Viking ride on

[Stihl123]

going to look at one tomorrow, any advice or anything?

don't see hardly any but been told they are good

 

grateful for any advice

cheers

[GardenKit]

How did you get on with it?

[Sheepy]

I’d steer clear, budget depending John Deere.

[GardenKit]

11 hours ago, Sheepy said:

I’d steer clear, budget depending John Deere.

Its all very well to say that, but which range of John Deere do you mean?

The X100 range is going to be very similar in spec, quality and price to many of the Viking range, and the X300 range will be similar to the top end Vikings. 

Of course the X500 and X740 range do excel, but at a price.

 

The Viking ride ons are generally mid range machines and are not made by viking, but outsourced from companies such as GGP and ALKO.

[Guss109]

Its all very well to say that, but which range of John Deere do you mean?
The X100 range is going to be very similar in spec, quality and price to many of the Viking range, and the X300 range will be similar to the top end Vikings. 
Of course the X500 and X740 range do excel, but at a price.
 
The Viking ride ons are generally mid range machines and are not made by viking, but outsourced from companies such as GGP and ALKO.

Sound advice as always [emoji106] can be the same machine in different colours but one will still be worse than the other. If you’re budget can stretch I’d personally look for a kubota but I did start of with a snapper and apart from changing belts it was also a good machine

[lurkalot]

On ‎16‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 12:03, GardenKit said:

The Viking ride ons are generally mid range machines and are not made by viking, but outsourced from companies such as GGP and ALKO.

As are some John Deere and Honda, on there low end stuff.   

[Sheepy]

On 16/12/2017 at 12:03, GardenKit said:

Its all very well to say that, but which range of John Deere do you mean?

The X100 range is going to be very similar in spec, quality and price to many of the Viking range, and the X300 range will be similar to the top end Vikings. 

Of course the X500 and X740 range do excel, but at a price.

 

The Viking ride ons are generally mid range machines and are not made by viking, but outsourced from companies such as GGP and ALKO.

If budget wasn’t a issue I’d go from x300 up, the way Deere do stuff is simple and long lasting and the parts backup is second to none, warranty is good and worth the paper it’s written on. Ultimately depends on what it’s going to be used for ie big garden or commercially but that’s my 2 cents.

[Tomtop]

I have stihl in my blood and hate to say it but I always think the Viking stuff looks cheaply made, John Deere stuff is cheap and far better made. Love my John Deere mower.

[GardenKit]

6 hours ago, lurkalot said:

As are some John Deere and Honda, on there low end stuff.   

True up to point, some of the smaller John Deeres were made by GGP at one time, but that all stopped several years ago and they are all now John Deere's own product. All Honda ride on product is GGP with Honda power plants.

 

2 hours ago, Tomtop said:

I have stihl in my blood and hate to say it but I always think the Viking stuff looks cheaply made, John Deere stuff is cheap and far better made. Love my John Deere mower.

Once again, true up to a point, but the JD X100 range is no better than the GGP product, and in someways not as good. 

Whilst the JD warranty is reasonable and customers are usually satisfied, there is sometimes a bit of 'discussion' between the dealer and JD to get a warranty passed. And JD are quite slow to process the warranty. And the warranty is only 2 years (domestic)

GGP on the other hand, offer 5 years on many of their products and their warranty really is second to none. They seldom quibble with the dealers decision and warranty is approved and paid within 24 hours. Absolutely superb company to deal with.

And GGP parts backup is certainly the best in the business.

 

Products such as Viking and Honda though, have their warranty handled by their respective brands and so may not be as good or as quick as dealing with GGP. Incidentally, although I say GGP (Global Garden Products), the company has now changed its name from GGP to Stiga, so all the variants are now technically made by Stiga.

 

I have been a John Deere dealer, as well as a Stiga dealer for over 20 years, so speak from first hand experience.

 

I have however just dropped the JD franchise in favour of expanding my stock of Stiga product as over the last few years Stiga and Mountfield have accounted for over 80% of my sales, and very little of my warranty.

 

 

[lurkalot]

1 hour ago, GardenKit said:

True up to point, some of the smaller John Deeres were made by GGP at one time, but that all stopped several years ago and they are all now John Deere's own product. All Honda ride on product is GGP with Honda power plants.

I wasn't aware of the swing at JD, was kind of basing it on what I've seen in for service over the years, I don't touch many John Deere's to be honest.  I remember the rider they sold which was the same as the Honda.