Sounds more like bad luck. Not knowing your property, mine grows rocks, so I can't blame the mower if I hit a rock or blow a tire. Now, if things keep breaking, then I would say the mower. More on reddit.com

Go with the X354. The E140 is a low-end offering. The X354 was a $3800 machine. Engine is a Kawasaki FD731V gasoline 2-cylinder liquid-cooled (this alone would make it my choice Transaxel is a Tuff Torq K72A Typebelt-driven hydrostatic https://www.tractordata.com/lawn-tractors/001/0/7/1075-john-deere-x540.html The E140 was a $2000 machine. Engine is a Briggs & Stratton 44N677 gasoline 2-cylinder vertical-shaft V-Twin Transaxel is a Tuff Torq TL200 Type belt-driven hydrostatic sealed unit. Owner service is not recommended https://www.tractordata.com/lawn-tractors/003/2/3/3235-john-deere-e140.html More on reddit.com

I feel you ..John Deere mowers are stupid loud. My neighbor is 82 and not all there. He mows continuously. I have tried to talk to them about it but his wife says it's all he has to live for and basically told me to fuck off. They are your typical angry old folks. I am looking forward to the day the meat wagon hauls them off. I know that's heartless but these people are the worst. More on reddit.com

There have been a lot of posts like this on here lately. Mowers are also one of the most heated topics on this sub. Coming from someone who works at a dealer, the bare minimum in a lawn tractor I would get is an S240. You get the same engine and transmission found in the X300 signature series. So you’ll have much improved reliability. If you can’t afford the S240, then the S220 is the only acceptable secondary option IMO. If mowing around a lot of trees or objects then look into a zero turn. The Z3s were redesigned last year and are a huge improvement over the previous generation More on reddit.com