Craftsman CTX9500 for me?

Howdy,

I'm in the market for a new really good quality Garden Tractor and am wondering if the 2012 Sears Craftsman CTX9500 would be a good match for my needs?

So far I've narrowed my search to the Simplicity Legacy XL, Prestige and maybe even a Deere but the CTX9500 caught my attention being as many have mentioned a Simplicity Prestige clone minus the Kohler Command and the full roller deck. It obviously comes down to how big a bullet do I bite? lol

What will I do with this tractor? I'll definately have it set up for blowing snow with a two stage blower, a version of the soft shell Original Tractor Cab with a light set up and maybe even a hardshell cab depending on the model purchased. Last winter here in South Dakota was brutal.

Full range of ground engagement attachments including a tiller for gardening and of course for mowing. I may even do a little work on the side with this tractor to make some extra $$

I'm not as gifted as many here regarding mechanical abilities but I can do basic maintenance, probably remove the deck and clean or whatever since I'm fussy about taking care of my stuff.

I'm wondering if my needs would be better suited with the support of a full service dealership from Simplicity or maybe Deere or take a chance with this new CTX9500 from Sears and find a good small engine repair shop for my service needs?

A couple things come to mind regarding Sears. Will Sears be around much longer given their dire financial issues? If not, what about parts?

Assembly and delivery are really important for a new big ticket expense like this. Should I consider taking the CTX9500 to a hopefully trusted independent small engine repair shop to go over everything before I start using it to make sure everything is ok given what I've read how Sears has changed over the years and can be inconsistant?

Working in the bicycling industry I remember mass market shops would sell high end good quality racing bicycles but the customers would need to take them to a pro-bicycle shop to have those bargain purchased bikes completely re-assembled since their service was terrible.

Thank you :thanku: