Just a for what it's worth; a couple years ago, I bought a John Deere riding mower (used.) 2 years later, my kids ran it with the ignition stuck on "start." Burned up the starter
When I was checking on a price for a replacement starter, it was my lucky day - another lawn mower, identical model, was just brought in used to the tractor dealer I was at. It had the manual, records of every oil change, extra parts, bagger (worth quite a bit), etc. $400; I thought it was an incredible bargain.
Well, the transmission broke on that one. So, it was time to start swapping parts out from the other lawn mower. What I discovered amazed me: although they looked identical, and were the same model, the parts were of significantly varying quality. The first one I bought was built incredibly well. The second one was a piece of crap - metal parts replaced with plastic, the transmission wasn't anywhere near as solid (1/2 the size), etc.
Went to the John Deere dealer for parts, and he explained it to me: the box stores often carry the same models, but built of inferior parts so that they can sell them cheaper. The 2nd one I got was probably one sold at a place such as Home Depot.
I can't verify that what he said was true, but I can take pictures of both lawnmowers and their corresponding parts to show how significant the difference is. I was amazed when I bumped a stump with the front tire and broke the steering. The cheaper built lawnmower's steering housing was made of plastic. The other one I had: very solid metal.
Nonetheless, the point I really wanted to make was that when purchasing larger equipment such as riding mowers, pressure washer, etc., you might want to shop around and see if what I experienced isn't a factor with the item you're considering.
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