New or used xt2

[Ozcub]

Originally Posted by Dan from Ohio

Wow, I sure appreciate all of this! I will let you know when I pull the trigger. Difficult right now because my Craftsman still functions and at heart I am not great at spending money!

Get your significant other half to buy it then , they are most probably "Awesome" at spending money
Oz

[Dan from Ohio]

Originally Posted by Ozcub

Get your significant other half to buy it then , they are most probably "Awesome" at spending money
Oz

Haha! She would like for me to buy it so I will shut up about mowers. I've been on the "deep dive" researching for a couple weeks now!

[evhevh]

A couple more comments/thoughts.

Based on what you stated above, it sounds like you ARE mechanically inclined so it sounds like you could handle general maintenance and repairs on a used one.

You are not in a hurry to purchase and you like to hang on to your $$$ another vote for going used.

You don’t have to buy right now with makes it easier to get a good used deal on Marketplace, etc.

I would not overlook an XT1 if it was outfitted how you want. They are not that much different from XT2 depending on the model year. I bought and flipped an XT2 (I forget what year) and it did not have the fabricated deck. Example in pic below of an XT2 with the normal deck.

I have been slowly converting my 2018 XT1 to an XT2. I added the front bumper and arm rests to he seat. I will likely add the bearing to the front wheels < $15. I doubt you need the larger engine that the XT2’s typically boast. My 2018 came with a 22hp twin cylinder 7000 series. I think the XT2 had 24hp that year. I would never notice the difference between the 2hp. Also, your deck is only 42” (requiring less hp). My XT1 also had the K46 transmission which I think was the standard on the XT2 that year.

Finally, you are in OH (I am in MI). We generally put up our mowers in the winter (unless you are going to plow with it). When I put mine up I remove the deck to clean, lubricate and finally apply a coat of rust oleum to the bottom of it. I have the 46” deck and it is pretty heavy/awkward to move around. I also flipped an XT1 cub that oddly had the fabricated deck. That was almost impossible to move around due to is additional weight. Keep that in mind. By maintaining mine as I do, I doubt it will rust out.

Finally, now is great time to buy used as many people in your area are looking at storing their Cub’s and may want to get rid of them now to free up the storage space. Prices are cheaper in the fall on used and highest in the spring when everyone now needs one.

[Dan from Ohio]

Originally Posted by evhevh

A couple more comments/thoughts.

Based on what you stated above, it sounds like you ARE mechanically inclined so it sounds like you could handle general maintenance and repairs on a used one.

You are not in a hurry to purchase and you like to hang on to your $$$ another vote for going used.

You don’t have to buy right now with makes it easier to get a good used deal on Marketplace, etc.

I would not overlook an XT1 if it was outfitted how you want. They are not that much different from XT2 depending on the model year. I bought and flipped an XT2 (I forget what year) and it did not have the fabricated deck. Example in pic below of an XT2 with the normal deck.

I have been slowly converting my 2018 XT1 to an XT2. I added the front bumper and arm rests to he seat. I will likely add the bearing to the front wheels < $15. I doubt you need the larger engine that the XT2’s typically boast. My 2018 came with a 22hp twin cylinder 7000 series. I think the XT2 had 24hp that year. I would never notice the difference between the 2hp. Also, your deck is only 42” (requiring less hp). My XT1 also had the K46 transmission which I think was the standard on the XT2 that year.

Finally, you are in OH (I am in MI). We generally put up our mowers in the winter (unless you are going to plow with it). When I put mine up I remove the deck to clean, lubricate and finally apply a coat of rust oleum to the bottom of it. I have the 46” deck and it is pretty heavy/awkward to move around. I also flipped an XT1 cub that oddly had the fabricated deck. That was almost impossible to move around due to is additional weight. Keep that in mind. By maintaining mine as I do, I doubt it will rust out.

Finally, now is great time to buy used as many people in your area are looking at storing their Cub’s and may want to get rid of them now to free up the storage space. Prices are cheaper in the fall on used and highest in the spring when everyone now needs one.

These are very good points. I have been looking pretty thoroughly on Marketplace but the cleaner used mowers are all around $2000 with sellers who seem unwilling to bend much on price. I did see what appears to be a nice Husqvarna with 122 hours (4 seasons of mowing for me) with a 22hp Kohler 7000 for $1500. I would say that's the most attractive deal I have found. There was a 2016 JD x350 with somehow only 160 hours for $2200. It had the 18.5 Kawasaki on it. But I just can't see paying that much for a soon to be 10 year old machine.

I'll keep looking, maybe I'll stumble across a used deal so good that it will make me forget about the warranty aspect.

I'm just being a cheap creep about it because my old mower still functions.

I'm going to message the guy with the Husqvarna. That could be a good deal.

[Road_Clam]

It all boils down to clearly identifying your needs and matching those needs to mower features. My property has a few hills, one is a bit steep. I also wanted to potentially to add a snowblower in the future as my current walk behind is 23 y/o, and my driveway is 80' long and on an uphill incline. My original plan was a new XT1 LT50 seemed a good fit. Once I started researching youtube vids I grew concerned as to all the hydro trans problems. Started to dig deeper and the LT50 has the K46 trans, which is fine for flat mowing but not an adequate feature for my needs IMO . I'm speculating that many of the trans failures are from overheated fluid either from fluid leaks or overheating from hilly terrain in hot weather. I'm sure lack of fluid changes plays a role in the failures as well as the TL200 and K46 trans are by Tuff Tork definition "non serviceable" when in fact the units are , but the trans assembly needs to be removed as there is no drain and fill plugs for a fluid change. The K58 and above trans have drain and fill plugs for easy maintenance. There's nothing wrong with buying a mower larger than you think you need. I only have about 3/4 to mow and I ultimately went with a 54" deck and it substantially lessened my mowing time vs, my old underpowered Craftsman 42". I ended up buying new from my local Cub dealer, and I took the cash that I was going to use for buying the LT50 model, put that to the 54D model , and financed the rest through the Cub's 0% / 36 month promo. I was also considering the Husqvarna TS354XD which was pretty much the same as the Cub 54D. The husqvarna had no financing promo and a high interest rate. What I know now, if I were to consider used, I would look for a XT2 50"+ with K58 or K62 trans. Again it's all about matching your intended application to features.

[Dan from Ohio]

Originally Posted by Road_Clam

It all boils down to clearly identifying your needs and matching those needs to mower features. My property has a few hills, one is a bit steep. I also wanted to potentially to add a snowblower in the future as my current walk behind is 23 y/o, and my driveway is 80' long and on an uphill incline. My original plan was a new XT1 LT50 seemed a good fit. Once I started researching youtube vids I grew concerned as to all the hydro trans problems. Started to dig deeper and the LT50 has the K46 trans, which is fine for flat mowing but not an adequate feature for my needs IMO . I'm speculating that many of the trans failures are from overheated fluid either from fluid leaks or overheating from hilly terrain in hot weather. I'm sure lack of fluid changes plays a role in the failures as well as the TL200 and K46 trans are by Tuff Tork definition "non serviceable" when in fact the units are , but the trans assembly needs to be removed as there is no drain and fill plugs for a fluid change. The K58 and above trans have drain and fill plugs for easy maintenance. There's nothing wrong with buying a mower larger than you think you need. I only have about 3/4 to mow and I ultimately went with a 54" deck and it substantially lessened my mowing time vs, my old underpowered Craftsman 42". I ended up buying new from my local Cub dealer, and I took the cash that I was going to use for buying the LT50 model, put that to the 54D model , and financed the rest through the Cub's 0% / 36 month promo. I was also considering the Husqvarna TS354XD which was pretty much the same as the Cub 54D. The husqvarna had no financing promo and a high interest rate. What I know now, if I were to consider used, I would look for a XT2 50"+ with K58 or K62 trans. Again it's all about matching your intended application to features.

I am stuck at 42" deck size which is severely limiting on my options (for better or worse). My gate has about 48" of clearance. Luckily my half acre is pretty flat. In 42" deck size, I don't think there are any other transmission offerings besides k46.

[Road_Clam]

Originally Posted by Dan from Ohio

I am stuck at 42" deck size which is severely limiting on my options (for better or worse). My gate has about 48" of clearance. Luckily my half acre is pretty flat. In 42" deck size, I don't think there are any other transmission offerings besides k46.

As I understand Tuff Torque ships the trans assemblies to Cub with cheap dino base oil. The preferred oil is a 5w-50 full synthetic. Swap out the fluid to a high quality synthetic and I doubt you will have any issues with the trans.

[Dan from Ohio]

Originally Posted by Road_Clam

As I understand Tuff Torque ships the trans assemblies to Cub with cheap dino base oil. The preferred oil is a 5w-50 full synthetic. Swap out the fluid to a high quality synthetic and I doubt you will have any issues with the trans.

That is really good info. I appreciate it!

[Road_Clam]

I changed to trans oil at 20 hrs on my 54D and I had a difficult time finding 5w-50 oil . I finally found it in stock at my local Oriley's auto. It's Lucas SxS 5w-50 oil

https://www.lucasoil.com/product/syn...xs-engine-oil/

[Dan from Ohio]

Originally Posted by Road_Clam

I changed to trans oil at 20 hrs on my 54D and I had a difficult time finding 5w-50 oil . I finally found it in stock at my local Oriley's auto. It's Lucas SxS 5w-50 oil

https://www.lucasoil.com/product/syn...xs-engine-oil/

Thank you for the link!