Moral of the story: Don't bother with Craftsman or Lowes.
We made the mistake of purchasing this mower (our first) April 4, 2020 from Lowes. After TWO mows, the cable that engages the blades snapped. We turned to our mechanic (50 years experience), who has been a long-time Craftsman owner, for help. He has had these cables snap multiple times on his own mower, so was able to order and install the appropriate part. This was our first mistake. We should have returned the mower then, while we were within our limited warranty period from Lowes. We did save the broken cable in case of another malfunction with this mower (important later).
On August 15, 2020, the deck belt came off its track. We were unable to get it back on, so started calling Lowes on Monday. We just wanted the mower repaired under our 2 year manufacturer's warranty with Craftsman, at this point. We put the old cable back on to show that we had not one, but 2 malfunctions with this mower (important). After several calls along with lots of time and frustration, my boyfriend got nowhere with Lowes, so he called Craftsman. He spent about 3 hours on the phone trying to get ahold of a representative. When he did, they gave him the name of 3 repair places in our area. None of these places ended up being certified to work on a Craftsman under manufacturer's warranty. How, as the manufacturer, do you not have an accurate list of approved repair shops?
At this point, I took over. I spent 45 minutes on the phone to Craftsman waiting for a representative. When I did reach a representative, she also directed me to a repair shop... that is not certified to work on Craftsman.
Next, I called Lowes. Surely, since they carry Craftsman mowers, they could send our mower to whoever they use. It was not until I spoke with a manager that I was able to set this up. On August 20, 2020 Lowes picked my mower up. I called Lowes 1-2 times per week for 2 weeks to get some kind of progress update. Spoiler: they weren't able to give me any updates. On September 3, 2020 I called again and asked for an update; I was told that she didn't have an update but would call the repair shop and call me back before 2 pm on September 4, 2020. Shockingly (sarcasm), I never got a call back. I called once again on September 8, 2020 for an update. This time, I did hear back on September 9, 2020 that my repair was not covered by warranty and that it was complete. She wasn't able to tell me why it wasn't covered, the cost, or the estimated return date. She gave me a number for the repair shop which ended up being incorrect. After speaking with another Lowes representative, I was given the correct number.
Upon calling the repair shop, I found that the repair cronies had indeed determined that our repairs did not fall under warranty. They decided that the cable had been snapped by the belt which has been put back on incorrectly at some point. To my knowledge, our mechanic did not touch the belt; we were unable to put the belt back on ourselves when it came off or we would not be in this mess. I explained to the representative that these were 2 separate events, but it made no difference. We now owe Lowes $205.54 for repairs. I wish that the repair shop would have called to verify that they should proceed and to let me know the cost of repair once they determined that they would not honor the warranty. Wish we had spent that $200 to get a John Deer, Husqvarna, or Cub Cadet mower.
Since posting this review this morning, Lowes in Hutchinson, KS has called me back to let me know that the mower is ready for pickup... I don't currently have a towing vehicle, which is why Lowes picked the mower up from our home initially. We did not bring it in. I am now waiting on a shipping manager to schedule a drop off due to the lack of communication and attention to detail of the staff of the Hutchinson Lowes. My grass continues to grow.
We will never set foot in a Lowes again, nor will we ever make another purchase from Craftsman. I will personally make sure that every person who brings up purchasing Craftsman products does not make the same mistake that we did. Really, spend that extra $100-200 on a better brand. Craftsman = poor craftsmanship read more
