I got my Troy-Bilt lawn mower not too long after I moved to Georgia. The Honda engine has provided flawless reliable service for almost a decade. Unfortunately, the rest of the mower is another story. Small issues seemed to be a regular occurrence.

I've replaced the drive cables twice. The seams on the bag were beginning to separate. The original back wheels disintegrated a few years ago. The cogs on the replacement wheels wouldn't stay in place, (hence the large washers and nuts/bolts seen in the photo above). This means the power drive works, but not very well.

Earlier this year, I went to adjust the height of the deck, which is usually a simple procedure. This time, I grabbed the handle only to have it break off in my hand. So not only did I no longer have height adjustment, there was nothing to keep the existing height in place. The mower instantly dropped to the lowest setting and stayed there. I had to drill through the frame and install a nut and bolt to hold everything in place.

I had been hearing a metal-on-metal clanging when I would run over something solid and discovered that part of the frame had broken loose. Hitting anything solid would push the broken part of the frame into the spinning blade.

Last weekend, the clanging was louder and more intense than usual. Turns out that the broken piece of the frame came completely loose.

The broken piece sits in front of the blade, but behind the front axle. The piece in question acts as a guide for for the cut grass. With it no longer in place, I had a small amount of grass shooting out from the front of the mower.

I can only apply so many band aids. And I think I've reached my limit. Time for a new mower.

I did some research and settled on a Honda HRX Series mower that was available at Home Depot. But for some inexplicable reason, the model I wanted was available at every Home Depot EXCEPT the Athens store, (it couldn't be shipped to Athens, no exceptions).

The North Lilburn store, about 55 miles from my house, had two of them on the shelf. The only question I had was how to get it home.

I called the store to verify that their online inventory was correct, which it was. So I asked the associate to measure the dimensions of the box to see if I could get it in the XJS's trunk.

I had to take the spare tire out of the trunk of the XJS, but it fit. A couple of ratchet straps held it firmly in place for the one hour ride.

Once home, I unpacked the mower and got it assembled, which was an easy task.

I gave it a couple of quick trial runs to see if the mulching/bagging aspect performed as well as everyone online claimed, which it did. In fact, it surprised me in a positive way with how well it performed !

So here's to many years of good service ! And as is the case with me and cars, it''s nice to have a backup just in case.