Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I never tell folks that the Deere "L" series is junk. But I DO tell them that these machines were introduced to allow Deere to sell a discount priced machine at Home Depot to compete with Walmart, and Lowes. There is nothing wrong with that, but folks should know that they are not going to get something built like the legendary Deere 318 for $1499. That is the one thing about Deere's marketing that bothers me. They built their reputation on tough, over-designed garden tractors from the 1960s- 1980s that were among the best garden tractors ever made. The machines sold at Home Depot, especially the G100 (now the G110) are not built the same way, do not offer the same variety of awsome attachments, and are less likely to last 40 years. That said, they will cut the average suburban lawn as well as other machines in their price class, and they have Deere's dealers and Deere's world class parts distribution system to back them up. If I had never owned an older Deere, I'd probably be very happy with a new one, and to tell the truth, it would do all I need done except the heaviest snow removal. But after owning (2) Deere 316s that in "winter dress" go over 1000 pounds BEFORE I plant my 300 in the seat, I don't think I'd feel right on a 500 pound machine.