Need advice on lawn tractors (Deere vs Snapper)

I going to be purchasing a new lawn tractor in the next couple of weeks & would appreciate any advice and comments..

I'm looking at the following mowers

John Deere L120 (20hp B&S) for $2100.00 John Deere L130 (23hp Kohler) for $2400.00 Snapper LT200H (20hp B&S) for $3300.00 All are hydrostatic w/48" mowing decks.

My yard is about 1 1/2 acres,pretty level with only a couple of uneven spots.

I understand the John Deere L series use to be sold as Sabre but since the model change that JD had made improvements in the mowers & that they had better transmissions now..

Anybody have any experience with these mower? Is the Snapper worth that much more money?

I prefer to stay under $2500 unless there is a big difference in quality..

Thanks in advance for any input..

I have the smaller LE series Snapper with a 38" deck and hydrostatic transmission. I've had it for about 3 years now and it works flawlessly. The transmission is very smooth and easy to operate. The deck is outstanding and the mulching system does a great job. The engine has a cast iron sleeve (which most all do today) and grease zerts on all the critical joints and bearings. Snapper is known for their solid construction and not for a bunch of gimmicky features. As long as I mow as often as I should (which I do), the lawn looks as if it has been bagged which is the true measure of any mulching system. I've looked at the 100 series Deeres and just from my observations, they are not up to par with the regular Deeres which you can only find at John Deere dealers. This doesn't mean the 100 series mowers are poor quality, it's just that the regular Deeres are of commercial quality and the price reflects that. What mower you should get really depends more on what you'll be mowing. I have a 1/2 acre lawn with many obstacles. My lawn is very smooth and level. For my needs, my 38" Snapper works very well and will serve me for many years to come. If you have 2-3 acres or more of lawn and rough terrain to go over, you really need to shell out some big bucks for a commercial quality mower if you don't want to be constantly repairing and/or replacing.