Craftsman  42'' 24hp Turn Tight™ Hydrostatic Yard Tractor Non CA

I am now on my fourth unit and am still not satisfied with this product. The first one appeared to have something wrong with one of the blade mandrels, since one side cut an inch lower than the other, and could not be properly adjusted by Sears' technician. In fact, he made the situation worse by overadjusting the rake, causing the mower to scalp my lawn the next time I used it. A second was delivered, but without the $300 bagger attachment that was purchased. A third was delivered with a broken throttle, rough idle and disconnected transmission. The fourth was delivered one month after the original purchase and has been used twice thus far. Although I leveled the mower deck with a bubble level in addition to measuring the blade height, one blade still cuts 1/2" lower than the other, leading me to believe it is a design flaw from the manufacturer, Husqvarna. Since I have a bagger unit, one might think its weight would make a difference, lowering that side of the blade deck. However, it is the other side of the deck that cuts lower. One might consider a 1/2" to be nothing to squabble over, but I have Empire Zoysia sod which shows every imperfection of the cut. Another problem with the mower deck is something a previous reviewer noted: In Florida, we cut our grass taller than in other parts of the country to avoid it burning in the summer, but this deck cannot be lifted high enough to cut the grass at a desirable height. And even with having the guage wheels lowered as far as they will go and the deck set at the highest level, one side of the mower will scalp the lawn when traveling over the slightest of slopes.

Other than the cut, this tractor appears to be a reasonable value for the price. It runs good and smooth, is comfortable to sit on during an hour's worth of cutting, has a good turning radius, has a reverse cutting feature that many new tractors do not have, and the hydrostatic transmission is quite easy to use. Other faults include the fact that the turning radius is so tight, you can easily roll over the front wheels if going faster than a crawl when attempting to execute a tight turn, the tires could be larger or knobbier for a better grip on slopes (the tires tend to lose traction very easily), and the gas guage (actually, a hole in the frame that the gas tank can be viewed through) is not usable since the material that comprises the gas tank is opaque and the gas level cannot be determined. Cutting tall grass must be done twice, especially since one of the blades doesn't want to cut as well or at the same height as the other. If the cut was even and consistent, I would recommend this tractor, but after having four of them in a month's time all exibiting the same cutting problem, I must assume this mower simply isn't made for the kind of grass I have.

An even bigger reason I will not recommend this purchase is the customer service I received from Sears. From the nine hour day I spent waiting for the technician to arrive to improperly adjust the mower deck to the attitudes and incompetence I encountered while on the phone a total of six hours during nearly a dozen calls to bring these issues to a conclusion, I have never seen a lack of customer service from another retailer as I have from Sears during the purchase of this item. One would think they may experience a lack of service after purchasing a $10 item, but not after making a nearly $2,000 buy. Even the case manager who talked me into trying the fourth unit promised to call me the day of delivery and failed to do so, prompting me to call back once again a week later to find out if the case was still open. Due to the number of units delivered that had to be tried, I lost over $15 worth of gasoline in the first three units, I have to replace several areas of my sod that were scalped by the technician's improper blade deck adjustment on the first unit, I had to take a day off work without pay and this does not address the aggravation, frustration or time that this entire experience has cost me. They offered me a $50 gift card for my trouble.

In the past year, I have purchased expensive, new appliances from Sears, including washer and dryer, refrigerator and dishwasher, and was planning on purchasing a new stainless steel range and microwave to finish ungrading my kitchen. After this experience with Sears' customer service, I must state that they have lost the next and all future potential sales from me, my family and friends until they change the way they provide customer service.