JEREMIAH - I think you missed my point entirely. I was meaning exactly what Kraig said. I'd have probably worn out and scrapped TWO lesser mowers in those 15 yrs. I got 70% MORE for my old 129 than I paid for it. Yes I had expenditures for parts in those 15 yrs, but I expected that when I bought it. It was really rough, lots of rubber tarp straps & duct tape holding it together. It was the main mower for some guy running a small lawn service, all his repairs were cobble jobs done quick so he could get the tractor back mowing.
When it sold at Dad's auction, it brought the most of any of the 5-6 Cub Cadets Dad sold. Only his 154 Low Boy brought more, and really, not THAT much more. Dad sold an almost mint condition 129 that had a 42 inch mower & rear tiller plus a year old Kohler Magnum 12 HP installed in it. MUCH better tractor than my 129, but it didn't look as nice, think it only brought $550. As my 83 yr old Dad learned that day, "Shiny Paint Sells Better". He already knew that, He'd had his '51 M repainted a year earlier because he thought it might get sold at the auction too. But I remember driving that M back when I was 4-5 yrs old, first tractor I "Solo'd" on. It was NOT getting away from me. While we were getting ready for the sale, I bet we had a DOZEN people pull into the yard and ask when the sale was going to be and if that M was selling.
Anyhow, Dad had a neighbor who always bought cheap box store or Craftsman lawn mowers to mow his half to 3/4 acre yard. Dad would try to keep the cheap mowers running for him, but sometimes they'd break stuff you just couldn't repair without replacing major components like axles, frames, etc. When those tractors would go to the shop for repair, Dad would loan him the CC 70, some years he'd mow with the 70 more than he would with his own mower. Often the repairs on those cheap mowers would cost what a decent running old GD CC would sell for. There's NO economic sense in that is there.
When it sold at Dad's auction, it brought the most of any of the 5-6 Cub Cadets Dad sold. Only his 154 Low Boy brought more, and really, not THAT much more. Dad sold an almost mint condition 129 that had a 42 inch mower & rear tiller plus a year old Kohler Magnum 12 HP installed in it. MUCH better tractor than my 129, but it didn't look as nice, think it only brought $550. As my 83 yr old Dad learned that day, "Shiny Paint Sells Better". He already knew that, He'd had his '51 M repainted a year earlier because he thought it might get sold at the auction too. But I remember driving that M back when I was 4-5 yrs old, first tractor I "Solo'd" on. It was NOT getting away from me. While we were getting ready for the sale, I bet we had a DOZEN people pull into the yard and ask when the sale was going to be and if that M was selling.
Anyhow, Dad had a neighbor who always bought cheap box store or Craftsman lawn mowers to mow his half to 3/4 acre yard. Dad would try to keep the cheap mowers running for him, but sometimes they'd break stuff you just couldn't repair without replacing major components like axles, frames, etc. When those tractors would go to the shop for repair, Dad would loan him the CC 70, some years he'd mow with the 70 more than he would with his own mower. Often the repairs on those cheap mowers would cost what a decent running old GD CC would sell for. There's NO economic sense in that is there.