Because Snapper has a reputation for high quality lawn mowers, and I have been pleased with my experience with them in the past, I purchased a 16hp - 42" cut rear engine riding mower in May of 2000. It was considerably more expensive than some other mowers I considered. The cliche' that "you get what you pay for" is certainly not true in this case! I have had nothing but trouble from this mower!

The drive mechanism has failed 5 times since I've had the mower. A riding mower that you aren't able to drive is obviously useless. The frustration of never knowing if the mower will work, plus the inconvenience of having to push it back to the garage (usually from the part of the yard farthest from the house) and then having to find a way to get it to the repair shop, and borrow a mower from someone so that I can finish mowing the grass, has made me a very dissatisfied customer.

Snapper tells me that this drive problem is normal wear and tear. If you ask me, it's bad engineering! (Another engineering flaw in this mower is the arm that holds-up the mowing deck. I've had to have that arm repaired twice, because it snapped and would not hold-up the deck.) Their product does not do what is supposedly designed to do!

I will never buy another Snapper product!