Walmart ride on!

[johnnymag3 2,519]

Mow twice with it and throw it away........

[Ed Kennell 38,135]

13 hours ago, Sparky said:

  
 

 

 

  I'm really liking the aerodynamic hood and headlights.     The CCP is keepin it GREEN for high speed mowing and better fuel economy.      

 

 

 

       Course, we southpaws really appreciate the left hand cup holder and gear jammin stick

[wh500special 2,170]

That zip tie is just a modern equivalent to the goofy wire bail and spring used to hold fuel tanks down on some 1970’s Wheel Horses.  Neither solution seems to be ideal. 
 

It’s funny that the price of 1984 made my mind go straight to Big Brother and room 101 and not The Price is Right…

 

Winston 

Edited May 1, 2023 by wh500special

[WHX?? 48,814]

Actually that's really not a bad price given what a pound of beef is nowadays. Prolly would last a couple of years ya took care of it.

6 hours ago, grinchsr said:

No where in this post did Sparky mention that he did not buy that tractor.  I wonder 

We'll find out in fifty years when Sparky starts a yard machines forum... 

[squonk 41,067]

Even the tires are designed to wear out in 10 years! 

 

[lynnmor 7,305]

1 hour ago, squonk said:

Even the tires are designed to wear out in 10 years! 

 

What tires?  I see inner tubes with a little tread.

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,315]

  Let’s say Joe Homeowner buys this to mow grass and nuttin else:
  With proper maintenance etc .. this should last 10 years at least before something catastrophic happens. So back when this was an $800 -$1000 machine (pre-Covid, not that many years ago) you could say it cost ya $80-$100 a year to mow your lawn if you got just 10 years service from it.  But at $1980 we are now talking about $198 a year to mow your yard. Not such a great deal anymore. 
  That’s how I tend to calculate whether something is a great deal. A guy at work was bragging about the “great deal” he got on a used truck in a private sale. But 4 months later the auto tranny blew, so that great deal wasn’t great anymore once you calculate how much use he got out of it. 

[davem1111 2,030]

1 hour ago, Sparky said:

  Let’s say Joe Homeowner buys this to mow grass and nuttin else:
  With proper maintenance etc .. this should last 10 years at least before something catastrophic happens. So back when this was an $800 -$1000 machine (pre-Covid, not that many years ago) you could say it cost ya $80-$100 a year to mow your lawn if you got just 10 years service from it.  But at $1980 we are now talking about $198 a year to mow your yard. Not such a great deal anymore. 
  That’s how I tend to calculate whether something is a great deal. A guy at work was bragging about the “great deal” he got on a used truck in a private sale. But 4 months later the auto tranny blew, so that great deal wasn’t great anymore once you calculate how much use he got out of it. 

 

It's kinda sad that so many people aren't willing to think things through that much.  When I was buying the used 2017 truck I got recently at a dealer, and arranging financing, I was talking with the finance guy about the monthly payment versus the length of the loan, size of down payment, how much interest I'd be paying, and how old the truck would be when the loan was paid off. His eyebrows went up quite a bit and he said "most people just want the lowest monthly payment - they don't care what they're trading off to get that". 

[WHX?? 48,814]

Well since nobody else has got the stones to bring it up but these mowers contributed to the demise of our beloved .

Even with the cheaper Toro branded verts could they couldn't compete. As we all know tho horses were better built with our granddads steel. 

[sergeant 291]

2 hours ago, WHX?? said:

Well since nobody else has got the stones to bring it up but these mowers contributed to the demise of our beloved .

Even with the cheaper Toro branded verts could they couldn't compete. As we all know tho horses were better built with our granddads steel. 

You Mean these

The Garden tractor Version Based On the Cub Cadet 1500 series was actually a pretty decent Tractor. But Toro Didn't really market it well, for example MTD Made an electric lift sleeve Hitch for them along with a 30-inch Hydraulic tiller Dual direction with the flip of a Lever

MTD Made the GT2200 for Toro from 2006 till 2016 sold at Both dealers and Box stores

 

I always felt Toro really didn't care about the residential Line starting around 1998 while the 5XI had some Nice Features it was Behind the rest of the Market It Lacked Diff/lock, and a 3 point hitch when their competitors Like Deere, Simplicity and Even Cub were a Head of the Market The 5Xi was a cross between Because It still had a clevis Hitch in 1998 when Ariens, Cub Cadet, Deere, Ingersoll, Simplicity all had Tractors with a Cat 0 3 point hitch and a rear Mechanical or Hydraulic PTO. Yes, they had a Kwik-way Loader and ROPS. With the weight of the 5Xi they could have supported a Cat 0 and a rear PTO 2000 or 540RPM even a Limited Cat 1, and they Never really updated the 5XI series to compete against Deere and Simplicity.

 

That was MTD Cub's Problem with their 3000 series, they were still marketing it to compete against a 1990s Deere and Simplicity. The Deere X400/X500 heavy-duty series came out In 2002, Simplicity Came out with the Legacy XL in 2003 to compete against Deere about 2006 Ingersoll under Eastman started an Update to compete against Deere. Had the Owner of Eastman not had a nearly fatal accident and become a quadriplegic, You Probably would see Ingersoll Tractors on the market today. The Cub 3000 series still had a Cat 0 3 point Hitch In 2010 when Brinly stopped Manufacturing Cat 0 implements in 2005.

 

The Toro XL series Lawn Tractors always seemed to be a bit on the cheap side to me, and those were designed and built-In House By Toro when You Put it next to a Deere LX100/200 series or a Simplicity Broadmoor or an Ariens Lawn tractor. I think even some of the MTD cub Lawn tractors were better made, the 4XT was a nice attempt at competing with the Deere GX300 and X500 through X540. I think had they stayed with the electric over Hydraulic lift system, it might have come across better than an electric actuator for lifting implements. Furthermore, I Just don't think Toro Tried Hard enough to innovate after the 200, 260,300, 400 & 500 series. The 5Xi and the 4XT seemed like a Half attempt, and they had Plenty of dealerships across North America and Europe. They Management really wanted to concentrate on the commercial side of the Business. Which I think they have done a Good Job On. Deere Has concentrated On all side of its Business, the X300 through X700 series even with their High Prices they are still selling well in this economy and their Box stores Models are even flying out the Door It Took them about 40 years to Become one of the Kings of the Residential Outdoor Power equipment Lines For Lawn & Garden tractors you basically have 4 Manufacturers Left Deere, Husqvarna, Simplicity/Snapper and Stanley/MTD Which Includes Cub Cadet, Troy-Bilt, MTD store Brands (at the top of this thread) and Craftsman

 

[kpinnc 12,005]

On 4/30/2023 at 6:43 PM, Sparky said:

Opened the hood and was shocked to see the fuel tank is held in place with a plastic zip-tie! Not zip-ties pleural..but just one!

 

Ashamed to say I've used heavy zip ties to hold a battery before... 

 

But that was a temp solution. I'm a telecom guy by trade, so zip ties are a normal thing in my world. When used to hold a gallon of flammable fluids over a hot running engine as a permanent solution? Not bad judgement, but just plain stupidity in motion!