Foo - Troy-Bilt, Junk in Lawnmowers.

I just bought a brand new lawn mower after my beloved Toro GTS failed me. I go to my local Lowes and purchased a Troy-Bilt XP professional/commercial 21" cut self-propelled shift motion walk behind mower.
7.75 hp OHV B&S engine.

Out for the second time with it cutting the grass..when..crack; the whole left front wheel assembly just broke..I mean fu$#in snapped.

So I'm very upset, call Lowes and I complain up and down.
Finally, the manager interupts me (nicely) and say's Mr. Wagner, we will have a brand new top-o-Line John Deere JS-whatever delivered to your door tomorrow morning with no up-charge and take back the TB XP no questions asked.

Huhhh....really...quite pleased.

Wow, now that's service!

That is pretty cool. I seem to have love/hate relationships with lawnmowers, and most of them seem to have become more fragile in recent years. Someone told me you couldn't go wrong buying Snapper, and seems like the same person said that if it was a brand or engine sold at WalMart, to avoid it at all costs. Wonder if Lowe's is like WM in that they put unrelenting pressure on their suppliers to trim their costs to the point that quality suffers.

Consumer Reports consistently gives the Troy Bilt stuff bad marks. Honda and Snapper both get consistently good reviews.

had a wheel on my mtd w/honda engine fall off last time mowing. 1st problem in 9 years. $3 for a couple wheel bolts at the big orange home store and good to go. can't complain about that.

That is pretty cool. I seem to have love/hate relationships with lawnmowers, and most of them seem to have become more fragile in recent years. Someone told me you couldn't go wrong buying Snapper, and seems like the same person said that if it was a brand or engine sold at WalMart, to avoid it at all costs. Wonder if Lowe's is like WM in that they put unrelenting pressure on their suppliers to trim their costs to the point that quality suffers.

I'm not actually sure the John Deere's you see at Lowes and Home Depot are built by John Deere. They might just have the branding licensed and made by MTD or something like that. That's speculation, however, so don't take it as fact. They still are nicer mowers than most of the MTD's out there, but the actual John Deere dealers sell different models than you can get at Home Depot.

It sounds like the Lowes manager has a good attitude about customer satisfaction at least.

There is actually a really, really interesting story about Snapper and Walmart. The CEO in question is retired, and I've heard rumors the company changed directions, but I haven't been in a Walmart to check since before this article:

The Man Who Said 'No' to Walmart (http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/102/open_snapper.html)

Contrast that with that with another article by the same journalist about Vlasic and Walmart:

The Walmart You Don't Know (http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html)

Ironically, I'm using a 15 year old base model Murray from Walmart that my landlord says he used to earn summer spending money in high school. Structurally it's getting a little marginal, but that cheap little Briggs & Stratton keeps the blade spinning. I'll wait until I have my own house to buy a nice mower.

had a wheel on my mtd w/honda engine fall off last time mowing. 1st problem in 9 years. $3 for a couple wheel bolts at the big orange home store and good to go. can't complain about that.

A Honda was what I used growing up. The thing was heavy, but it held up well, was quiet, and ran beautifully until after I moved out.

Follow up......So my new John Deere comes (Model JS25), I put it together, which only involves unfolding the handles and putting oil (supplied) in crankcase. I find out they did not drill the hole all the way through for the upper lower handle bolt in frame.

Still structurally OK since their is a lower one and I will drill thru myself.

This JD has the BEST self-propelled system I have ever used. Simply turn up on the handle, more turn for faster, less for slower. Sounds hard but actually very intuitive and easy.

Conclusion: You do get what you pay for and the JD25 so far is the best mower I have ever used.
Not cheap at $439.00 but made well and functions flawless.

As far as Honda's go, their GC160 or Gc designations are not that great at all and I would rather have a better B&S OHV.

The GC stands for "General Consumer" and is NOT their red or black commercial type you see on higher end units. Just beware and educated as to what you are buying.

Consumer Reports consistently gives the Troy Bilt stuff bad marks. Honda and Snapper both get consistently good reviews.

Funny, but I bought mine based on the good reviews my dad read about them. Three years of starting on the first pull, every time.

My Murray ($125 in 1993) is still kicking. I added the mulcher kit [blade only] plus a few other minor fixes. The mulching blade cuts better than the stock. I sharpen it once a season and change the oil.

I have an older Toro 21" push mower with a Suzuki 2-cycle engine. The thing just won't die.

I got tired of pushing the thing and bought a Bunton 48" hydro deck mower. The best thing about the deck mower is that it's got the power to stand the grass up even when it's wet and still chop the clippings up so fine that there's pretty much nothing left on top of the lawn.