Ive came across three riding mowers to chose from:

Cub Cadet 12.5 HP 38 inch with 400 hours: $600 Good Shape
Craftsman 13 HP 42 inch hours N/A: $500 Very good shape
MTD 14 HP 42 inch with less than 30 hours: $500 Almost brand new

Which would you prefer??

Riders take a beating, it can be a good machine and still it will have component failure. Of the choices the easiest to maintain and purchase reeplacement parts would be the craftsman. All of the craftsman parts are available online and they offer a breakdown as well. Your situation will play a roll also, if I had an established servicing Cub Cadet dealer within a block of home I would certainly consider the Cub. In the end the models mentioned are not all that different with regards to quality or reliability.

Good luck,
Don

I'd go with the AYP myself... (craftsman) skip the mtd... cub cadet maybe.. like new said, if you got good dealer support...