Why don't todays lawn mowers last longer?

[Kern Dog]

I can't believe the lack of durability of todays lawn mowers. My 4 year old Toro 6.5 HP mower is ready to blow up any minute.
It smokes from the exhaust. It smokes up through the air filter. The plug fouls easily. It knocks like rocks in a coffee can when I try to mow thick grass.
I don't recall my dad having this much trouble with lawn mowers. Yeah, My lawn here is about 1/2 an acre and I mow about once a week in good weather. My dad never had to mow this much, so maybe that is why his stuff lasted longer. It just seems that everything today breaks down in less time than the stuff we had as kids.
What kind of luck have you had with mowers?

 

[BIGSHCLUNK]

The stuff is made like the new appliances (stoves dryers ect). Its just crap! I know a guy who owns several apt buildings, they NEVER used to buy the extended warranties NEVER. now they always do. My brothers got a fridge thats 2 1/2 years old... 3 service calls already. JUNK! My nieghbor has a 1 year old TORO sno-blo Really bad oil leak after just one season, The quality is just terrible. IMO lots of cheap parts that came from places that english is not the native language and you need a boat or plane to get there. BUT what do we want........... LOW PRICES... its a double edge sword thats for sure.

 

[Pops1967GTX]

Today’s lawn mowers are disposable product.. Cheap plastic parts manufactured all over.....

 

[rrowdy]

I've had pretty good luck with mowers Hondas mostly HR215 If I remember, My crap luck is with rototillers. Sometimes I get so pissed off I think I'm going to have a heart attack.
They don't make anything to last anymore and they do it on purpose so you have to buy more of their crap.
Damn......Now I'm pissed.

 

[ga66mopar]

Companies today hire MBA's out of college that do nothing but calculate how to increase profits down to the last half cent. Than they want to sell you another one in four or five years. I have a snapper riding lawn mower that I have had for 21 years and it still going strong with the original engine and parts are cheap.

 

[62MAX]

Because they're all made buy MTD !!!

 

[Kern Dog]

MTD?

Most
Terrible
Design?

 

[snakeoil24]

I had a Lawn Boy two stroke push Mower that lasted 10 years without a peep. While away on business my wife decided to cut the grass and fill the lawn mower with straight gas. Did not add the Oil then it seized.

 

[MarPar]

Everything is throw-away and not really rebuildable now a days. We have a become a cheap, disposable society. sad....

 

[Richard Cranium]

I got a Honda walk behind mover a few years ago & it's the best one that I've owned. They're expensive (about $750.00) compared to a Toro, but I've come to realize that you get what you pay for.

 

[pturner]

i have a good friend that is a plant manager at a nearby John Deere facility that makes the smaller mowers. he tells me that even the John Deeres that you see at Lowes or Home Depot ARE NOT really a Deere. you have to go to an outdoor power equipment dealer to get a real John Deere. i think the models like the LZ-something are made mostly by MTD. even the Troy Build that used to be an expensive long lasting machine are also made by MTD.
I just bought a Snapper last year. it is 100% build in the US and has a full 5 year warranty. it only cuts 36" so it is not a tractor it is a mower. the Snapper was about $2000. the Deeres that are really a MACHINE cost about $4-5000.
just my 2 cents
pt in tennessee

 

[Richard Cranium]

Substitute "runs" for "costs" and you have the real truth.

 

[2059]

Ya can't buy from a big box store for this kind of thing. The mfg gets beat up so badly they have to cut every corner on input costs in order to meet lowes, Home Depot, menards, etc price point. Which includes a junk engine. Went through a Simplicity, Cub Cadet, Toro and Exel before I landed on Grasshopper from a lawn and garden independent dealer. Both diesel, a 48" and a 72". 62max is right almost everything is made by MTD. Honda is a good piece. So is kabota.

 

[WileE]

Everything is throw-away and not really rebuildable now a days. We have a become a cheap, disposable society. sad....

This... almost everything, and I mean everything, is garbage.

 

[Hemi Rebel]

I got a push mower from sears a few years ago with a briggs and stratton motor. It was a used/repaired model I got at a discount. Its been the best mower ever. Sits all winter with the same gas in it and every spring it starts no problem with no more than 2 pulls. I am going to change the oil in it today actually. Maybe check the spark plug and air filter too.

 

[wannadrag]

I buy the cheapest push mower made,usually around a $100 run it till it don't and get another.Change the oil every spring and get maybe 4 years out of them.They were getting to run real crappy last year so I switched to the good gas this year with no ethanol and both run like a champ now.

 

[Endangered Species]

Not sure where to start here. How much did you pay for your mower? If you only paid $200/$400 for it then you got what you paid for. It cost the same to assemble a $200.00 mower as it does $700.00, the cost difference is in the parts that go on the mower and the same thing goes for tractors.
If you go to a reputable Lawn and Garden Dealer they will be able to put you into a mower that will best fit your needs. DO NOT buy your mowers from a mass retailer, (THEY are not any cheaper price wise) and they do not stock any premium mowers, if they are selling equipment, it is the low end. Not to mention the mowers are not set up and serviced before they are delivered to you.
Which brings me to another topic, service. No matter what you pay for a mower, you need to change the oil and replace the air filter once a year, if you don't the motor will wear out. If you have a tractor make sure to grease it once a year. If it doesn't have grease fittings don't buy it. And PLEASE do to take a hose to your mower right after you use it! Think of the hot bearings when you’re spraying cold water on it. they just suck the water right in.

- - - Updated - - -

Ya can't buy from a big box store for this kind of thing. The mfg gets beat up so badly they have to cut every corner on input costs in order to meet lowes, Home Depot, menards, etc price point. Which includes a junk engine. Went through a Simplicity, Cub Cadet, Toro and Exel before I landed on Grasshopper from a lawn and garden independent dealer. Both diesel, a 48" and a 72". 62max is right almost everything is made by MTD. Honda is a good piece. So is kabota.

Cub Cadet is owned by MTD
Toro is owned by Toro (Tractors made by MTD) everything else is made by Toro
Simplicity owned by Briggs and Stratton and made by Simplicity / Briggs
Snapper owned by Briggs and Stratton only walk mowers in Wallmart made by MTD everything else is made by Snapper / Briggs
Troy Bilt Name is owned and built by MTD
John Deere aremade by John Deere

NOT Everything is made by MTD.

 

[62MAX]

Substitute "runs" for "costs" and you have the real truth.

Yep !

 

[bee71]

I have a Honda HR215 that I bought in the 80's and have only had to replace a worn out spring on the handle. Other than that oil changes, filter cleaning, and blade sharpening are all I've had to do. However, I see now the newer ones have a stamped steel deck like all other mowers.

 

[lewtot184]

i bought the cheapest john deer lawn tractor there was 23yrs ago. i gave it to friend a month ago; still runs great. i bought a simplicity to replace the john deer. i don't think the simplicity will last near as long as that john deer.