I'm more familiar with Toro owers, so I'll use them as an example. The Toro mowers sold at HD are priced lower because many of the non-engine components are not quite as robust as those found on mowers sold at the dealer. Additionally, the HD mowers do not bag and mulch quite as well. The HD mowers certainly do the job and are priced well. In other words you get what you pay for no matter what the Honda help line rep said.

Someone on thus forum may be familiar with the specific mowers your were looking at. Otherwise, you might ask your local dealer. Preface your question with a statement like I'm looking for a mower that will last a long time.

My Toro dealer says the bottom two lines are carried at HD and they are exactly the same as the bottom two lines at the dealer. My dealer refuses to carry the worst of the two. They are also the exact same price.

He threw me a number such as $7 being the warranty reimbursement for those two bottom lines. Whatever the number was, it wasn't worth his time and he refuses to carry the lowest quality, nor will he do warranty work on anything from HD.

Ask about the new 5 year warranty that is effective for HRX models sold after 1 Jan 2010.

This was reported by Power Equipment Trade magazine.