high-end company.

Me? I purchased the LA120, just two weeks ago. Ten years ago, I purchased the M-Class. Although it had its share of problems, the dealership for the most part supported it well, and during the 90% of the time the car behaved well, it was a blast to own and I still have it. Would I buy another Benz? Maybe, if one of their current products excited me as much as the original ML did. Big picture, I don't regret that ML purchase, although there were certainly times I cussed a blue streak at it.

One thing the two purchases have in common. They started with the head, were taken over by the heart and that's when the decision was made. Finally, the heart had to be supported by the head again, and there were enough ways to make that happen. Rational? I hope not... it's about feeling good. As Mahatma Gandhi said: "As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, keep it."

Herus,
Well said. It's funny how when your head gets temporarily lodged up your posterior, your heart takes over. It's those purchases that usually bring us the regrets--although we'd never admit it. But every man needs to have at least one in his life. For me it was my Kawasaki Ninja ZX-11 (fastest motorcycle on planet Earth at the time), which I bought brand new at age 19. The payment and insurance equaled about 50% of my income at the time. As a young, single Marine in Southern California (where it rains twice a year), it almost made sense. Two years later, as a college student in Pennsylvania, with tuition, rent, and paying for another all-weather vehicle on top of the motorcycle expenses, it would have been a significant financial burden for something only usable during the summer when it's not raining. Fortunately I wrecked it just before registration, and State Farm gave me $1,500 more than I owed on it!
Now I make it a point to thoroughly research and compare for all large purchases. I've literally been on the brink of making a purchase of several thousand dollars, check book in hand, and stopped in my tracks, realizing I don't know squat about diamond rings, carpeting, Southern turfgrass sod, and boats.
So rather than making a rash purchase, I went home and researched. In the end I made comfortable, informed purchases in 4 of the 5 instances--no boat. A big, gas-guzzling offshore cruiser doesn't exactly fit my plan for boosting the retirement and college funds, and spending more time on the weekends with my wife and kids (and less in the yard or garage).
Very long story short, Roland, if you research, compare and just sit and think about it for a month, and decide the 100 series is best for you... I think you should take another month (and keep an eye on the eBay listings in the meantime). Don't be enticed by the green and yellow paint!
-Chris

herus, that was a great post! Well said.

I owned 5 Chevy Cavaliers and not one of them were junk.I owned two at one time for awhile.I no longer have a Cavalier.I now have Buicks and a Chevy Malibu.They ride much better then the Cavalier.But not one of the 5 Cavaliers ever let me down.

The way I see it if you do not suffer from small penis envy.You do not need a Big penis on wheels.You can then afford a real John Deere?From your local John Deere dealer.

IMO the Cavalier was a fairly priced NEW car considering the competition of the time. The Japanese cars of course had more than just a slight edge in quality and reliability, a diference that became more obvious with age on the cars.

IIRC, one could buy an Accord for around $10K in those days (circa 1984). I nearly purchased one in 1987 but got the Pontiac Bonneville for around 13.5K as I needed more room for a growing family. That Bonnie was a nightmare, and I often longed for that betrayed Accord and the $2+ K...and spent much time glaring enviously at the many grinning Accordians who seemed to constantly zip outside the waiting room at the Pontiac service department in their still-running rides.

There are probably a few of those (non-Rust Belt of course) Accords still running around today. Cavalier, I dunno. I'd be very surprised to see one standing on rubber and not cinder.

And oh - not sure I follow your penis analogy (or is it metaphor?) but hey, whatever turns you on, dude. Rock on!

Looked at a JS40 walk behind at Lowes yesterday, same exact one at JD dealer, is this not a John Deere?
This is my first day of retirement, from my past full time employment. Will have to rely on my past parttime (landscaping) for living money, thinking of adding grass maintenance to my landscaping since will have more time to devote to it. I may become a parttime cutter, wow, thats why I was looking at trimmers(JS40). JD dealers weren't open yesterday, you suppose that is why JD went to Lowes as a outlet for some equipment?
Well I got to go to work today - dress code is a little different than last week as a Mfg. Engineer, although I do get to set the hours along with mother nature.

I called lowes again and finnally got the extended warrenty straight!I paid for a 3 yr and getting just an extra year(3 years total).Bummer!i thought 5 yrs!but a good thing is that i dont pay for pickup and delivery which isnt covered in the regular JD warrenty.

Johndeere,

Owning 5 Cavaliers doesn't say anything about your manhood, it just says that you have chronic bad taste in cars.
When I met my wife in college, class of '98 homecoming queen, I was driving a 12-year old VW Jetta (beige), so what does that say about your theory?
Now that I'm long past impressing my friends and attracting a mate, I buy equipment based on my needs (such as a slightly used JD 225 and a brand new Yukon XL 4x4). When I was much younger I wasn't concerned that people thought I was a poor cop's kid in my Kmart sneakers. Now I'm equally indifferent if people think I'm flaunting what I have.
I try to be loyal to manufacturers who strive to provide the customer with a quality product. Cheap crap has its place in our world. It's great that Wal-Mart sells $40 TVs so everyone can have one, whether you have a job or not. But when you look around and everything is made in China, even the 42" name-brand plasma screen you just bought from a local electronics dealer, something's wrong.
No the 100 series is not made in China, nor was the Cavalier, but they represent the bottom end of the product line. It depresses me that the bottom end is always the most popular line because so few people appreciate a quality product these days. It seems that eventually the good stuff is merely the better cheap stuff, and it becomes incredibly difficult to tell the difference between the truly good stuff and the better cheap stuff as you stare at a price tag in the lawn and garden section.
Add to that the contingent who buys the cheap stuff, knows it's the cheap stuff, then, surprised it actually met the low expectations, preaches to anyone who would listen that it was actually the greatest stuff ever.
With all that confusion (brand means practically nothing anymore, skewed reviews, etc) people completely forget that in the end you get what you pay for. What's the best tractor on the floor? Which is the most expensive? There you go. What's the best tractor under $1800? Probably the one priced at $1799.
The prices aren't arbitrary.

-Chris

Chris! I dont think its that many people dont appreciate a quality product!its that many cant afford to buy much better (unless used).My wife and i are middle class!Saving for retirement,home morgage,taxes,kids,etc.We use coupons!wait for sales and try to spend wisely.For what im using a LT for a $1500 one should do the job.It is a gamble (roll of the dice)to see how long it will last to be true but if it does last a long time then thats $$ saved for other things needed in life.Ive had a very good record on buying !CHEAP stuff!.The computer desk setup i have here is about 20 years old and is still looking ok and doing the job.Never had to throw out a tv yet and some of those cheap models are 20 yrs also.God bless you if you can go out and buy top of quality stuff!But for me and others what we got is doing the job and the saveings help for retirement and other toys i might want that i couldnt do if i over extended. Stan

Stanleyjohn,

I know where you're coming from, as I'm facing the same expenses (but I've got another 15 years before I really have to worry about the college expenses and as long as I can stick out this Marine Corps gig for another decade I won't have to worry about the retirement). I certainly can't afford to buy everything I want, but I'm blessed in that I can afford to buy everything I need. Sometimes I buy things new, and sometimes I buy things used. I guess I'm not doing much to increase sales of higher-end consumer equipment when I buy things like a GT second-hand. But it's actually pretty rare that I buy something used, just because of the slim chance of finding the item I want in my geographical area. Sometimes it doesn't take more money to buy "the good stuff," you just need to look a little harder. Case in point was my Yukon. On the lot next to it was a similar model with pretty much the one option mine didn't have, memory seats, which would have been a good feature since my wife drives the truck from time to time and it's really annoying when she screws up the seat settings. But that one was made in Mexico, and mine was made in Janesville, WI. It would have taken a lot more than auto-adjusting seats to make me buy a Mexican truck over an American one. Maybe if more new truck buyers cared about the venue of final assembly, GM wouldn't be selling so many Mexican-American trucks (or Equinox minivans with Chinese built motors).

I grew up in a cheap-stuff family; we went through three riding lawn mowers, two push mowers, and three trimmers over a 10 year period. I actually thought pressure washer wands were only designed to last one season. One day, while working my way through college selling/installing tires, a man in his 60s walked into the shop, looking for tires for his sedan. I usually started at the bottom, and began spouting off the features of the General Tires, when he cut me off and said "Life's too short to buy cheap sh*t; show me the Michelins."

I'm as guilty as everyone else when it comes to buying cheap stuff from time to time. I show at Wal-Mart. And I just bought a Briggs and Stratton 5500W generator at the Home Depot which is not exactly what I'd consider premium equipment, but for the amount of use I expect to get out of it (only during blackouts), I couldn't justify a $1500 Honda-powered John Deere unit of the same size. It just annoys me that in most cases, we don't even have the option of buying stuff that's built to last a lifetime. Can you even buy a washing machine without plastic gears anymore? I wouldn't be surprised if "high impact resins" find their way into low-end mower transaxles in the near future, if they haven't already.

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

-Chris

Marineguy

The reason I owned 5 Cavaliers was resale value.Most say they have none?But I paid around $12,000 to $15,000 for them and drove them around 5 years and got $5000.00 to $6000.00 trade allowance.I could have bought a $30,000 vehical drove it 5 years and got $15,000 trade allowance.I would not want to take a beating like that.Many are willing to however.

I hear ya! MarineGuy!You and everyone else have a great forth!Getting ready to pig out with lots of great food and brew.Im going to enjoy our birthday!freedom and liberty for all,plus its going to be nice to have the rest of the week off.

Some random thoughts:

When you're in your sixties, life IS too short for most stuff.

Not all low-priced stuff is junk, and not all high-priced stuff is excellent.

Driving five cars for five years means you put one year's worth of mileage on each (whatever your mileage may be). I doubt they were taxicabs (too small) so they were probably commuter cars. If you drove each for five years serially then it would have taken you 25, which is way longer than the product's life cycle. If you put only one year's worth of mileage on each on average, then of course you'd get pretty good resale.

Is buying Mexican or Chinese such a crime? The people there need to eat too. They breathe, drink, feel fear, pain, and hunger and love their families just like you do. Their skin may be brown or yellow but that skin sweats just like yours when the body works hard. When they can't feed their babies, their tears flow in frustration just like yours would.

Still not convinced? Don't forget it was the large multinational (accent on the word multi) corporation that decided American labor was too dear for their American-branded products. And still on the subject, who here is old enough to remember when Japanese-made was a joke? At least a few of you, I'm willing to bet. Now we pay through the nose for a Lexus and are happy to do so (not me and maybe not you, but a lot of people).

You missed buying the perfect vehicle because it was made assembled in Mexico... but do you think it's still sitting there? Nope... snapped up by your fellow American who "didn't know better".

Meanwhile, your American-assembled truck contains as much as 70% foreign-made parts. The gas it guzzles helps Arabs live like kings. Those same Arabs hire foreign (to them) engineers to help them coax that black gold from the bleak desert sand. Many of those foreign engineers are blond and blue-eyed Americans, who tolerate an uneasy life in a hostile land so they can send large proportions of their fat wages back to their eager and anxious families back home... yes, just like Mexicans here do.

I could go on... but the point is, the global village is here and it's now. Accept and embrace it or be left behind. Of course, if you're in your sixties, you probably don't have to care that much.

Nice Write-Up Herus! Im one of those who used to joke about Made in Japan! Always bought a Dodge car untill my last two which were a Toyota Echo and now a Toyota Prius.

If your in your 60's im not that old yet.But if you are you say you do not have to worry about it?I for one worry about my Grandkids.Its a shame they will be the ones that will have to deal with it.They will not have the same strong economic possibilities you or I had.Will China or Mexico etc care if they have to eat to?I dought it!Oh and 5 years is what I would have drove the $30,000 vehical also.You missed my point.Oh well buy what you want.Shop at Walmart and drive what ever just so the money goes to another country and does not stay here.If there is a war memoriol in DC for those who fought for your freedom.Then disgrace there honor by buying import products.They fought to keep Comunism from your land.Now you support China!Oh well were not far from it here as it is now anyway.With all the saftey and health Nautzis we deal with daily.You probably have a persian rug in your home also.Or soon will have?But do not expect me to buy into your sell us out program.I buy American when ever possible.Its getting very hard to do so however.Thats a sad thing to have happen.To be forced to buy import junk.

Many people believe that the manufacturing job decline in the U.S. is because those jobs are going to another country. China is often cited. While some jobs have been moved offshore, that isn't the main reason for the job decline...it's higher productivity.

Look at it this way. In 1900, 43.5% of the U.S. workforce was engaged in agriculture. By 2000, that number had dropped to 2.4%. Those lost farming jobs didn't move offshore...they simply disappeared. The same thing is happening to manufacturing.

While I was looking for statistical support for my point-of-view, I found a well written article making the same arguements. See below.

-Deerslayer

"America has been losing manufacturing jobs to China, Latin America, and the rest of the developing world. Right? Well, not quite. It turns out that manufacturing jobs have been disappearing all over the world. Economists at Alliance Capital Management in New York took a close look at employment trends in twenty large economies recently, and found that since 1995, more than 22 million factory jobs have disappeared.

In fact, the United States has not even been the biggest loser. Between 1995 and 2002, we lost about 11 percent of our manufacturing jobs. But over the same period, the Japanese lost 16 percent of theirs. And get this: Many developing nations are losing factory jobs. During those same years, Brazil suffered a 20 percent decline.

Heres the real surprise. China saw a 15 percent drop. China, which is fast becoming the manufacturing capital of the world, has been losing millions of factory jobs.

Whats going on? In two words: Higher productivity.

All over the world, factories are becoming more efficient. They've installed new equipment and utilized new technology. And that often means fewer jobs. Market reforms have also played a role. In China, new modern factories are replacing large, inefficient state-run plants. The result is that even as China produces more goods than ever before, millions of factory workers have been laid off.

Manufacturing is following the same path as agriculture. As productivity rises, employment falls because fewer people are needed. In 1910, almost third of adult Americans worked on farms. Now, fewer than 3 percent do. But American agriculture is the most productive in the world.

Similarly, global manufacturing output is rising -- since the mid-90s, up 30 percent-- even as worldwide manufacturing employment has been dropping. The two trends are directly related."

LOL, I have not tuned in here for a couple of years (probably two). This argument started when I joined four or five years ago, and I see it is still going on. Has fbeard or kromedome been around lately?

Herus,
I understand that the 21st century American economy is based on global trade. A large portion of my investments are in international stocks, because as much as I care about the wealth of my nation, I care about the financial future of my family more. A lot of people count on Social Security to finance their retirement; I'm not one of them.
Please do not take offense to this, but I firmly believe that the attitude you describe is the excuse which makes it acceptable for big US corporations to take their manufacturing beyond our borders, rather than sticking it out on American soil, paying American wages, and abiding by American environmental laws. In the end, to 99% of the buyers, the "country of origin" matters not in the least. I am neither racist nor a xenophobic, but I can honestly say that I would not buy a Chinese product in good faith that I'm feeding little Chinese mouths, but I would absolutely purchase an overpriced American product over a comparable import for that exact reason. I care about my family first, Marines second, all other Americans third, westerners with American-like cultural beliefs and practices fourth, and beyond that, they're pretty much completely on your own. They will not get a dime of my money (directly) or an ounce of my compassion- it's all allocated among the first three groups.
Last week I bought a wire fish tape at Lowe's for $19.99, made in Los Estados Unidos, as the bi-lingual tag stated. There was one hanging on the hook next to it, which might have been a few ounces lighter but no doubt would have fished co-axial cable from my living room to my kids' playroom just as well, priced at $14.99. That decision took about six nanoseconds because it's pretty much a sub-conscious act for me to buy American.
I understand that with NAFTA and its predecessor, the Canada/US Free Trade Agreement, the term American Car took on a much broader meaning. I know the Mexican truck and the American truck are built from the same parts, and a lot of those parts are assembled in the same foreign factories. I also know that buying the Mexican truck would flush just as much money back into the American cash flow as buying the American. But the fact is the final assembly took place in the heart of America, by men and women raised and educated in our own public school system. I would tend to disagree that Mexican workers (who are not known for their high literacy rate) are as capable as American workers when it comes to assembling a vehicle as complex as a fully loaded, full size, four-wheel-drive SUV. Like I said, it makes a difference to me.
Mexicans are just a road trip or triathalon away from being Texans, Arizonans, or Californians, but the Communist Chinese are a different story. Remember Tiananmen Square? That was a few years ago, but the government censorship has not diminished. China is NOT a free country. They may look like some of us, but they are not like us. We fought them indirectly in Korea and Vietnam, and IMHO the next time our country floats amphibious ships stacked with tanks and helicopters off an unfriendly shore, if not the Iranians (Persians, for those who didn't get Johndeere's rug comment) we will find ourselves in an armed conflict with the People's Republic of China, whose emerging military strength--mainly ships and fighter jets--has been financed over the past three decades with our kids' Christmas presents.
But it's all cheap stuff anyway. Why should their ICBMs be any different?

Yes, I remember making fun of "Cheap Japanese" merchandise 20 years ago. I still wouldn't buy a Japanese car, but I've got quite an investment on Shimano XTR components on my handmade-in-PA (the frame anyway) Cannondale mountain bike. Some of the individual components (crankest, derailler, brakeset) cost as much as an entire Chinese-made mountain bike at Wal-Mart. And my dad is still cursing for trading in his fast, comfortable, reliable Gold-wing on a not-fast, not comfortable, not known for reliability Harley-Davidson Road King. Personally, I'd take the Harley in a second, but he's convinced the Honda was a better bike (for a little over half the price).

BTW: at age 60 I plan to be middle-aged.

-Chris

I dont want to feel poor!but if everything was still manufactured here in the USA with our high wages i wouldnt be able to afford much on what my wife and i make in a year (middle class).I dont know what the solution is!but there has to be in order for this great country to last another 200+ years as it is today.I beleave that if it wasnt for cheaper labor elsewhere!inflation would be running wild these days,It may be its tame now because of lower costs.Now!! with all this said!I would love to keep all industry here in the good old USA!wish there was a simple solution without changing our way of life.PS!i think we are getting way off topic here (including me )and maybe we should find a better place to put this type of topic.

John Deere doesn't pay warranty work as well as for customer-paid work.

Why should dealer support John Deere sales to big box stores?

Folks buying John Deeres from big box stores should have known better. Oh well, they will learn the hard way.

John Deere will also learn the hard way selling an inferior product to the box stores. They might gain market share short term, but long term damage has begun to an otherwise excellent brand.

Today's Goldwings are assembled in Marysville Ohio and if you want a bike that will have the long distance touring comfort , handling , braking , and acceleration of a Goldwing , there simply is no comparable alternative made by Harley despite all the Japanese parts they're putting on them these days . A long distance ride on a Roadking will have you numb from the vibration and your back screaming in agony . And if you get stuck in a traffic jam in hot weather , be prepared to pull over to the shoulder when that antique design air-cooled engine overheats .

Unfortunately the Chinese car is coming to the U.S. , courtesy of Chrysler - link below . So you go out and buy Dodges or Chryslers your whole life to buy american and they go out and import Chinese cars . Seems like the american worker gets screwed over no matter what they do !

I would think the big box store sales translate into service sales for local dealers, no. I mean if HD or Lowes is selling 10X the number of units mom and pop sold, does that not mean a heck of a service business?

...and if they refuse these big box service calls, that will only be to the detroment of the JD name...which is there livelyhood.

There argument should be with JD? Maybe if they get together and refuse to service JD, it would get their point across.

I bought my LA130 from Lowes last year and am well pleased with it except for the drag links which are not adjustable. In talking with Deere, none of the new LA series are so it's not a product of a cheaper made tractor just a product of some engineer trying to save a few pennies foe JD. As far as service, no problem with big service shops. It seems as long as they make money on service, their happy.

Is it true that more foreign cars are built here in the US than domestics? (ie more Toyotas than Fords?...etc.)

Yes because Toyota sells more cars than Ford...now Ford is saying that their quality is on par with Toyota...well which one do you think will have better resale after 3-5 years ?

Has anybody noticed whether or not the engine in the HD & Lowes JD models are B & S or Kohler? Might tell a story!!

ok, so the old guy down the block is giving me a dirty look for driving a Toyota built in the US while his Ford is built in Mexico. Maybe Toyota should pack up and leave! Idiot!

the engines in the JD's i saw at Lowes today were B&S.
what are you saying that should tell us?

Wisconsin or... Wisconsin?

Why do people resurrect mangled, decaying, dead horses?

In the end, this down-the-rabbit-hole post would have been much more suited for www.edmnuds.com, so we let it die.

Yet, here it is again. Why?

OK everyone , lets be a little more careful what we post because it upsets marineguy.

NASCAR...Daytona 500..."THE GREAT AMERICAN RACE"
4 auto companies represented, Chevy, Ford, Dodge and Toyota.
Chevy, Dodge and Ford all built in Mexico or Canada.
Toyota built in the US.
Hard to believe...and i'm a union worker !!!!

I have a John Deere Sabar. I don't recommend buying a John Deere. I had 100 hrs on mine and I hade to have head gaskets replaced. Cost $220 which I should not have had to Pay. It has a 25hp kohler engine. Kohler had problems with the gaskets and was replacing then but the John Deere dealer didn't tell me and charged me for them.If you buy a John Deere most repair shops won't work on them because they have to buy all the parts from John Deere and don't get a discount on them. I now have 400+ hrs on mine and it smokes and uses oil bad. I want to rebuild it but I can't find repair parts on line. If I want to fix it I'll have to go to John Deere.

I Have a JS40,Can anyone please tell me how to change the oil,Thanks

outlooking heres the JS40 operators manual

New to this and deciding on what to purchase. Small grade and about an acre. Looks like the JD LA105 and the Cub Cadet LT 1040 are at the same price point. Would the JD be the better buy. Does CC service mowers purchased at HomeD. Over 3 years do you think I'll get more performance by the Kohler Courage in the CC or the JD B&S.

Tractor/engine make, no preference between them. Would instead focus on which dealer can serve you best now and later (would not recommend big box stores).

Cub Cadet or a JD dealer will be the one that actually service your machine. The L105 is a gear transmision the 1040 is a variable speed trans and is a two belt system. In the lower end I would look at the Cubs more that the deere L series just has some better features over the Deere and cub is starting to use briggs as well in there machines this year. Briggs are great reliable engines.

sergeant,

to my knowledge, the new cubs still use Kohlers.

Deeres answer to the low end market.
They want to compete with craftsman, wally world,
type units.
They know people want a John Deere in their garages.
They know lots of wannabe Deere owners will pay
for this type crap.
I have a real Deere, 15 years old.
I wouldn't trade even up for a new Lowes Low End mower.
The paint is the same color, the name is the same.
This is all they have in common

I work for Lowes so I can share a little bit of info. All of our John Deere's are maintained by the local dealer. When we recieve a John Deere tractor, it sits inside of its shipping cage until the local JD Dealer comes to take it out and prepare it for the sales floor. They are backed by our local dealer, and John Deere. Lowes does not do anything to the tractors that could void any sort of warranty. The ONLY thing Lowes associates do is wipe them off if they get dusty and move them around the store (either out front of the store or where they sit inside the department). It's nonsense to suggest we do things to void the warranty.

Jdowner some Cub Cadet 1000 series and one 1500 series GT will have briggs engines in them But most still have the kohler

I have a JD push mower. When I was at the local JD dealer getting a new blade I asked how he felt about Lowes selling JD's in competition with him. He said, "It's a win-win for me. On average, the person who buys from a big box store will not usually shop here, so I'm not losing a customer. We are the service company for all of the JD's sold at Lowes, so we get extra business."

FWWIW, tho, I haven't been too impressed with the service dept at this dealer...and I bought my mower from them.

Going on 3 years of ownership with my JD 115 Automatic (19hp B&S, 42" deck) and so far its performance, etc. has been flawless. And yes, we bought it from Lowes. I do get an occasional flyer from my closest Deere Dealer for service pricing/plans, but I try to do most myself. I skipped out on the extended warranty mainly because, I feel they are junk. If something doesnt have a 3-5 year warranty from factory, I find it useless to get an extended one, because they dont cover as good (just my opinion).

Hey jdowner, I got the same JD 115! Mine has been great too, I change the oil once a year at the end of the season, lube it up at least 2 times a year, and prepare it for winter as the manual states.

So far, I've done all the maintenance. If I have problems, I would bring it back to the dealer.

I bought mine from the local JD dealer, they game me free delivery and 2 hats : )

Bought a D-100 last week. I'll let you know how it is. First mowing went great.

Wow, here's an old one.
Update 2011:
1) The Janesville built Yukon just turned 100k, still runs and looks like brand new. I wonder if its Mexican twin is still on the road.
2) The old GT225 is still a workhorse in spite of the overwork and abuse it endures. I just tilled up my garden last month and will put the deck on this weekend. My neighbor's L105 is in the landfill.
3) Toyotas are no longer considered reliable.
4) China has us by the financial balls. But at least we haven't invaded them yet.

All the 100 series tractors are crap. K46 transmissions will fail in 200-300 hours. Cost $600 to $1000 to fix. See http://www.jamesmaurer.com/john-deere-hydrostatic-transmission-fix.asp.

Join the class action law suit.

First off they don't all have K46 transmissions, the D160 and D170 do. I just bought a D140 from a dealer and asked that question. It has the K40. Again do your homework and you'll find the answers. I bagged leaves today for the first test of the D140. Worked great but I can't say I'm totally pleased with the bagger design but it does function. It's the way the bags are mounted and the top cover. Anyway, It is a real JD but built as a homeowner version, not commercial duty. The problems arise when you try to pull heavy loads or do a lot of uphill mowing. The tranny can't handle that. But If your cutting grass on a "normal" lawn they should last a long time. I bought from the dealer because I would rather give him the business than a large chain and he will gladly do any warranty work I may require. He also matched the price of Lowes with the 5% discount for using a CC. I like my JD dealer and have purchased from him in the past. Yeah I'd rather have the 300, 500 or 700 series but I'm only cutting grass and bagging leaves. I have ATV's and a JD 2320 for heavier work.

I bought a John Deere D110 new from Lowes in 2015, I have had nothing but trouble with it, it is a real lemon. 215 hours on it, now the motor blew up. Transmission went out, cost me 400.00 for that. It is not worth the money....