HDS 3186

[PACub100]

My parents are in need of another mower and it just so happens that my cousin has this for sale. He showed it to me last night, it's stored in his garage along with his toys (he's a mechanic and has a few restored "green machines"). It fired right up, runs silky smooth and appears to be a pretty stout machine.
Any known issues or things to watch out for?

 

[Oak]

The 3000 series are probably one of the best mowers Cub ever made.....I think so.

That looks like a 48" model 289 deck. They are built very well and they have the striping roller on the back side that give a beautiful finish. It is the only machine I mow my front and back yard with.

The foot controlled hydro is awesome to use for mowing and the power steering on these machines work very well with no issues.
All attachments are shaft driven so they don't use the stupid mule drive system twisting belts around pulleys to power attachments.
The drive shaft to the hydro is probably one the best designed also having basically no maintenance needed.
That machine should have a Kohler Command so we all know that is a good motor.
That machine has the aluminum rear that is pretty easy to service or repair but does not have the locking differential.

The bad.
Cub Cadet didn't know how to prep the metal so a lot of these machines have paint that blows off in large chunks.
Check for oil leaks on the rear and spool valve area. Not hard or expensive to repair but some do leak.

Money talks.....I would say that machine should be priced no higher than $1500.

 

[PACub100]

Good advice, thanks!
Yes, just looking it over I could tell this wasn't a typical box store model...for an MTD product it sure did appear to be built like a tank. He's asking $1,200, so I figured about average. Has just under 550 hours on it. Also he's the second owner so history is simple enough...

My parents are going to get it this weekend to try it out for a few weeks to see if they like it. Will look for the oil leaks while it's there. Doing a quick search I saw on some other forums that a few people had problems with the hydraulic pump and the gears contained within but I only saw 2 or 3 posts.. otherwise there wasn't much out there about this model.

 

[rroark]

I have a 3235 with 850ish hours. The only issues I have had with it were the deck bearing and pullies around 700 hour.