new equipment vs older equipment

[ad356]

i think the way things are made today is downright pathetic. back in 1998 my parents bought a brand new MTD cub cadet 2135. today that machine is falling apart. the paint fell off of it and now it is a rusty mess. the fenders have severe rust through, the frame is badly rusted as well. the snowblower attachment rotted out really easily as well. for a machine that cost more than 2,000 bucks new, it was a horrible investment. the pto clutch failed costing over 200 bucks to replace. the mufler rusted out and they wanted an insane amount of money for a replacement. my stepfather welded a cheap 10 dollar muffler to the pipe. yeah its kinda loud but the machine truely is NOT worth the investment of a new mufler. i dont know really why the mufflers for these awfull machines are so expensive, replacement muflers for the older machines are cheap. this is all on a machine that has less than 350 hours on it!!!

i hear people say that the garden tractors are made better, but i dont believe it. they are probably made on the same assembly line with the same paint processes and the same stock cheap steel. the also ALL have an insane amount of plastic.

now the older machines, while they are old and often need engine rebuilds are much better. i have a 1971 john deere 112 sqaure fender. i installed a newer shortblock engine a couple of years ago, i found that replacement engine on craigslist for 150 bucks. since i have installed that engine all that tractor has done is work and work hard. it has been an excellent mower. i also run a 37a blower and a 31 tiller off of it. she's 39 years old and still doesnt break a sweat. while the paint doesnt look to good and hood is shot, it still has less rust and problems than that 12 year old tractor my parents own. the fenders are still in good condition. this tractor will probably get restored after i get my cub running.

now my cub cadet 147 is a 1970 and needs an engine overhaul, the condition of the tractor overall is much better than my parents mtd "cub". none of the sheet metal has any rust through and the frame is still very solid. while im going to have to look for a better deck, that is expected on a machine that is 40 years old. the PO was not taking care of the deck either. there was grass stuck to it that had been on it for quite some time. it needs some work but it still is in much better shape than something that is ALLOT newer. some overhaul work and another deck, it will be good for another 20+ years.

[JayBrd]

There is nothing even close to comparing new to old these days IMO. I will spend whatever it takes to keep my 682 on the go before I would settle for what is on the market today for GT's. I get ill when I look at what they are built like these days (yes including CC stuff). The best conversation I have had in a long time in a store was with an old guy in a "box store". As I watched him shake his head, I said to him "they just don't make anything worth buying these days, do they?". His reply started out as " I want a real tractor, not this yuppie junk!" :biggrin2.gif:

[ad356]

wish i could go in to buisness bringing the old machines back to zero time and reselling them to people that need good equipment. unfortantly you end up with a great working machine but no real profit in it.

yuppie junk, lol. i think thats funny. that's what they are comfortable to operate but no real capability or longevity. if you want a real tractor you have to purchase an older machine, except maybe a kubota.

i had a discusion on a forum once. he insisted that companies still make good garden tractors, you just have to pay allot for them.in my opinion..... they do not. they do not make modern counterparts to our machines at ANY price.

[ad356]

my neighbor told me i need to get rid of my 1971 john deere 112 becuase in his opinion i need something newer. he mows with an 2 year old mtd cub cadet lawn tractor and i told him when that THING breaks he can come right over and borrow my garden tractor. he doesnt use that lawn tractor so snow removal and the machine doesnt have any ground engaging capability. what he has is a 2,000 dollar lawnmower, and it probably wont even hold up just mowing his lawn. i cant wait until he sees me mow with my 147 and the 112..... at the same time. going to hopefully get the wife out on the 147 while i will run the 112. the hydrostatic transmission will be easier for her to operate.

today's generation no longer demands qaulity. everything is about cheap, fast gradification. buying something and replacing it every 10 years is about the norm now. i find this unacceptable. my first job growing up was working in a lawn mower shop. when i was 15 years old i reworked a 1961 bolens ride-a-matic. while it was a much smaller tractor than most of the models we worked with and was only powered by a rebuilt kohler k161 7hp, it still did allot of work. i mowed the lawn with that tractor, tilled a garden, and ran a snowblower attachment. i had that tractor until the garage collapsed on it during a really bad snow storm. my parents had full value replacement on the contents of the garage so they took the money that they got from MY tractor and bought a brand new cub cadet lawn tractor AGAINST my advice. i wanted them to buy an older IH cub cadet, i knew better. my tractor got destroyed and i got nothing. i worked hard at such a young age to rebuild it, i was quite mad. now that mtd cub cadet has fallen apart, its kind of like poetic justice.

my first job i ever worked was at a lawnmower shop so i saw the difference between the newer equipment and the older equipment and how much better it was built. that was back in the late 90's so im sure that the equipment comming out now is even worse.

i grew up around qaulity older equipment and know the differences. i want steel and heavy steel where it matters, like the frame. i want a cast iron engine and a cast iron transaxle. i dont want any plastic or lightwieght metal. everything today is about "fuel economy" and making it cheap. if you shave off a couple hundred pounds then it is going to get better fuel economy. redesign the carburator and you get better fuel economy as well, however performance will suffer. you end up with a 19hp or 20 hp engine that doesnt develop any torque. an old kohler or especailly an onan twin will walk circles around a modern "20 hp" engine.

i think most newer equipment has NO qaulity at all

[IAfarmer]

You nailed it on the head when you said "instant gratification and cheap"

Quality is not neccesary when you can buy new so cheap. There is so much satisfaction in saving up for something and finally getting it.

We also have some of the opposite happening, such as the $45,000 pickup truck example. If you want a true work truck, it is so stripped you are almost embarrased to drive it, but there is no middle ground. I plan on restoring my 86 Dodge to be the truck I want, and not need a computer to keep it running. It'll still get 19 mpg, unlike the new counterparts with tons of HP and low tourqe for high dollars, and won't rust in 3 years like the new trucks do! (It's 24 years old and has less rust than my 2007 Chevy).

[Yosemite Sam]

ad356,

It really bothers me how you hold things like this in... I really wish that you would "let go" and tell us how you really feel.

I do agree on many of your points. In my opinion, so many people these days don't care about quality, they just want NEW and they want it right NOW... If there were no market for poor quality goods, there would be no poor quality goods. "We" have done this to ourselves.

[gcbailey]

If you factor in the cost of a GT back in the 60's-70's to the current value of the $$ today, and you'd more more looking at the CC 3000 series and JD x700 series, machines in the $7,000+ range. I feel for current production machines they are both good GTs. All this comparing a "old iron" GT from back when to something HD/Lowe's is selling today doesn't even start to compare. Yes, those machines are pretty much sorry, but you have to remember they are LTs not GTs. I hear it constantly about everything... how nothing now is like it was back then. No, it's not, probably never will be, like it's been said above, everyone wants everything NOW. It's sad but there are still some quality things being made out there. Just imaging what they are going to be saying in 20 years about how great the Lowe's JD LA100s are compared to what they will have with plastic decks and blades!

[T-Mo]

I have two 1996 Cub Cadet 2135s in good condition. I read over on mtf that one guy has has his 1994 Cub Cadet 2135 and it has around 1500 hours on it and still runs good. It's about maintenance - and taking care of your equipment. Sure the older equipment were over built and made to last and it's true that a lot of newer equipment has a lot of plastic on it. But JDs have been built with plastic hoods, or fiberglass hoods since their inception in 1963. The manufacturer's make equipment today with price points in mind and if you buy a lawn tractor for under $1500 it will have some areas where the things were compromise to make that price point.

Personally I like the older equipment, but if they were maintained poorly when new, then those are no longer with us just like the newer equipment today. Just my 2 cents worth.

[red211]

This is exactly why I bought my 149, I wasn't about to spend $2000 on a crapper from the box stores. The only real option I think is a comercial zero turn, but used ones are 3000 +. For $500 or less I will have a real machine that will last, and mow circles around the neighbors new cub. Heck his wasn't a year old and he was riding around with the left rear locked up, stomping on the pedal trying to "fix" it. I watched for a couple of minutes and just shook my head and walked off. Can't wait to run around him on a real cub, for tons less!!!

[ad356]

Originally Posted by T-Mo

I have two 1996 Cub Cadet 2135s in good condition. I read over on mtf that one guy has has his 1994 Cub Cadet 2135 and it has around 1500 hours on it and still runs good. It's about maintenance - and taking care of your equipment. Sure the older equipment were over built and made to last and it's true that a lot of newer equipment has a lot of plastic on it. But JDs have been built with plastic hoods, or fiberglass hoods since their inception in 1963. The manufacturer's make equipment today with price points in mind and if you buy a lawn tractor for under $1500 it will have some areas where the things were compromise to make that price point.

Personally I like the older equipment, but if they were maintained poorly when new, then those are no longer with us just like the newer equipment today. Just my 2 cents worth.

well the paint simply fell off the machine, literally fell off. i have seen nothing like it. it came off in large flakes after the machine was 4 or 5 years old. the metal wasnt a very heavy gauge either. it rotted right through on the fender pan.

i agree that john deere hoods have been fiberglass for a long time and they do kinda suck. try to find a jd garden tractor from the 70's that doesnt have a hood that is shot. most of them are beat, missing pieces, and have cracks in various places. however this is not really a major structural peice. the pedistal is made of steel, and the frame is nice and strong. all of the attachment hook up areas are really quite beefy. the front of the frame is just about plate steel in thickness. the front spindle and axle is also of very good material. the wheel bearing, automotive style. in many ways these are very good tractors.

i guess the good question is, will these really high end machines made today be around in 40 years. i kind of doubt it.