[Tractor03]

It seems every time I look on Craigslist there are 10 new lawn tractors for sale. Some are in pretty good shape, others are good for nothing but parts. Why can't people keep a lawn tractor in good shape? I have seen many that are only a few years old in very bad shape. The quality of new tractors isn't even close to that of older ones, but I have a newer Craftsman that is around 5 years old and it still runs and mows fine. It just seems that a lawn or garden tractor is just a disposable item to most people instead of a long-term investment. Thats why I love MTF. Because you guys know that a garden tractor is a long term investment instead of a 3 summer junk lawnmower. Sorry I just had to rant this was really bugging me.

 

[junkie]

I agree with you 100% ,I work for a metal recycling facility and just about every 2 months a local kabota dealer stops in with a mega load of equipment to scrap. i would love to take it all home and repair it . most of peoples decisions to buy new or repair are based on labor costs . but there loss is my gain . thats why i love pickin through the pile . LOL ------- :ROF

 

[Tractor03]

I bet you have a field day when they bring a load of junk tractors in. :ROF

 

[D-Dogg]

Maybe you should offer a non-credit course at the community college in OPE maintenance.

Teach people that you can use the leaf blower to add years to their mowers.

 

[2stagefanWI]

Unfortunately, we live in a throw away society... we still have plastic bags that are outlawed by western european countries like CHINA!!!! Because many-but not all- people think that resources are limitless, it is easier to just get something new than fix something old. That is one of the main underlying causes of Simplicity's downfall =((((. We live in a consumer driven market and people buy the cheaper stuff. Maybe when we run out of affordable gas in 50 or less years, all of the plastic sh*! will be gone, and due to high transportation costs, companies will find it easier to go back to building stuff in the USA. That is my hope, but when we run out of gas.... we run out of lawn tractors too =( so im not sure wheter or not the end of petroleum is good or not. Though people still seem to be interested in ICUs as some french guy just made a car that uses the ICU but he makes it work with precicely contralled bursts of air instead of gasoline. Only time will tell what the real outcome for tractors will be- though i dearly hope to see them still in use!!

 

[Tractor03]

Its just ashamed to see tractors, even just cheap ones, junk after a few years when they could have 15+ years of service if they had just been maintained.

 

[johndeere]

We live in a throw away society.It is a shame for sure.I find that with used cars and trucks also.

 

[Grateful11]

It's not that they're buying throwaways but that they're too lazy and ignorant
to take care of their stuff, IMHO.

OT: Heck I see people everyday that are too sorry
to even give a turn signal when turning into a road.

 

[simplicityguy92]

i like people like that i get their "junk'' cheap and i fix it and use it

 

[scrat2]

It's a sad to know that some people complain about not having enough money in these economic times. Yet they don't think about spending less than $100 in maintenance costs per year on a lower priced machine, then neglect it for 3-4 years and spend $1500 to $2000 on another one after the first one is shot. Simple math problem, isn't it?

 

[Nouveau Redneck]

we still have plastic bags that are outlawed by western european countries like CHINA!!!!

Thanks for the geography lesson. All his time I thought China was in asia.
:thThumbsU

 

[FrankMA]

Western Eurasia???? :banghead3

 

[Kbeitz]

It's all about time... People put there time where they like... Some people hate mowing grass and anything that has anything to do with it... So they mow the grass and park the tractor and go watch TV forgetting to care anything about taking care of there tractor...

 

[D-Dogg]

I said it jokingly at first, but maybe the OPE maintenance course would be a good idea.

I tightened the pulley on the rear of my neighbor's MTD and she thought I was some kind of professional mechanic. A shop wanted $75 to look at it and she had only paid $300 for it so was considering giving it away.

I've fixed countless junk weed whackers with a shot of carb cleaner and a clean plug.

 

[hiegear]

Lots of times its because they do not have the ability to think it through. I've seen many a brilliant man who wears loafers because he hasn't learned to tie his laces. "Mind those boots" Bill

 

[Grateful11]

I hate those plastic bags even though I still get them in stores but I can't
drive down the road anymore without at least one blowing around on the
road and wondering if it's going to get stuck under my vehicle. We reuse
them as trash can liners if they'll fit. At least Aldi Foods, my favorite grocery
store, doesn't have them it's either bring your own or buy paper bags.

 

[Varmint_304]

It's all about time... People put there time where they like... Some people hate mowing grass and anything that has anything to do with it... So they mow the grass and park the tractor and go watch TV forgetting to care anything about taking care of there tractor...

Sounds about right to me. People buy these tractors to make jobs simple and easy. However, maintaining a tractor isn't exactly simple nor easy. (Keep in mind, most folks don't change the oil in their own cars anymore.) I don't think it's laziness. I think people simply aren't taught to do maintenance and, as a society, we have more demands on our time.

 

[diesel_nut]

Maybe the ones in good shape are from people wanting to upgrade or they simply just want a new tractor???????

OK. Here's Dr.Bill's medical analogy.
When you guys say "these people are idiots for not taking care of their tractors" that is like me saying "these people are idiots for not knowing how to treat their own illnesses".
Think about it.

 

[Tractor-Holic]

I just wish more of the yuppies who cant fix a tractor or cant be botherd too,would PUT them up for grabs on Craigslist more often--in too many cases once they get taken to a dump or scrapyard,they are "off limits" to anyone who wants to buy them for parts or repair..too bad the town dump and scrap places wouldn't realize they can sell them for more than scrap value,and at the same time the person buying them would still be getting a bargain..with all the towns crying about "budget cuts",why wont they put aside things with engines on them so people could get them,instead of squashing perfectly good stuff that can be re-used..?..and offset their costs and make money at the same time?..

I'd gladly pay 20-50 bucks for a tractor that had a useable engine or tranny,if I had a need for it,even if the rest of it WAS junk..I dont like the fact things we could get for free now cost money ,IF you can still get a hold of what your looking for,but if thats what I have to do to get parts that are scarce or ridiculously expensive new,I'll pay the price...but I guess its too much work for dump employees and scrapyards to separate things and let people have a chance to save money,and prevent something of use to someone from going to waste..and make money off it--I guess that makes too much sense,can have that..

 

[slkpk]

To go along with whats been said already is why do people spend thousands on a tractor and then ask where they can buy the cheapest oil and filters.It's the life blood of any machine. Makes me wonder. slkpk