I need to buy a new walk-behind push mower. Can't afford to spend a lot - I'd like to stay closer to $200 than $300. I do want 3-in-1, but don't need propulsion. Is there really any differences in this price range??
I've been through two Craftsman 21" mulchers in the past 10years. One, the deck/wheels just wore out from our tough Missouri "lawn" (read that rocks, acorns, roots, hills, dips, etc). I actually replaced all the wheels once because the original ones were trashed. The other died last week from, I must admit, most likely poor maintenance. We moved recently and now have a calm, level, 'suburban' yard that is just grass.
I've looked at the Troy-Bilt at Lowe's - seems TB is owned my Yard Machines, which is what WalMart sells, so I'm wondering if a Troy-Bilt mower is particularly better quality than your average Craftsman or Yard Machines or whatever. I've wondered if there is maybe only 1 or 2 factories turning out all the decks so they're all essentially the same?
Several mowers come with the Honda 5.5 engine rather than 6.5 or 6.75 B&S.
I found an ad in the paper - the guy rebuilds Toro/Honda mowers and sells them for $150. I don't know where he gets them, but apparently he goes through a lot of them.
I guess my general question is - is there really that much difference in decks/wheels at this price range?
Is the Troy-bilt about the same quality as the Craftsman? Should I go for the Honda engine over the B&S??
Thanks for any insight. Part of me thinks with this lawn it really won't make much of a difference as long as I maintain the mower.
