I just bought a house on a little over an acre of uneven ground, which means my push mower can't get the job done anymore. I want to get a lawn tractor. It doesn't need to be top of the line or entry-level. Just a good overall value for the price. Any recommendations?

John Deere S240

Don't be afraid to shop second hand. I bought a '94 Toro with 48" deck at 625 hours some years ago for $650. That thing seems like it'll never quit!

Picard said:

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John Deere S240

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I've had my eye on that one, but I don't really know if its worth the extra cost over one of the higher E100 series versions. Any thoughts on how they compare?

The Fife said:

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Don't be afraid to shop second hand. I bought a '94 Toro with 48" deck at 625 hours some years ago for $650. That thing seems like it'll never quit!

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Its tempting for sure, but other than very basic things like changing oil, I'm not very mechanical at all. So I'm nervous about buying used lest I end up spending more money on service.

jaborch99 said:

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Picard said:

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John Deere S240

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I've had my eye on that one, but I don't really know if its worth the extra cost over one of the higher E100 series versions. Any thoughts on how they compare?

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It's absolutely worth the cost for several reasons. The most important reason is the S240 gets the Kawasaki engine used in the higher end X series vs. the Briggs & Stratton engine used in the E series.

You also get better hydrostatic transmission, better deck, better seat, etc. I have one and I love it!

Make sure whatever you get that it will fit thru your gate it it's a single gate. You can't forget to account for the width of the side discharge chute. A 42" deck will fit thru a 5 foot gate. A 48" deck probably won't.

Also I found this video for you. The oil change improvement on the E series is new. Changing the oil on the S240 isn't hard though.

jaborch99 said:

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The Fife said:

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Don't be afraid to shop second hand. I bought a '94 Toro with 48" deck at 625 hours some years ago for $650. That thing seems like it'll never quit!

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Its tempting for sure, but other than very basic things like changing oil, I'm not very mechanical at all. So I'm nervous about buying used lest I end up spending more money on service.

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It's needed zero maintenance other than the usual oil change type stuff. Belts, blades, and tires are probably due next season and at that point I'll have owned it 10 years. I'll agree there's probably a lot of stuff people never maintained out there but lightly used or someone selling because they went with ZTR can be a pretty big money saver.

From what I see around where I live the difference in maintained vs use and throw away is pretty obvious just in terms of appearance alone.