Strengths Turns sharp, good power, very maneuverable, smooth hydrostatic drive, smooth twin cylinder Engine, large gas tank.

Weaknesses Cut is not the best, no adjustment on steering. Starting to toe out and steering gears worn after 300 hours.

Overall It has been a great mower for three years now and almost 300 hour of mowing. Only new front tires and new blades.

Strengths worse tractor (john deere LA 145 I OWNED IN YEARS,VERY DISAPOINTED.slight embankment rolled over on 6/30/10 now since back surgery sitting home recuperating.L2-3-4- lamenactomy,same vertabraes spinal fusion. BONE ADDED .TO FUSE

Weaknesses 48 inch cut,tractor is helpless,replaced transmission under warranty at 30 hrs,purchased from HOME DEPOT IN PA.Soon as able will go shopping for a Kubota.Will try to trade in 2007 JOHN DEERE Mow 1/25 acre. after a

Overall I HAVE OWNED A DEERE SINCE LATE 1970. NO/MORE IAM DONE.

Strengths I am sure it may have some but I am so dissappointed overall with this machine that no strengths are coming to mind right now.

Weaknesses Horrible cut. Very uneven. Scalps very easily. Drive belt came off 3rd time I mowed. Had to drive an hour to get to the warranty dealer and was told that was not covered. He wanted to charge me $70 for 10 minutes work and finally he conceded and I did not pay. Now it vibrates! Difficult to get on and off.

Overall Totally dissatisfied. Tried to return to Lowes with extended warranty with 7 hours on it and they would not take it back. I am stuck with a horrible hunk of junk. Please feel free to learn from my poor investment mistake. My only recourse now is to sell it used and take the loss but then be able to buy a quality piece of equipment

Strengths Runs great. Starts up quick every time and runs smooth the whole time it's cutting. Versatility is the nicest part of the machine. John Deere makes every attachment you could ever want. Very easy to use. Very easy to do maintenance yourself.

Weaknesses Too many safety devices. I spent 2 hours removing all the safeties. The most annoying one is the RIO (reverse in operation) button that you have to press if you want to backup with the blades spinning. I have alot of trees on my property and I need to K-turn often. My finger was getting numb pressing the button so often. So I defeated that switch. I also defeated the seat safety. I like to be able to hop off the machine to move branches in the way without shutting down. The other safety I defeated was the brake depress safety that won't let you start the machine without your foot on the brake. It's not a big deal, but I have issues without any type of authority :) so I got rid of that feature too.

Overall Buying John Deere is a no-brainer. The support structure is excellent. There are alot of dealers and alot of parts available. And the versatility of this specific machine is unparalleled. I almost bought a Husqvarna, but went with the Deere and I'm glad I did. I cut the lawn with it, bag leaves, plow snow, move firewood.....and I'm sure I'll find more uses for it in time.

Strengths

Weaknesses I have had my mower just over 2 years. One month before the warranty ran out the tension idler bracket broke in half. There is not a weld on the bracket, it just broke. A month later the bolt that holds the tension idler bracket to the deck sheered off. Today (out of warranty) the housing that holds the center blade shaft broke in half. I'll try to find one on line and fix it myself.

Overall I have always been a John Deere fan , and struggled with whether to buy a deere or a club cadet. Now, I wish I had bought the cadet. A good friend bought one just before I bought mine, and he has no trouble at all.

Strengths Starts easily. Turns very easily. The deck is easy to change levels. I like the cruise control. The seat is comfortable; I give the seat and A+. I bought the seat cover and love the carry pockets as well as the cup holders. I mow a 2.5 acre lot that is very rough and non-uniform. It used to take me 6-7 hours to mow with a self propelled walk behind (22" Honda, Quad II). Now I mow the whole thing in 2 hours. I often have to skip mowing for several weeks due to travel. I am beyond impressed with the power. Previously, in the spring, when I skipped mowing for 2-3 weeks it would take me 8 hours to mow. I would have to go at the slowest speed and stop frequently to clear the grass chute. OMG, first time I tackled that kind of grass with the LA 145, I was pretty dang impressed. Granted it was not to smooth of a cut, but then I did not expect it to be. However, it never once even slowed down the engine. The deck did not clog even once. It cut 12” (and higher) grass and weeds without taxing the engine even the least. I also tow a lawn cart around the yard to collect my chainsaw messes, gather leaves, and carry rock and dirt. The headlights put out a useable amount of light. I usually run late mowing and am still working when the sun goes down. Did I mention this thing is easy to turn? ?

Weaknesses The smoothness of the cut does not equal a single or double blade deck. At times it leaves strips between the blades and has a variable unevenness. I had a lawn care company in the mid 80's. I would not get away with mowing lawns with this kind of cut. However, on the ranch, just mowing the rather large 2+ acres "lawn" the unevenness isn't really noticeable. Although pretty and sort of like a park, my lawn is not a show lawn. I suppose durability will be the real kicker. Some parts seem very durable and some seem questionable. I guess, I won’t know this one for quite some time.

Overall Ok, I am a new owner. I have 10 hours on the tractor so far. However, I did a lot of web searching for reviews before I bought. I found it hard to learn about riding mowers and pick one out based on reviews. Because of my struggles I decided to be sure to come back and add my reviews whenever possible. In the mid 80s I owned a lawn care company. I am very familiar with mowers and their respective engines. I have rebuilt small engines hundreds of times. I share responsibilities for a ranch yard. The first year, I hand mowed it. However, after rearranging some of the fencing the yard got a lot bigger this year (doubled). I was spending 8 hours per weekend last year trying to keep up with the mowing (6 hours) weed eating, gardening, flower beds, and irrigation system. This year I decided to get a riding mower so I could spend less time mowing and more time on improvement projects. So far I am quite pleased with usefulness of this little tractor. Caring for this yard is my hobby now. I love yard work. I spend all day most Saturdays working the yard. I use the tractor to tow everything around and mow. Later I plan to add an aerator, seeder, fertilizer and leave vacuum attachments. I wanted to buy this from the John Deere dealer but he did not stock them at the time I was looking. So I went to Lowes. The price was the same either way. I would have preferred to support the local JD dealer, but it didn't work out this time. I feel fairly sure that when it comes time to replace this mower, I will buy another John Deere, but I will spend a bit more and move up the line and buy a 300 series.

Strengths runs good, no problems except cutting. It does climb the grade from the lake okay

Weaknesses Got better cut with my old Wal-Mart brand. I bought it for grass at camp..about an acreof bahia, weed mix- not your average lawn turf, but expected better than I get. Leaves tracks in trail like the blades don't meet, but they do. I have to cut at least twice to make look good, more if I wait til it's 6-8" to cut.

Overall What good is a mower that doesn't cut good good?

Strengths power ful enjine

Weaknesses gets stuck easly wide tires did not work so got bar tires

Overall its ok I don't use the deck at all I use the tractor to pull stuff around the yard I have a kubota to mow with

Strengths Smooth ride Excellent cutting performance Intuitive control layout Nice looking Strong engine Wash ports for the mower deck Easy to clean up after mowing. CUP HOLDERS!

Weaknesses Some of the parts look weak. Longevity concerns

Overall This is a brand new 2009 LA-145 I had delivered on Friday 4/3. I used to own a 1989 Wheel Horse 414-8. I cut the lawn with that old garden tractor for 15 years. While the Deere is light years ahead of the old "Horse" in comfort, power, and cutting ability I doubt that it will last 21 years. Even with light duty and proper maintenance. Light steel frames and plastic parts just can't compare to heavy gauge steel and cast iron for durablity and longevity. Don't get me wrong though. It's a fine tractor and I'm excited to be a new John Deere owner. I've only cut the lawn once with it so far and I'm very impressed with it's abilities. The V-twin is very smooth and powerful. The control layout makes it a joy to operate. I look forward to cutting the lawn now because this tractor makes the job a true pleasure.

Strengths 22 hp v-twin 22 H.P. eng. strong . very nice cut . much beeter then my old craftsman rider . very comfortable. fast , powerful. grease fittigs on deck spindels.

Weaknesses i don't really care for the sift level on the left side of the mower. also hard to rise .

Overall excellent lawn tractor for the money . so glad i went with john deere.