anyone own a john deere la115

dixiemudder04

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2006
Location
Burlington, nc
I'm looking at buying a new deere. Does anyone own this model? What kind of problems do you have out of it? Or what are some other good riding mowers?
 
thats a good deal on it, but i want atleast a 42" cut.
 
I just bought a new deere. I was going to get one of the 100 series but when I look at it and and next series up the 300 it is night and day with the quality. So I ended up getting the X304. This is the one that has 4 wheel steer so that you can get really close to stuff. Not to mention the 300 series has a 4 year warranty where as the 100 series only has a 2 year warranty. Also the deck and other parts of the mower are thicker metal so they should last longer. When I buy stuff I like it to last a long time. The deere this one replaced is a SX95 and it was bought about 15 years ago. Also the X304 has a 42 inch deck. If you get the bagger this thing works really well you can cut the grass at full speed which is about 5 miles per hour bagging and it does not clog up the chute like my old deere did and it was slow as hell.
 
i work for deere and co. not sure about 4 yr warranty, but i have a m797 z-trak diesel. i would steer away from the small models that are sold at lowes and home depot and in the dealerships. anything under 3 grand in price. the cheap ones were contracted out to a outside builder to compete with craftmans and LTD. we are having a lot of warranty claimes comming in on them. BEWARE!!!!
 
I work at lowes and have had great reviews from customers about all of the 100 series. The 115 is the one that was rated top in consumer reports this year, right? Get the 135 if you're going to get any of them. You get a the v-twin motor, lumbar seat, comfort grip steering wheel, and the front bumper for just 250 more. If you're willing to go to Cary, let me know, I'm more than happy to help you pick out one of them
 
I dont really want a v twin. I havent had any luck with them. I wish i could get a 19 hp 46" cut. But i dont want to have to go to a 48". I have about 1ac to 1-1/2ac of yard so i dont need anything extreme.
 
The MIL has two Deeres. A big un and a little one. the big one will mow at like 10-15 mph, has cruise and a 48" deck (I think) She just got the big lone last year and the little one has 375 hours on it. She mows like 13 acres each week. Big one has a Kawasaki V twin on it and the little one has a kohler.
 
If you have any thick grass, like over a septic field, you will appreciate the torque that a 2 cyl ( V or Opposed) mower will afford,

I went from a 12.5hp single cyl to an 18hp twin opposed, and there is night and day differance. what would choke the shit out of the single, even at wide open throttle and very slow moving, the twin barely notices. there is that much differance.

As for the Deeres from the box stores, those are licensed products, I was told they were assembled by MTD for Deere, and they aren't the machines the Deere dealers would point you too if you were to go there, there is a marked differance.

A serious machine of any sort wil not have a Brigg & Stratton engine on it, they haven't made a REAL quality engine since the mid '70s or so.

John Deere has used Kohler and Kawaski since the mid '80s, and Kohler since long before then in all their lawn equipment, it wasn't until Lowe's and HD wanted to sell the product did they cheapen the product to market to Joe Average Consumer.

When my yard warrants having an expensive machine, I will have a JD, until then, it'll used and rebuilt and cheap stuff.
 
I went to the JD dealer yesturday and I think im going to the get the la135. They didint have any on display but they have them in the crate. I looked at lowes and h.d. and they dont carry them around here.
 
I just bought a John Deere LA 115

I just bought a John Deere LA 115 mower that was traded in at the local John Deere dealer here in Amarillo, TX. It doesn't even have 50 hours on it. It is basically like brand new. The dealers serviced the engine on it to make sure it was in tip top shape. I paid $500.00 for it, which in my opinion is a steal! I noticed that Lowe's and Home Depot sell the exact same mower for close to $1700.00. I am very pleased with this mower. I used it this weekend, Aug. 15, 2010, to mow my yard out in the country. It runs and mows like a dream! I couldn't be happier. I have heard a lot of complaints about John Deere mowers but I don't believe a word of them. Mine runs with absolutely no problems! I'd give it Five Stars!
I absolutely LOVE it!
 
fatboyf150 said:
i work for deere and co. not sure about 4 yr warranty, but i have a m797 z-trak diesel. i would steer away from the small models that are sold at lowes and home depot and in the dealerships. anything under 3 grand in price. the cheap ones were contracted out to a outside builder to compete with craftmans and LTD. we are having a lot of warranty claimes comming in on them. BEWARE!!!!
Click to expand...
Care to explain that a little better??? My wife works for JD also and they build all the L-seires mowers(the cheap ones you mentioned).Where she works they have a sale every year on their test models.They all will have 200 hours or less on em and will be $600-$1200 depending on size and hours.They sold a 54 incher w 10 hours this year for $1200.We have a 145 w the 48 inch deck and its been great.
 
Have the LA115 and love it. Now I have an in town lot at about 1 ac. but bought the 115 purely for the bagger and hydrostatic trans. I bought mine from the dealer here in town, he offered a little better deal for a cash sale and knocked some off the bagger system. Super pleased, for my smaller yard and does great on leaves in the fall just buy the bagger blades. I think the smaller JDs are getting a bad rap from people who are expecting build quality and performance of a commercial mower. This is a good homeowner grade mower designed for weekly mowings and light yard work. If you need a fast high horsepower mower then you need to look into commercial mowers and compare apples to apples.

Only complaint I have on mine is the toe on the front wheels is way off and does not seem to be adjustable on first glance. Just stay away from the curbs and you sould be fine.
 
Anyone know, what's the smallest one that had 4wd or a locking rear axle? I absolutely NEED one or the other for my yard. The one wheel peel is getting really f'n old.
 
I bought a new LA135 about 4 months ago. It chewed up 2 deck belts the first 2 weeks but after I adjusted the belt tension I have been on the same belt for over 30 hours of mowing. I love it, its very comfortable and has plenty of power. I really abuse it too. I mow at leas 3 hours a week. I mow a field with lots of small pine stumps that the deck catches but thanks to the hanging deck it just jumps over the stumps.
My only complaints are that the seat has some front to back play in it and when Im turning on a hill I dont like feeling that Im sliding around on the mower. The seat tiself is very comfortable though and I love having 2 drink holders.
Also, I adjusted the deck belt to the specs in the manual but that was wrong. When I adjusted it to what the manual said the blades would engage when the deck was brought to the top heigh adjustment even when the blade engagement was off. The belt needs to be slightly more loose than what the manual says.
I can mow about 3.5 hours on a full tank. The tires work pretty well even on wet grass. Overall its a great mower and besides the deck belt the first week I bought it, I dont have any complaints about it.
 
I have one and I like it. Cuts good and I like the hydro-static trans. Not as many bells and whistles as my dad's 425 but suits me fine for my yard. Only downside is the PTO lever under the dash is a weak point. You may never have an issue but mine broke. Looked to be crappy cast aluminum. The new lever ($4.00) is straight beef and is steel. Much better design. Other than that, I've had zero issues.
 
Rich said:
Anyone know, what's the smallest one that had 4wd or a locking rear axle? I absolutely NEED one or the other for my yard. The one wheel peel is getting really f'n old.
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buy a used Ztrak...i've got an older F620 54" deck, that will mow at 9mph. I can cut close to 2 acres in a little over an hour.
 
husqvarna has 2 models with locking diff, YTH24V48LS & YTH23V42LS
 
Thanks flipper...

Greg- a zero-turn would (well, OK, has) end up in the ditch, unfortunately, they're just not that good on compound slopes like I've got. I'd enjoy getting the lawn done so quickly.

That's what I get for buying the house "up on the hill"..
 
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