Buying a new riding mower

I know you said no zero turns….but I've got an older JD Ztrak commercial mower that will mow at 9mph. It has a separate PTO and a large poly box type collection system for leaves that works unreal. There can be leaves all over my 2 acres of grass and it looks like I've made passes with a hoover vacuuming leaves. I can cut the whole yard in about an hour and collect all the leaves in about 1.5 hours. I've got hills and it isn't bad to operate on those, I'd never go back to a conventional style old school mower. I hate mowing grass, anything to make it quicker I'm all about. I use an older 4 wheeler for pulling my yard cart and it's handy for the powered sprayer I have for weeds etc..just a suggestion.
 
shawn said:
Like I said... used JD prices are crazy.
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Would you rather have a used crew cab duramax or a new regular cab s-10?

tkeaton said:
What is a "real" mower? Honest question, I am about to drop the coin, but only want to do it once. I already know that I wouldn't buy from a big box, but want to know what the cut off is for a real machine.

Is is power plant? Cutting deck construction? Assembly plant?
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You have 3 choices with big box store mowers. MTD (cub cadet, troybuilt, yardman, etc) AYP/electrolux (Husqvarna, pulon, most craftsman) and john deere. They generally $2500and less. Share alot of the same motors/transmissions. They are all similar and cheaply made. These are considered a lawn mower

A good mower is 5-30,000 new. Generally called a garden tractor. While I would never buy a new one to just mow my yard, I'd much rather have a used one for the same money as a new cheap one. The john deere 345 I posted weighs about 300 lbs more, has a liquid cooled comercial engine, power (hydraulic) steering, much larger (stronger, faster) transmission, heaver duty deck, that is easy to remove, power deck lift, tilt steering, and you can use a tiller, blade and other attachements with it.
 
I just got back into mowing my yard this season after paying someone for the last six or seven years (used to travel too much for work and would come home to a jungle all summer). Knowing that the MTD built tractors are all over the place, fairly cheap used, and parts are ubiquitous I went and bought a well taken care of used Troy Bilt and run that thing at full speed across my lawn. I keep the blades super sharp and it cuts really well for what it is. Since I paid didly for it I don't worry about it. If it breaks, so what I can buy another used mower just like it. It has a decent 17.5Hp Briggs & Stratton engine so it fires first time every time. At the $75/mow I was paying this thing is halfway to paying for itself already this season.
 
I bought a brand new Ferris IS700Z 52" 3 years ago. Best purchase I've ever made! (Even if it was 6200 bucks) It only has 105 hours on it now, but that's a LOT of grass. I keep up several yards every year, so I decided to drop the coin on a mower that I knew would last me many, many years. Other than blades, belts, and oil changes, I haven't had any issues.

I'll never own a non-ZTR again. It turned the 3 hour job of mowing my grandma's grass in to a 1 hour job. Not only is it just plain fast, but being able to cut around all the trees in her yard is awesome.

If nothing else, a fabricated deck is a must have.

On the other hand....I would totally be fine with just enough mower (cheap MTD) to keep up my yard if I didn't like mowing grass so much. A high dollar machine isn't for everyone.
 
Just an fyi. Check out Dixie Chopper. They are the fastest lawnmower made supposedly. I used my neighbors 72" cut dual 18 hp a few years ago. You wouldn't believe how fast that mower was. He said it would mow at 17 mph. That didn't sound fast to me until I got on it. Scary fast!

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rockmafia said:
Would you rather have a used crew cab duramax or a new regular cab s-10?.
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Are you the guy paying $40k for a ten year old diesel with 300k on it? :flipoff2:

I mean, the OP is talking about buying a new mower because his old one has a weird vibration. I don't think he's going to have much patience for a 15yo mower, power steering or not.
 
Seems this discussion comes up every spring...


Cheap new mower = less cost of ownership but takes more time to cut the yard and at the end of its life span of about 7 years is barely worth scrap

Good new mower = more cost of ownership but less time cutting the grass and a longer life span


I bought an Ariens 23 hp 50" years ago and it's been great so far. Only had to replace the sheave bearings last year after 9 years of use.

Mowers on my list to buy if I have to in the future: Ariens, kubota, Gravely, maybe Dixie chopper if they can get the price within reason, commercial Scagg, Simplicity


I can cut my grass at 8mph and it's nice. My father has a front deck Gravely and can cut his 3/4 acre yard at like 11mph and be done in about 12 minutes :D
 
Weird vibration when blades are engaged? Shit, replace the spindle beatings for $45 and keep mowing.

What size lot do you have? Unless I have several acres I'll personally couldn't bring myself to pay several thousand for a garden tractor. Especially if it's not for business.

To me it's the comparison of a professional mechanic buying Snap-on or the shade tree mechanic buying Kobalt/craftsman.

Using the numbers I've seen here and at the stores:

300 hrs for a $1000 box store
600 hrs for $5000 (and even $10,000) garden tractor.

Ya, I know where my money is going.

I think there was a Igloo sticker made in another thread recent that can be compared to this.


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rockcity said:
I bought an Ariens 23 hp 50" years ago and it's been great so far. Only had to replace the sheave bearings last year after 9 years of use.
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That's a Husqvarna.
 
I'll never purchase another briggs and stratton engine. I have a close friend that can get close to 50hp out of around a 13hp kohler so its a no brainer for me :flipoff2:
 
obullfish said:
I really like the KUBOTA that I have and have not had any issues in 6 years now. I can mow wfo with the grass 8-10" high and it cuts like a dream and doesn't bog down. It's a 60" cut 23hp diesel 4x4 with a rear pto and easily removable loader.
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^^^^^^this^^^^^^^^

Same deal here, it's old, and can be grumpy, but it runs, every time (unless fuel filter stops up, change filter once a year, it keeps going )
 
@RenegadeT has a 10-15 yr old Husqvarna that the deck rusted out on and had to be replaced.
 
Blkvoodoo said:
^^^^^^this^^^^^^^^

Same deal here, it's old, and can be grumpy, but it runs, every time (unless fuel filter stops up, change filter once a year, it keeps going )
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Actually, that reminds me of a different aspect of Jim's argument - your tractor is super handy and versatile. But it's a shitty mower. The ROPS is 7ft tall and the seating position is pretty high regardless, so you can't get within 15ft of any trees. And it doesn't turn. If you've got 7 acres of pasture to mow once a month, it's great. If you're like Rob - mowing a 1/2 acre lot with a ZTR - it's the wrong tool for the job.

drkelly said:
@RenegadeT has a 10-15 yr old Husqvarna that the deck rusted out on and had to be replaced.
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That's what he gets for riding it around on the roads in Boone during the winter. :rolleyes:
 
I have been thinking a lot about this lately. I have a very hilly yard that's hard on a typical "mower". I have a 1985 Ford LGT17H that I use. It weighs about 800lbs. It has a real driveshaft to the hydrosat and a hydraulic deck lift. It doesn't have the best mowing quality and that's the main reason I want something else. I also have an 80 Gravely, but even with fluid filled and weighted front tires, it wants to pick up the front tires a little on the hills. I'm not a fan of that. I see everyone's argument for both cases, but I believe my next purchase may be a Kuboda or something used like that JD 345 above. Maybe even one of the compact tractors with 4x4.
 
Where do you find a good used mower? I'm not a Craigslist person and have no interest in browsing that website. My yard isn't big, and it's very flat. I use a push mower and can finish in about 2 hours, but I'm lazy.
 
Macdaddy4738 said:
Where do you find a good used mower? I'm not a Craigslist person and have no interest in browsing that website. My yard isn't big, and it's very flat. I use a push mower and can finish in about 2 hours, but I'm lazy.
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i got my old 1968 snapper that i mentioned earlier in this post that you can come pick up for free and my business partner will throw in a 86 cub cadet that needs a new motor if you want them
 
mbalbritton said:
Weird vibration when blades are engaged? Shit, replace the spindle beatings for $45 and keep mowing.

What size lot do you have? Unless I have several acres I'll personally couldn't bring myself to pay several thousand for a garden tractor. Especially if it's not for business.

To me it's the comparison of a professional mechanic buying Snap-on or the shade tree mechanic buying Kobalt/craftsman.

Using the numbers I've seen here and at the stores:

300 hrs for a $1000 box store
600 hrs for $5000 (and even $10,000) garden tractor.

Ya, I know where my money is going.

I think there was a Igloo sticker made in another thread recent that can be compared to this.


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If the vibration was the only problem with the mower, then i would replace the belt and the other spindle that i did not replace last year. The motor is not running right now though.

My lot is 6 acres, but most of it is woods. Im not sure how much acreage of grass there is, but it takes me about 1hr to mow now.
 
FWIW, Simplicity makes Ferris. You can get anything from a B&S 28 hp to a 35hp CAT Diesel as an option. I'd have loved to have gotten the 29hp FI Kohler though. Also...have any of you ever gotten off of a rigid mount ZTR on to one with full suspension? It's amazing how much better you feel after mowing...and the next day. A Snapper suspension seat doesn't even compare.
 
Croatan_Kid said:
FWIW, Simplicity makes Ferris. You can get anything from a B&S 28 hp to a 35hp CAT Diesel as an option. I'd have loved to have gotten the 29hp FI Kohler though. Also...have any of you ever gotten off of a rigid mount ZTR on to one with full suspension? It's amazing how much better you feel after mowing...and the next day. A Snapper suspension seat doesn't even compare.
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There are obviously reasons that Ferris is so expensive compared to the other zero turns. Suspension has to be killer on one. I bet it rides like a caddy.

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What we've been pushing at JD here lately is the S240. Basically an X300 on a D110 frame, so it's lighter, but keeps the larger tires, seat, and engine. Also, the transaxle is borrowed from the X300. Slightly better deck design than the D-series. Me personally, I would get an X304 with a 42" deck or an X324 with a 48" deck. Hard to beat four wheel steering if you don't want a zero-turn. If you want older and still four wheel steer, try a 425.

I'm not a salesman, I just work on them. AYP, B&S, MTD, JD...all basic garbage on their entry-level machines. The JD 100 series (D100-D170) are all crap, but the 48" decks are seemingly better than the 42".
 
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