John Deere JS48 lawn mower.

[RickN]

We bought a new John Deere JS48 lawn mower on June 16th 2012. It came with a 2 year warranty. Want to guess when it started having bad problems? Yep, June 16th 2014. It started smoking bad and spitting oil from the exhaust.

I recommend another brand.

 

[AKguy1985]

With john deere you pay for the name.

 

[RickN]

Looks that way but all I had in the past lasted. Of course even the cheap mowers used to last for many years.

 

[AllOut]

With john deere you pay for the name.

Not exactly...
I used to work for John Deere as a mechanic. It's the same deal as any other brand, if you can buy it at Lowes it's their cheaper junk lines. Back when I worked their the LT models were their better made intro riders, their Saber line was their cheap crap. Now they've changed it, the LT models are the cheap ones you can get from Lowes.
If you want a good piece of equipment buy it from a JD Dealer not a box store. The Dealer Models are way better, but also are more expensive. You get what you pay for though.
Ive bitched at my parents for years about not buying the cheap $1000-$1500 mowers and just get a good one. Instead they buy a cheap one every few years and run it til it's tore up then buy another. Their neighbor bought a good JD when they first moved in and it's still going 25 years later. My parents have easily paid 3X as much on cheap mowers in that time as their neighbor has on his one good one.

 

[cjjtulsa]

AllOut is right; my dad has only had to buy a few, because they've lasted for years - all bought from a JD dealer, not a box store. There is a definite difference in build quality you can actually see between the "real" JDs and the box store models. And in RickN's case, the engine is having a problem - which is likely a Kohler or something else. JD uses the engines of others, so if the powerplant is screwing up, your beef shouldn't be so much with JD, but with whoever made the engine.

 

[RickN]

AllOut is right; my dad has only had to buy a few, because they've lasted for years - all bought from a JD dealer, not a box store. There is a definite difference in build quality you can actually see between the "real" JDs and the box store models. And in RickN's case, the engine is having a problem - which is likely a Kohler or something else. JD uses the engines of others, so if the powerplant is screwing up, your beef shouldn't be so much with JD, but with whoever made the engine.

Partly true but JD picked that motor for it's mower.

 

[GlockPride]

Actually, on the cheap JD at Lowe's it usually a licensing agreement. JD has nothing the do with the build. Most of the time these things are assembled in China with 4-5 other brands right on the sample line. I believe that they are made next to the Scott's/Husqvarna/several others.

 

[trickydick]

The box store mowers have nasty Briggs engines on them and the the zero turn mowers at the JD dealers now have Briggs also. The mowers that gave them their reputation for reliability had some Kohler engines but mostly Kawasaki. I personally will never own a Briggs engine ever again.

 

[RickN]

Just FYI, this model is sold by JD dealers now.

 

[Hoov]

John Deere is becoming the Colt of lawnmowers.