Hello, from Birmingham Alabama

KIEF4DIAMONDS

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Hi, my names Joe. I just got a new place after moving from the gulf coast beaches, and it dawned on me a few weeks ago that I would (for the first time in my 30 years) have to cut my own grass. I always enjoyed doing it, and its really giving me an opportunity to justify a cool purchase to my lady. If it were up to her, id be pushing that two acres with a pawn shop purchase.

anyways, im not sure if im in the right section or not, but I have it down to two different mowers.
my 2+ acres is mostly flat. coming up the drive there is a slight incline about 25 yards.

The YTA24V48 is on sale currently at my local big box store. 1499.99 for a briggs and automatic. the build quality and steel thicknesss seems to be loads above anything else they are selling. says a 10 year limited warranty applies.

the other is an MTD gold. I hear all these raving reviews about mowers with Kohler engines. this ones listed in at 1399 with a 42 inch deck vs the Husqvarnas 48

I just wondered if it was on the right path to a decent lawnmower in my price range, 1300-1600 and wondered if i was in for heartache or success.

im sure you get these sorts of questions a lot and everyone has their opinion, but i usually like to research first, and buy right the first go around.
 

Catherine

LawnWorld Support
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:welcome:

Welcome to the forum!

I'm going to move your thread over to our buying and pricing section.

Hopefully, we can find the perfect mower for you before that grass starts to really grow :smile:
 

BlazNT

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Hi, my names Joe. I just got a new place after moving from the gulf coast beaches, and it dawned on me a few weeks ago that I would (for the first time in my 30 years) have to cut my own grass. I always enjoyed doing it, and its really giving me an opportunity to justify a cool purchase to my lady. If it were up to her, id be pushing that two acres with a pawn shop purchase.

anyways, im not sure if im in the right section or not, but I have it down to two different mowers.
my 2+ acres is mostly flat. coming up the drive there is a slight incline about 25 yards.

The YTA24V48 is on sale currently at my local big box store. 1499.99 for a briggs and automatic. the build quality and steel thicknesss seems to be loads above anything else they are selling. says a 10 year limited warranty applies.

the other is an MTD gold. I hear all these raving reviews about mowers with Kohler engines. this ones listed in at 1399 with a 42 inch deck vs the Husqvarnas 48

I just wondered if it was on the right path to a decent lawnmower in my price range, 1300-1600 and wondered if i was in for heartache or success.

im sure you get these sorts of questions a lot and everyone has their opinion, but i usually like to research first, and buy right the first go around.

I am going to be the first and I am going to be blunt. Nothing against you or any one just the facts.

In the price range you are looking at you will get a 3 to 5 year mower. They are all made with low grade parts. Some lower than others. I personally do not like MTD but others do not like Husqvarna. I think that 10 years warranty is for the deck only. Most mowers in that price range have 1 to 2 years. If you go the Sears way just know that Sears does not make anything. Husqvarna and MTD make all Chraftsman mowers. Model number that starts with 917 is Husqvarna and any other number is MTD.
 

dfbroxy

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Ill give my opinion but thats all it is. First, I know we all have to live within our budget. So given that between the two mowers you like, I would go with the 48 inch cut because 2+ acres is a lot to cut. Now having said that, your major weak point with that mower will be the transmission. It is designed for roughly a flat acre per week. Keep the top of trans clean and do a little research in how to change the oil in the trans. Dont forget about the rest of the maint also. The more you know how to repair the mower the longer it will last you. What they charge in the shop to repair them will break the bank. (no disrespect to those who work there)
 

Ronno6

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Roll Tide Roll !!
 

bertsmobile1

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Joe

You need to get things into perspective.
The price range you are looking at is only marginally above a top line self propelled commercial mower.
So just how good do you think it will be ?
Nothing in a big box store has less than a 50% mark up so that $1500 mower left the factory with a $ 1000 price tag and generally on a pay us 30 days after you sell it finance.
The cost of the engine & transmission alone are very near that.
So how much care & quality goes into the other parts & the assembly, not much.

It will be largely luck of the draw as to weather you get a good one or a just acceptiable one.
AS for engines, the same story applies .
Every brand makes only just barely good enough ones and top of the line run for a very long time ones.
To the buyer they all look the same.

Buy an end of season run out model from a big box store and your local dealer is going to treat you like a lepper so if anything goes wrong tough luck.

You will get a lot better bang for you buck buying a dealer trade in and then they will have an obligation to you to keep it running.
In a couple of months time , the selling season kicks off and reasonable trade ins will be everywhere.

At the bottom end you will be better served with a vari drive machine, they are the ones with a single shifter for forward & reverse and another one for speed.
These are a lot more robust than the bottom end hydros and a lot easier & cheaper to repair.

Bottom end MTD, Bottom end AYP much of a muchness.
And don't be fooled by the feel of the steel.
Thin steel with heavy powder coating fees the same as thicker steel with thin paint.
Then there is good quality steel at $ 3000 / ton and rubbish steel at $ 500 / ton guess which models get what steel.

So if you really want a new mower, in that price range, just pick the colour she likes best.
OTOH most dealers will give you a good price on a last season's model many with interest free loans over 2 or 3 years and if current funds are tight that would be a better way to go than a $ 1500 cheapie.

Dad had a saying " those who buy cheap pay thrice? and to date he has never been wrong.

I have just finished fixing a $ 99 big box chan saw that is 18 months old & only been used once.
To make it start reliably, keep the fuel in the tank , put the oil in the bar rather than on the ground & cut strait cost the customer $ 165
 

jekjr

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No disrespect and I do not mean to be sarcastic. However if you are not going to spend any more than that on a mower to cut that much grass you would be better off to hire it done. A mower in that price range is going to cost you severely in the long run. Basically they are all junk in my personal opinion.
 
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