PEORIA MIDWEST EQUIPMENT INC

I owned my Craftsman riding mower for two years before taking it in to Midwest for routine service (e.g., oil and filter change, blades sharpened, belts tightened, etc.). I never had any problem with the mower until they serviced it. When I got it back, it was hard to start, but seemed to run okay once I got it started. After I used it for a couple of weeks, it would not start at all and thick white smoke poured out of the exhaust. I sent it back to them and they said that an intake valve had pushed down into the cylinder and the engine was ruined. Their quote to replace the engine was around $2,400 -- about what a brand new mower would cost. Their explanation for what happened was that gas had probably been allowed to sit in the tank and the ethanol ruptured a diaphragm in the carburetor. The only problem with that is that I had been using the mower every week to cut my grass and had zero problems with it. I'm no small engine expert, but I think Midwest failed to put something back together the right way while they were servicing it. I'm picking up a new mower today, but it's not coming from Midwest. I will never go there again and advise anyone who needs a mower serviced to not use them unless it's still under warranty.

Very pleased...mower works fine and service was amazingly quick...price was as expected.