Husqvarna and Craftsman are both made by American Yard Products (low quality, hard to find parts). Toro is a good company (also makes Exmark). As far as John Deere, in my opinion the X500 series is excellent but may be too expensive for you. My X534 is six years old, a real workhorse and absolutely not one problem (I mow 2-3 acres).

SOME Craftsman lawn tractors are made by Husqvarna; their lower-end stuff is by MTD. Craftsman garden tractors are, I believe, by Husqvarna. I have two Husqvarna products, and do not see them as "low quality." Also, parts (the few that I have needed) have been readily available.

I own lawn/garden equipment from Husqvarna, MTD, and John Deere. The Husqvarna matches Deere, and both surpass MTD.

FYI, Craftsman assigns a manufacturer's ID number ahead of the model number. 917 identifies Husqvarna. If you look at the tag under the seat of a Craftsman tractor and it shows 917.xxxxx, then it's by Husqvarna.

Agree pretty much w/ 12g. Toro consumer tractors stateside anyways are an MTD product. Husqvarna did unfortunately make my life more interesting this summer on some longer lead times on backordered parts than they used to. Here, they changed the distributor network- and cut the numbers of distributors. Factory shipping on 1 item was so long it seemed almost comical. By comical I mean hilarious. By hilarious I meant months. Generally speaking tho, parts availability is good. I'm sure when they didn't sell all the lower end Sears units anymore, something had to give. Deere parts in my area are the most reliable. X300 series would be good to look at. Your LX was a nice ride.

What is wrong with the LX188? Based on your usage, I would expect it to last more then 15 years.

Whats wrong with the LX188?
Not sure.. just have it for its regular service now but it was just making a kind of metallic ringing sound after I turned the motor off so am awaiting to hear what they say when I pick it up. Just didn't sound right.
I have patched up the powerflow unit (plastic had worn through so I keep fibreglassing the holes there) and the bonnet has gotten brittle and very cracked.. but yes, I hope it does keep running for a lot longer too.
Just felt that it might be starting to come to the end of it.

Hope your metallic ringing noise is nothing serious.

My only thought is that assuming the parts are all readily available you may be able to replace the broken and worn parts for a fraction of what a new machine costs. My guess is that you are going to be very disappointed with one of the lesser machines you mentioned after the new tractor smell wears off.

I didn't mean to offend anyone with my comment on Husqvarna and Craftsman. After retiring (30 yrs. aviation mechanic) I have worked the last 4 years for a John Deere dealer in the parts department. We also sell several other brands. I have learned a great deal about mowers and sell hundreds of parts every week. All brands have models that have specific problems. I see several people each week frustrated trying to get parts for MTD, Craftsman and other brands. Sears here sells mowers but does not carry parts. When I see a person come in with a Husqvarna steering sector looking for a bushing which is thin plastic I don't consider that to be high quality. Anyway, the John Deere X300 series is a good unit, but I would go with a 48C deck rather than a 42". When you get up to the X500 series you get a heavier duty transaxle, actual wheel bearings instead of bushings, etc. I'm sure this is true for most brands, you get what you pay for. I haven't had any problems getting parts for the LX188 so you should be able to keep it running for many more years.

Would you be willing to sell the deck off it if you do get a replacement?

For the cost of a relatively new tractor, you could replace a lot of parts on your JD. John Deere has an extensive parts inventory for all of the tractors it sells. While it is usually assumed the OEM parts are expensive, I have found that parts for my 15 year old JD LT155. are quite reasonable.

If you find the labor cost are high, you can do a lot of your own work on a JD. I have found the dealers are very helpful in my do it your self effort. One area where you can save a lot is doing your own spring sevice. For less that $40 you can buy the service kit for JD, and in two hours you can do the work your self.