I dint take tractor in to shop immediately after seeing the first no-start issue but I did call them right away and they told me they would not be able to look at it for a few weeks due to high volume of units in shop. Also, they gave me a plausible reason for leakage and no-spin. It looked at that time like I might have a user-fix available. Also, I also had my own personal time constraints to consider, and was not in a position to take a day off to bring the mower in, just to have it sit there for a month.
Also, for clarification, I purchased the mower at homelessdespot, but the service is being done by my local (and only) warranty-approved service shop.
Last year the deck belt kept coming off and this shop replaced the spindle they said was frozen, all under warranty. fyi.
Thanks, st