Help with ZTR Purchase

Hi guys,

I'm moving to a new property in a few weeks and have a ton more grass to cut, so I am gonna need a ZTR. I'm in Canada, so prices and dealer availability are a bit different here. Property is 4 acres, not very hilly but not the most even ground in areas, used to be pasture I think. Some obstacles, but nothing tight, so I was thinking 50 to 60 inch deck. Not cutting anywhere else except my home.

Went to a couple local dealers the other day and sat on some mowers, Cub Cadet, Husq, Bobcat, Hustler, Kabota, Ariens.

The mower that felt the best sitting on was the Bobcat CRZ 52. I also liked Kabota, but they are quite a bit more expensive, Ariens was ok but I'm not sure if its as good quality as the Bobcat. There is also someone here selling BadBoy Maverick 60s, brand new in crate, but no warranty, as we have no Bad Boy dealers in Canada. Price on the BB is similar to the Bobcat. Beastly mower, but no warranty is a huge concern, and I'm not super handy with fixing things.

I was also looking at the lower end Toro Timecutters, but I'm guessing for an extra grand, something like the Bobcat would be a much better buy.

Heard great things about Scag, but my dealer has none in stock and doesn't get them for demo, so I can't even sit on one. How similar would it be to the Bobcat or Hustler? I found the Hustler Raptor did not have enough leg room for me.

Thanks!

When I shopped for a ZTR last year, the local Ariens/Cub Cadet dealer was closed for a week, staff vacation time I guess. So I can't really say much about them, other than my father had a Ariens tractor which proved excellent for many years and was still in great shape when he sold it. He upgraded to a brand new Kubota in 2006 as a retirement gift to himself.

Kubota ZTR looked like a nice machine and the dealer is right beside my working place. But those prices... it may be a great machine, but the most basic one was over 50% more expensive than what I finally bought and the salesman wasn't really interested in selling me a basic model and constantly tried to upsell me into the upper range. They didn't even keep the basic line in stock. I passed and kept shopping. I visited Columbia, John Deere and Toro.

I ended up with a Timecutter SS4200. Sure, SS is Toro's low end and I even kept the Toro engine instead of paying extra for the upgrade Kohler engine. I have absolutely no regrets so far and engine proved powerful enough for my needs. Big advantage on the basic Toro over the basic John Deere : Toro's rear engine shield is made of metal and has a built-in trailer hitch. John Deere was more expensive, the rear engine shield is plastic with no possibility for a hitch unless custom made.

Husq, Bobcat and Hustler I never even saw them around here so I don't know anything about them.

Just went and checked out the Bad Boy Maverick and the Toro Timecutter MX5000 and MX6000. Both were very comfortable for me and I took one for a spin, handles very well, I like it.

But.......then I went and looked at the Bad Boy Maverick 60....Wow, huge machine, totally commercial grade, Kohler Confidant engine. Guy bought 15 of them at auction, they are new in crate.

Pricing for the ones I like....(cdn $)
Toro MX5000 $3969
Toro MX6050 $5369
Bobcat CRZ 52 $5495
Bad Boy Maverick 60 $5300 (new, but no warranty)

Thinking of either going cheap with the Toro 50, or taking a chance and getting the Bad Boy with no warranty. It is a commercial machine that should last me forever, has the 3200 hydros, super heavy duty frame and deck, and the electric deck lift.

I was really excited about bad boy. Then I heard all the negatives. If u were doing commercial I'd say scag all the way. Hell u can still get a scag liberty pretty cheap, that's an option. Great cutting mowers and reliable. But cub cadet recently fired all their engineers and hired new ones. Their new mowers are pretty nice for residential. U don't need much. And with since you're just doing residential u can get by with any brand. I'd have to recomend in this order, scag, Toro, cub cadet, husqavarna. Bad boy doesn't get u much unless u spend over 8k on one of their mowers. I'm just a scag fan. I have a 60" swisher I bought from an old man for 500 bucks. Been a hell of a tough mower and reliable for being 15 plus years old. It's just got a mediocre cut on it though, nothing special. But for what they cost new u can get a better mower. In the end it's all up to you. Best of luck. And don't forget. SCAG SCAG SCAG. The JD and exmark guys are gonna hate me for this. But it's all personal preference. Cheers.

And never get electric deck lifts. They're a pain in the rear. Make sure u get a foot operated deck lift. That's why I like scag. They have the foot lift with a drop pin and the height options are more variable than bad boys lower end units.

If the Bobcat dealer is close. Go with it. It will do a fine job.

Good luck,

Max