A question about lawn mowers

I've hit a bit of a snag lately. The cub cadet lawn tractor that I got about 6-7 years ago has a problem with the mower deck, in that it's completely rusted out and has dropped it, shredding the drive belt right off the spindle in the process.

When I bought it, it was $2500, and just the deck without the pulley assembly is $900 everywhere I'm looking. To get down to the cause of my visit to you lovely people, would it be better for me to repair the thing, or with it being 6-7 years old, is it better to consider a 'cut and run' approach, and go with looking at something new.

I've been entertaining both ideas, but getting the parts to repair it locally is nigh impossible, and getting them shipped is a minimum of another $225 from what I've seen. If I do go with a new mower, I've been trying to find a good quality lawn tractor, preferably with a fabricated deck instead of a stamped one this time around. The brands I've been looking at are either Toro, Troy-Bilt, or John Deere(all brands I grew up with) and know I can trust.

If I go with a zero-turn, one brand I've been getting suggested a ton is bad boy mowers, but my research tells me they're a bit harder to repair. Scag is one I've found on my own, and places are telling me that it tends to lean towards the "gold standard" of zero turn mowers, with the SLS model being around $4300 delivered in my area. A bit more pricey, but things are showing me the ability to do self repairs is there after the warranty lapses.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.