Well, I own it I'm very happy.
I picked up the trailer about 7 PM last night and took off early this morning at 5:40 AM. I got back home at about 5 PM. There was a big multiple fatality accident on the turnpike yesterday so I drove slow in the right lane and took my time. I got to the dealer in Reading about 10:45 and met with the salesman I talked to. He was very nice as was the rest of the dealership. The tractor has been inside since last week and so I gave it a good look over. Checked the blades, checked the fluids, checked the rear diff, started it, drove it forward, backwards, engaged the diff lock, ran the full range of the choke and throttle, engaged the PTO, tried out the power steering, and the deck lift. Everything major worked pretty much as I expected it to. The deck runs very quietly. It was obviously garaged and well cared for. There is very little if any dry rot on the rubber parts and all replacement parts look to be OEM Cub Cadet pieces. The powder coat is in fairly good shape. I don't even think they cleaned it, because there was still dirt and grease in the usual spots.
The salesman told me everything he knew about it, he said the guy who owned it is pretty regular customer for Stihl and Honda mower parts and service (they deal in both of those) and the hydraulic deck lift went out on the tractor, so he traded it in for a Kubota BX Series (they are mainly a Kubota dealer). He told me they replaced the lift cylinder and put it up on the lot. He explained to me that initially he thought it was the hydraulic pump that failed but the mechanics told him it was actually the cylinder that had failed. He said their mechanics also changed the engine oil and oil filter and went over the whole thing to make sure everything was fully functional and there were no leaks. They also greased all the fittings, installed a new deck belt and sharpened the blades. I did bring up the year being listed incorrectly and he apologized and took a little off the price we already agreed on. It didn't include any manuals but it did include two new deck belts and a new set of blades.
After I did the paperwork and paid for it, I drove it up on the trailer and strapped it down. It fit on the trailer perfectly. Lots of space on either side of the deck. I used 4 ratchet straps and bungee corded the seat down as suggested. I put the front straps around the front axle and crossed them and put the rear ones through the hitch plate. I stopped for lunch and gas after and then got back on the road. There were a lot of speed traps on the way back so I took it slow again. The Subaru pulled the tractor pretty well until I got onto any uphill grade and then it was very obvious that there was a loaded trailer back there. Practically had to floor it to keep up. Needless to say gas mileage was not as good on the ride home as the ride there, lol. Despite getting back into town at the start of rush hour, I didn't hit much traffic.
I have found some small things that need addressed but nothing very concerning. The left taillight does have a chip out of it, which some of you said was common due to gas spilling and just being brittle. It's mostly intact but I'll eventually replace it because it'll bug me if I don't. The gas cap leaks which I discovered as I was driving it around. It does need pedal bushings. The forward pedal seems okay but the reverse has a lot of slop in it. When you pull up on the forward pedal, it goes much faster. (Thanks to Steve for that tip!) The tilt lock for the steering wheel is also frozen. It moves a little but I didn't force it not wanting to break anything. Some WD-40 should loosen it up.
The air filter isn't very dirty but it's not new, so I'll probably change it out and I'll probably also change the spark plugs. The fuel filter doesn't look very old so that can probably be left alone for awhile. I'm sure I might find something else here or there but everything major seems good.
I got the trailer back to Home Depot with time to spare. It worked out great. It was $50.78 total for the rental with damage insurance. Not bad at all IMO.
In all I'm very happy with my new tractor and excited to use it and work on it. And I'm very appreciative of everyone here who helped me decide on it and contributed all of the useful information in the "Opinions on Shaft Drive Cub Cadets" thread. Thanks everyone. It's been a long day and these are all the pictures I've got, I'll have more tomorrow.
I picked up the trailer about 7 PM last night and took off early this morning at 5:40 AM. I got back home at about 5 PM. There was a big multiple fatality accident on the turnpike yesterday so I drove slow in the right lane and took my time. I got to the dealer in Reading about 10:45 and met with the salesman I talked to. He was very nice as was the rest of the dealership. The tractor has been inside since last week and so I gave it a good look over. Checked the blades, checked the fluids, checked the rear diff, started it, drove it forward, backwards, engaged the diff lock, ran the full range of the choke and throttle, engaged the PTO, tried out the power steering, and the deck lift. Everything major worked pretty much as I expected it to. The deck runs very quietly. It was obviously garaged and well cared for. There is very little if any dry rot on the rubber parts and all replacement parts look to be OEM Cub Cadet pieces. The powder coat is in fairly good shape. I don't even think they cleaned it, because there was still dirt and grease in the usual spots.
The salesman told me everything he knew about it, he said the guy who owned it is pretty regular customer for Stihl and Honda mower parts and service (they deal in both of those) and the hydraulic deck lift went out on the tractor, so he traded it in for a Kubota BX Series (they are mainly a Kubota dealer). He told me they replaced the lift cylinder and put it up on the lot. He explained to me that initially he thought it was the hydraulic pump that failed but the mechanics told him it was actually the cylinder that had failed. He said their mechanics also changed the engine oil and oil filter and went over the whole thing to make sure everything was fully functional and there were no leaks. They also greased all the fittings, installed a new deck belt and sharpened the blades. I did bring up the year being listed incorrectly and he apologized and took a little off the price we already agreed on. It didn't include any manuals but it did include two new deck belts and a new set of blades.
After I did the paperwork and paid for it, I drove it up on the trailer and strapped it down. It fit on the trailer perfectly. Lots of space on either side of the deck. I used 4 ratchet straps and bungee corded the seat down as suggested. I put the front straps around the front axle and crossed them and put the rear ones through the hitch plate. I stopped for lunch and gas after and then got back on the road. There were a lot of speed traps on the way back so I took it slow again. The Subaru pulled the tractor pretty well until I got onto any uphill grade and then it was very obvious that there was a loaded trailer back there. Practically had to floor it to keep up. Needless to say gas mileage was not as good on the ride home as the ride there, lol. Despite getting back into town at the start of rush hour, I didn't hit much traffic.
I have found some small things that need addressed but nothing very concerning. The left taillight does have a chip out of it, which some of you said was common due to gas spilling and just being brittle. It's mostly intact but I'll eventually replace it because it'll bug me if I don't. The gas cap leaks which I discovered as I was driving it around. It does need pedal bushings. The forward pedal seems okay but the reverse has a lot of slop in it. When you pull up on the forward pedal, it goes much faster. (Thanks to Steve for that tip!) The tilt lock for the steering wheel is also frozen. It moves a little but I didn't force it not wanting to break anything. Some WD-40 should loosen it up.
The air filter isn't very dirty but it's not new, so I'll probably change it out and I'll probably also change the spark plugs. The fuel filter doesn't look very old so that can probably be left alone for awhile. I'm sure I might find something else here or there but everything major seems good.
I got the trailer back to Home Depot with time to spare. It worked out great. It was $50.78 total for the rental with damage insurance. Not bad at all IMO.
In all I'm very happy with my new tractor and excited to use it and work on it. And I'm very appreciative of everyone here who helped me decide on it and contributed all of the useful information in the "Opinions on Shaft Drive Cub Cadets" thread. Thanks everyone. It's been a long day and these are all the pictures I've got, I'll have more tomorrow.