Riding lawn mowers

I bought mom a customer return rear engine 30" Troy Built for $200 less than retail a few years ago. She needed something that fit through her gate.

Same mower is now sold as Craftsman.

It's been OK.
Yesterday the blade stopped engaging. Lever is way hard to pull and the cable seems to attach to a bracket that isn't designed to move (!?)
Other than that, the steering gears are exposed and dry out causing it to stick at full lock, which is unnerving for an old lady. No oil filter (!?), and the oil drained right onto the frame. Come on, MFG, at least install a 5" pipe or hose (like I did to solve that- actually a braided line with a valve).
At least I can work on this one (which is what I'll be doing today).
Before that she had bought a Weed Eater brand rear engine that was an absolute piece of CRAP.