seems new a ztrak or something is say 9k, then used with 100 hours its still 8k and 800 hours its still 6-7k like, do people really spend 7k on a used mower with that many hours?

I recently bought a 10 month old used John Deere ZTR 48" with 459 hrs. for $5200 plus tax. It still has a little over a year left on the warranty. Considering they retail for $7200 I think I got a good deal. Back to your question, If you're buying the mower from an authorized (and reputable) dealer that can repair onsite, it sounds like an ok deal. Especially if there is any of the warranty left. And from what I hear about John Deere's, if properly maintained, they will run for as long as you want it to.

simply put, in my experience, john deere machines will work for you longer than almost any other. and most parts on them are interchangeable with their large farm equipment, which has a hundred years of research and development behind it ,not to mention that makes parts extremely easy to just go pick up at the dealer. my uncle has a john deere zero turn, a dixon zero turn and an exmark zero turn......the exmark is three years old and has had the engine replaced along with the downtime ordering parts for it, the dixon cant keep bearings in the deck or belts to run it, but the deere runs and works wonderfully....oh and he still has a 10 year old hydrostat rider by deere that was used every day for about 7 years, too.--but that is all just my experience, and you'll have to make your own decision, considering the price difference.

As an auctioneer I've sold plenty of used lawn equipment. I can tell you that in general, John Deere is the name to have. More than one guy has brought me a 20-25 year old John Deere lawn tractor and a one year old Craftsman or Murray, (or whatever other econo-brand). What happened? The JD was starting to get a little long in the tooth and when they went shopping to replace it they choked on show room prices and ended up buying an off brand. That gets one lap around the lawn and now they are crystal clear on why they should have bought the JD in the first place. Yes, they border on obscenely expensive, but they work and they have very high resale value. My buddies that are lawn freaks buy Simplicity for it's marginally better cut but then whine about the kick in the pants they take on the resale. Simplicity does make a very good machine and they also last a long time, just not as long as the Deere product. The best sales pitch? My wife. I nearly had to pick her up off the floor when I dropped 8 bills on a JD 345 with 54" deck and snowblower. After she got over her initial wariness about using a larger machine, I found that I couldn't get her off of it. She insists on mowing our couple acres and gets testy if I want to. My buddies are goggle eyed over this development. Bottom line, for performance, longevity and resale, buy the John Deere.

John deere has the most expensave equipment on the market. you pay for the name when you buy one. I love deere but you have to buy used to get a good price.