Which Garden Tractor Should I Buy?
I’m looking at two tractors for a gardening business:
One is a mid-eighties Murray 18hp, cast iron rear end, comes with scraper, box scraper, turn plow, disk and cultivator (no mower!) and brand new ag rear tires. $750
The other is a mid-nineties Craftsman 19.5hp garden tractor with no attachments (and no sleeve hitch installed), but does have a mowing deck. $600
So with the Craftsman I’d have to invest in a $100 sleeve hitch, plus used plow, disk, cultivator and scraper blade.
Which tractor would you buy given the two?
February 26th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
On an “either-or” basis i’d go with the newer one, but neither one would be my first choice. the final choice would have to be based on how you plan to use it, is it for mowering or for the attachments?
i have some of those attachments that i haven’t used in years.
myself, I’d work the price down on the Craftsman about $100 and make sure it is in good running conditions. check the oil and air filter for dirty condition [was it mantained?] make sure everything is operating correctly and there are no “band-aid” repairs. drive it and make sure it does the job you want it for, i.e. is the mower deck fully fuctional? is there a grass catcher if that’s important? do they have manuals and spare parts?
of course,
my prefered tractors:
John-Deere
Cub
Ford
February 26th, 2010 at 10:28 pm
It really depends on what you want to use the tractor for. But in my opinion, I would stay away from the likes of Murray. They are cheaply built and don’t last long. With it being a mid 80′s model, it’s probably done for.
Again, this is only MY opinion.
February 26th, 2010 at 11:04 pm
have u checked the maintence record of both check with consumer reports online compare costs to maintain and factor in the future repairs or services plus get a rating of service
February 27th, 2010 at 5:17 am
A John Deer is the very best, the next one is a Murray. When I lived in Florida we had alot of land, and my husband had a Murray. It was excellent. So take your pick.