I hate that I can't recommend more than one brand of push mower that will last the "everyman" (with little or no maintenance experience) a very, very long time.
I don't recommend anything medium to high end to "Joe Six Pack" anymore other than the middle of the road or better Honda's. Anything else still holding on to their prior quality? Ariens maybe? I saw a basic Ariens rider last year that was a Poulan/Craftsman with orange paint. The only part of a Toro that is as tough as it was in the past is the deck. Even the wheels and the handles are weak and brittle. I know most everything else gets squirted onto the assembly line from the same vat of $%#* and is painted different colors.
Even when I do get a person hooked on the idea of a Honda, I warn them to just go to Walmart if they're not going to walk their yard for debris and mark the water shutoffs, roots, etc before they mow, or if they loan their mower out to neighbors.
The only positive side to Toro is the replacement parts aren't as expensive now if you buy them on line. I got a new front "transmission" (assembled in Mexico) for $53 (free shipping) on Ebay for a guy, and it only took 20 minutes to install it. Still a $125++ job at a "real" mower shop though.
Any success or horror stories???
I don't recommend anything medium to high end to "Joe Six Pack" anymore other than the middle of the road or better Honda's. Anything else still holding on to their prior quality? Ariens maybe? I saw a basic Ariens rider last year that was a Poulan/Craftsman with orange paint. The only part of a Toro that is as tough as it was in the past is the deck. Even the wheels and the handles are weak and brittle. I know most everything else gets squirted onto the assembly line from the same vat of $%#* and is painted different colors.
Even when I do get a person hooked on the idea of a Honda, I warn them to just go to Walmart if they're not going to walk their yard for debris and mark the water shutoffs, roots, etc before they mow, or if they loan their mower out to neighbors.
The only positive side to Toro is the replacement parts aren't as expensive now if you buy them on line. I got a new front "transmission" (assembled in Mexico) for $53 (free shipping) on Ebay for a guy, and it only took 20 minutes to install it. Still a $125++ job at a "real" mower shop though.
Any success or horror stories???