I bought my Toro Proline in the spring of '95, but few things last forever, so I have done a little window shopping, and have 3 models on my wish list, all tied for first place, But the old Toro keeps going, and it really shines as far as mulching the leaves, so by the time fall cleanup is past and it gets tucked in for the winter I have tossed any thoughts of ever replacing it. The problem though is that it seems the past several years in particular, as I go through spring maintenance, I run into something of significance. Well, yesterday was no different. Went start it up to drive it around and work on it, and all it did was crank. No fire at all, so I obviously had no spark or no fuel. Not sure how I got so lucky on the first pass, but disconnected the line at the carburetor and had no gas, hooked a gauge on the pulse line from the crankcase and it was good, so went to town for a fuel pump, replaced it, and it started right up. Did the maintenance, mowed maybe a quarter acre even though it's still a bit early, and she ran like a champ! Hopefully no new mower for another season.

 

That old stuff is a lot better built than the new stuff.
If I were you I would continue to fix and work it just out of pride.