Having worked in Sears lawn and garden at one time. I have some knowledge
1. What brand/model do you recommend? (I can spend about $400, give or take)——You can hardly go wrong with a Craftsman, but any national brand is good. Get a front propelled movers as the rear wheels tend to tear up the yard. Definitely get at least a 6 horsepower engine anything smaller will burn up too soon if you have a heavy cut and will not cut your grass right. I would suggest you get a rear bagger as you might want to pick up leaves or the yard may be too thick from mulching and need to bag once in a while http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_07137066000P?mv=rr
2. Do you believe an extended warranty is worth the extra cost? -— Since you already claim no mechanical prowess. By all means get it
3. If I take good care of it, how long do you think it should last? -—5 to 10 years at least
4. Besides changing the oil, what should I do to make it last? — change the mulching blade every year. Do not get it sharpened. Very hard to balance it so not to wrap your engine
5. Are there any other considerations I should take into account? — Put good gas in the tank with “fresh start” left over gas can leave a varnish on the lines and clog it up
Beer-—don’t drink horse piss Budweiser while cutting your yard with your new mover
Just BS unless they are hand tools. Used to be a good bet, but their weed eaters, lawn mowers are crap. The motor on the lawn mower is good (Briggs) but the wheels and self drive need parts in two years. Electric start lasted one year. The weed eaters go in the trash the second season, small engine guys laugh about fixing them. And I DO the maintenance.
Just BS unless they are hand tools. Used to be a good bet, but their weed eaters, lawn mowers are crap. The motor on the lawn mower is good (Briggs) but the wheels and self drive need parts in two years. Electric start lasted one year. The weed eaters go in the trash the second season, small engine guys laugh about fixing them. And I DO the maintenance.
The best way to keep a mower going strong is to do regular maintenance- run the gas dry before winter storage, change the oil, air filter, spark plug & sharpen the blade every spring. Takes all of 20 min for a summer of great lawn cutting.