Strengths none

Weaknesses spindle failed because home depot never lubed any parts, (including wheel axis) and they put together sloppily, If I had bought from dealer, would not have happened. Dealer would charge nothing to pick up, had to borrow truck to bring it. etc etc.

Overall

Strengths 50 inch deck, nice results, medium duty, I cut 3 acres, too many trees (zero radius is must if you have a lot of trees)

Weaknesses spindle failed because home depot never lubed any parts, (including wheel axis) and they put together sloppily, If I had bought from dealer, would not have happened. Dealer would charge nothing to pick up, had to borrow truck to bring it. etc etc.

Overall I'm stuck with it, Runs good tho, I have done regular maintenance. (buy a grease gun) Taking the deck off and on requires a degree, I finally figured it out after four years and its still a b*tch. Buy from dealer!

Strengths Reliable, good cut, powerful. Didn't pay $5K for it.

Weaknesses Drive Belt cage poorly designed for maintenance. Wish I could raise the deck higher. When finished reduce throttle and it won't backfire when shutting off.

Overall 380 hours working on the 6th Mowing season. 1 Drive Belt 1 Deck Belt. The key is you must maintain... Oil/Filter, 2 times p/year grease spindles, Sharpen blades (I recommend Gator Brand) I mow 2 1/2 acres in about 2hrs15min but it is reliable and the wife can handle it.

Strengths Always starts. Good power. Runs smooth and quite. Great cut. Best mower I've owned. I think I'm going into my third season. No problems. I used a local cub cadet dealer. Big quality difference.

Weaknesses None so far.

Overall All I can say is you never buy name brand mowers from a big box retailer. Find a local dealer. The mowers are not the same. A Cub Cadet or JD or whatever at Lowes/Home Depot, etc., are not the same quality mowers you get from a local dealer. As for the smoking going down hills, don't overfill the oil or traverse a hill angle too great. The smoking is from spill over into the engine because of the angle of the mower.

Strengths Great cut, quiet powerful

Weaknesses seat adjustment requires tolls to rest position. Spin nut would be better to accomodate multiple users

Overall 10 out of 10

Strengths Starts and runs well everytime. Good power and cutting for what I need (3/4 acre). Good traction, and goes up & down small hills easily. I love hydrostatic drive and the reverse mowing feature.

Weaknesses Why would anyone want to start a cold engine at full throttle? But thats the way Koler set up the choke system. I can see why with this system engine problems are destine to come.

Overall Great machine for the money! Easy to service

Strengths I The strongest part of this piece of trash is the engine. At least MTD didn't build that. Never had an engine problem. Oil change a breeze if you know how to do it,and changing blades is a snap.

Weaknesses I bought a Cub Cadet LT1050 from Lowes in 2005 for about $2000.00. I've easily put another $500-$600 additional in it. The steering,and tie rod ends are the weakest points. Have extra parts on hand, you will need them.

Overall Does a beautiful cutting job when everything works together

Strengths N/A

Weaknesses Parts can be expensive. Couldn't find the drive belt at Home Depot. Found myself cross referencing part numbers and buying them from an AutoParts store. Fram filter (PH3614) for $3, NAPA drive (NBH 6519BR) belt for $22. Can't find an alternative air filter.

Overall I left the 11/24/09 review and wanted to follow up on the drive belt change. The clutch came of pretty easy with an impact. There is a clip in the engine area to totally remove, I just zip tied mine up out of the way. I bent back the 3 tabs until the belt had enough room for removal. Took about 30 minute. Put the clutch back on using the impact. Everything else still going OK per previous post. Updated the numbers.

Strengths Mows nice. Deck cleaning option works nice plenty of power

Weaknesses Engine smokes on throttle decrease

Overall I've had a lot of mowers and this one has done the best mowing. Mine has 280 hours on it and is due for the steering to be rebuilt but I turn a lot so it is to be expected. The only other thing I've noticed is it is a gas hog compared to similar mowers. Overall I'm happy with the mower and job it does. I do like how easy the deck comes off for working on it.

Strengths I bought my LT1050 the spring of 2007. I have not had one problem. I read the manual and the oil changes are a piece of cake. No mess. Mower works great and I love the easy deck deck clean system. It vitually remove all grass. I lower the deck and run it at full throttle for about 5 minutes per side. I've got 100 hours so far.

Weaknesses I've read other reviews. Not sure if I got lucky. I do all the maintenance myself. My drive belt is ready for a change. This is a little nerve racking. I found a post on how to do it be removing the clutch. This could pee me off it it doesn't go smoothly. But at least there is no engine removal. I do not do much that has hills. Maybe that has helped.

Overall As mentioned, I've put 50 hours per year. Going well so far. I also push snow all winter. The wet stuff is tough. Takes a lot of hits to push through. This seems about right for other mowers with plows that I have owned and used. Like I said, maybe I'm lucky. I've also read the manual for oil changes and maintenance. FYI - there should be a tube to drain the oil. It would be messy with out it.