Any difference in Cub Cadet from box store vs dealer?
Looking to repalce my 14 yr old MTD riding mower this spring. I know which Cub Cadet model I want, so it is just a matter of who will give me the best deal. Been told the ones Home Depot sells are not made as well as the ones the dealer sells. I have a hard time believing that Cub would go to the expense to make two models with the exact model number and make one cheaper so HD would sell them. Is there a differece between what I would buy at a Cub dealer and the one HD sells a long as they are the exact same model? I haven't priced one at the dealer yet but HD will give me a 10% discount for being X-military. Found one Cub dealer on the internet who sells the same mower for $300 less then HD and ships it free and I would not pay sales tax which would save me another $100. I find it had to understand how they can ship a 530 pound mower for free and still be $300 less then the list price at HD. I'm a firm believer that if they have the EXACT SAME NUMBER, they are the same unit. How would they ever be able to track recalls or parts if they weren't exactly the same. That said..items like that, sometimes they will only sell their upper end stuff through authorized dealers. Plumbing, locksets, tools, etc can always be ordered even if they aren't a stock item. The advantage of buying from a shop is that you are now their customer, and if they don't take care of you, you'll go elsewhere. You might be able to get a better deal from them by getting extras that don't really cost them any money. Blade sharpening for instance...or a reduced rate on parts or maintenance. As to that online seller...I agree pretty hard to understand. I imagine it's just being drop shipped from the distributor or factory. What price range are you talking about? The online guy doesn't have to worry about follow up problems. Essentially you are buying it as is and if you have a problem, it isn't something he has to worry about. Thus, anything he makes is clear profit. Like GG said, drop ship and he is done. As for the big box vs local authorized dealer, if it was a hammer you were buying, their problem rate is extremely low, so no need to worry about service after the sale. If the big box has a fully trained and staffed service department and you feel the product may need parts and service in the future, possibly. But I have NEVER seen a box store equipped that way. Like your previous mower, this is a 10 to 15 year purchase, so divide the extra you might pay by the number of years you plan to keep it and call it a convenience fee for being able to get parts and service without a hassle. Oh, and talk to the owner or his son and tell him you are buying local to support the independent business owners, sorry I had to add that because it would be true. Bud Bud9051 you make a very good pont about dividing the couple of hundred I would save buying one place over the local dealer over the 15-20 years I would keep the mower. My old mower is still in good condition I just want a new one to go with the new tow-behind lawn vac I bought this fall. At my age this is probaably the last lawn tractor I will buy so I will try to go with the local Cub dealer. Appreciate the input. I have an LTX-1050 that I bought from HD 2-3 years ago. It was about $400 less than the local dealer. For that kind of money I'll take my chances. I've had 30 years experience of swearing at cheap ass lawn tractors so I figure I can handle most problems with this one. Are you aware that Cub is now owned by MTD? While the tractor itself is OK, the mower deck is most likely an MTD design. It's only a step or two above the decks on the $999 MTD's at Wally World. My biggest complaint is that while the tractor has a very good turning radius, the deck has dolly wheels that don't swivel so you end up with a racetrack around trees or if you try a tight turn the wheels dig a trench. On the plus side - I mow nearly 2 acres 1-2 times a week and it hasn't had a problem. My $0.02; Although the mowers have the same exact numbers the Serial Number sequence is possibly different, such as indicating a different assembly plant, engine, trans, etc. Have a good one. Geo By same model numbers, are you referring to the LTX___ numbers on the hood, or the actual model number under the seat. It's a long number. Not all LTX1050 mowers are the same. Same with the others. Cub offers 3 versions of the LTX-1050. They are the SLTX-1050, the LTX-1050 KH and the LTX-1050 KW. The SLTX has a tighter turn radius and a better seat, the LTX-KH has a 24hp Kohler and the KW a 22hp Kawasaki. When I was looking at lawn tractors I looked at the 1050 at the dealer and at HD. I could not tell the difference and I doubt if there is one. However, I would be interested in hearing from anyone that has specifics about differences between Cub lawn tractors of the same model number. I think that a lot of the HD sells a cheaper version of the same model - of anything type rumors were started by stores that could not compete. I don't know about riding mowers but on some of the smaller items, I've seen where the big box item looked the same but if you compared real close the item # would have a slight difference. Fictisous example; model #123ab6 and identical looking model #123ab7. Easy to mistake them for the same but one would be a cheaper version. That's what I mean. The model LTX this or SLTX that doesn't mean much. It pretty much tells you what mower you're looking at, but not every detail. The model number under the seat is what you need to look at. Forget what's on the hood. Some stuff may have the exact same model number all the way to the end, where there may be an a or some other small designation. I know lots of things like big name brand faucets and tools have one model that is the real deal, and another that is for the warehouse stores. The outsides are identical, the insides are different. Electronics are the same way, like Yamaha receivers made for sale at radio shack have a slight model number change that designates them as being made for sale only at radio shack. Cub cadet mowers aren't what they used to be anyway, I doubt there is a difference, but the model number will tell.
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