I have a lot of grass to cut each week. When we first moved to our current home, the previous owner left me two very used riding mowers. For the first couple of years, I was able to keep both riding mowers running without much effort. Then parts started to break or wear out and I had to order them online. Fortunately it usually happened to only one rider at a time so I was able to mow with the other one until the new replacement parts arrived.
After living in our home for three years, I purchased another used Wheel Horse riding mower. At the same time, riding mower breakdowns were becoming more frequent and replacement parts order more common.
Finally, the MTD riding mower broke down for good. Now I was basically down to the Yard King since I kept the snow blower attachment permanently on the Wheel Horse – partly due to how complicated it was to switchover the Wheel Horse from winter snow blowing to summer grass cutting.
In 2008, I gave up and purchased a brand new Husqvarna riding mower from Lowes. The Yard King kept breaking down and I had to wait two weeks to get the replacement part and then after it arrived and I installed it, something else would break.
Enter 2014 – I now have a Husqvarna that has been in heavy use for six years and is really showing the wear and tear of use on a yard bigger than it was really rated for. Last summer I purchased a Yamaha riding mower from a friend in the small engine repair business. About a month ago, a tension spring broke on it and I had to order a replacement which has been on backorder for a month. Two days ago, the steering link bar on the right side broke on the Husqvarna. Now both mowers are temporarily out of commission.
What I have learned is that not all parts suppliers are equal. In the past, I often ordered parts from Jack’s Small Engine. This summer, however, I have been very disappointed with them. I ordered Yamaha parts in early July with no notice that the parts were on backorder. My credit card was charged immediately and I have been waiting for over a month to get both parts. One, in fact, was cancelled due to being unavailable. I did receive a credit to my card, but they had my money for over a month. The second part just shipped yesterday – finally.
My friend (in the business) suggested two different parts vendors:
- Parts Tree – I ordered the Husqvarna parts from them two days ago.
- Small Engine Parts Warehouse – this is his first choice for ordering parts. I checked them out and their parts prices were about 10% cheaper than Parts Tree. I think I will check them out first.