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Sears retails mowers made by various manufacturers. You may want to find out which one makes the one you're interested in and see if they sell it to any other big name retailers. Then you may have service for years to come.
Here are the Craftsman manufactures for the 2014 year:
◦Craftsman T1000 series: MTD
◦Craftsman T2000 & 3000 series: Husqvarna
◦Craftsman G5000 series: Husqvarna
◦Craftsman Rider: MTD
◦Craftsman Zero Turns: MTD & Husqvarna
◦Craftsman Pro: A while back Sears Holdings split off the Sears Hometown Stores into their own separate entity. For 2014 they are now getting their own line of Mowers called Craftsman Pro. All are made by Husqvarna.
I am looking for an entry level lawn tractor and one of theirs is highly rated but...
I bought a lawn tractor last year (Feb 2013) to replace the rock solid 1992 model I had.
Manual transmission B&S Engine... worked great.
In Late May 2013 the shift linkage began to fail.
It was discovered that a mounting bolt was left out...
which caused the linkage mis-alignment and then the frame to get torqued.
The Sears service guy totaled it.
None of this disturbed me. __it happens. Right?
But then the problems started.
They were unable to replace with the same (discontinued) model and unwilling to refund.
I used to brag on them but I'll never buy anything from Sears ever again.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,687 posts, read 81,455,155 times
Reputation: 57948
I have a rear-engine 2001 Craftsman that I bought used a year ago, just needed a new carburetor and it's been running strong since. I don't know if they build them as well now, however. It has a Tecumseh engine and Dana transmission. With cross-reference tables available you would be able to get parts for years after they went out of business. Warranties are another issue, sometimes retailers will transfer their warranties to someone else when they go out of business, others will not. Despite their issues I really wouldn't expect Sears to go away quite that soon. If you are that concerned, try Walmart, they have Murray, Snapper, and Yard Machines. I think my Craftsman is identical to the Murray of that year.
I stopped there this morning and found out they have some kind of family and friends point system. If I buy the tractor and the bagger I would have enough points to get the three year service contract free. I have bought Kenmore appliances with good success over the years, one thing I like about Sears is they still come to your home for service if needed.
Well after several weeks of looking, comparing, web searching and reading reviews tonight I purchased a Craftsmen T2200 ridong mower. I compared this model to the similar 42" riders from John Deere, Husqvarna, Cub Cadet, Troy-Bilt and Ariens and thought this was the best fit for me. This model as wit-nit pointed out is built by Husqvarna but has features that they do not even offer on their own tractors.
Sears has this Family and Friends points program, not sure exactly how it works but, the points I earned with the purchase of the tractor, bagger, mulching kit and a previous rolling tool chest I had enough points to get the 3 year service plan and a decent gas trimmer for free. Sears will deliver it assembled, ready to go on the 14th. Hopefully it will provide several years of dependable service, if not, live and learn I suppose.
I went in there last week looking to buy a couple things but all of the workers just blew me off. Even the manager just stood there laughing it up with the employees instead of assisting the customers. I left and bought what i needed elsewhere.
My experience was just the opposite. I found the tractor I was interested in and with in one minute a college age young man asked if he could help. He was very knowledgeable about the tractors in general pointing out the differences between various models. He also explained about the Friends and Family points promotion which got me the free trimmer and service contract. I don't usually purchase service contracts but, I will not turn one down if it's free.
There is one thing that did bug me a little but it had nothing to do with him. I was there around 2:00 pm but in order to take advantage of the promotion (Sunday only)I had to return between 6-9 pm to actually make the purchase. Most promotions stores run are not worth the time and effort but, this one seemed to be so I jumped thru their hoop. It did give me some time to check out the Troy-Bilt tractors at Lowes and to give the purchase some more thought.
Had to go back to Sears today to redeem my points, had enough for the 3 year service contract and a combo pac that included their top of the line rechargeable trimmer and a blower. The service contract was a $330.00 value and the trimmer/blower combo another $119.99. My lawn tractor will be here next Wednesday.
After my last experience with Sears (bought a dishwasher in 2010), I will never shop there again. My last appliance purchase was a standup freezer and I bought it at Conn's.
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