Tarrant() - Scott Paso of Tarrant has decided to forego his planned lawnmower purchase, at least for the present time. Paso made the decision to purchase a new mower when he began to have trouble starting his Craftsman 6.0 horsepower model towards the end of the last grass cutting season.

Paso had performed several maintenance procedures in accordance with the owners manual including changing the oil, a process which required tipping the lawnmower upside down causing gas to run out all over the yard. "I didn't know that would happen," said Paso. "I've still got a yellow spot on the yard where all the gas went." Paso also changed the spark plug and had a friend sharpen the blade, but nothing seemed to help the starting problem.

"I noticed the cord wouldn't always retract right," said Paso. "Somone suggested that I keep the mower in the garage instead of leaving it in the front yard all the time." Sears technical literature on the lawn mower suggests that continued exposure to rain can lead to early deterioration of parts such as the pull cord basket and rewind mechanism as well as cause damage to the carburetor and fuel delivery system. "I cleaned it up good last year and lubricated everything with Liquid Wrench," said Paso. "I've kept it in the garage all winter and it seems to be working ok." Paso says he still may purchase a new mower, but will wait for Sears lowest price of the season before making any decision.