in my recent quest on trying to buy the perfect mower for me here is what i have been told and assume the truth (lol) by all the salesman.
my first place to look was lowes. found returned troybilt for $1600. stamped 42" deck. looked really nice. started talking to the mower guy there. he told me to spend the extra grand and get the $2600 john deere zz225 which is a 42" stamped deck also. i could clearly see some unique differences. beefier wheels. better engine kawasaki. just overall looked like a sturdier machine. so then i go and ask my buddy who repairs these mowers for a living. he said they were both junk. basically he said that after 500 hours on any of the residential mowers serious repairs will have to be made that would out cost the price of buying a new one. and he said it wouldn't all happen at the same time as silly as that sounds. he told me to goto my local dealer and check out the commercial stuff. his advice was to find something used.
so now i'm at the pros store. i tell them i want a 42" zero turn to mow my grass but don't want to break the bank. they point me to the toro MX4260. 42" deck 10 gauge steel which is welded. clearly an upgrade from the stamped decks on the residential mowers. decks are your most abused part of the mower. also advertised with this $3700 is a beefed up transmission and arm rests on the seat. so the extra 1000 gets you a beefier deck, transmission, and arm rests...i'm like cool. i want that one. so i go back to my friend. he says no no no its still not what you should get. its definetly better but your still at 500 hours give or take. so i'm leaving the dealer confused as ever and wanting to bang my head on the wall.
couple days go buy. i see another dealer and stop in for a look. i meet a salesman named hugh. i tell him what i want. he looks at me puzzled....says sir....why do you want this 42 zero turn? i said well i have 5 rentals less then a 1/2 acre each that i mow and i really think it will cut down my time and i don't ever want to buy another mower. i'm 28. his next question. do these homes have fences? i said well....yes...somewhat shell shocked. the 42" isn't gonna fit threw the gates sherlock i think to myself. this was a game changer. he went on to ask me what kind of trailer i had. 4x8 i replied. he also saw the work van i was driving. i sit and drive all day long. he went to go on about his back problems as i also have back pain from sitting all day. at this point my mindset had completely changed. i now wanted a mower that would fit threw a 40" fence and i did not want to sit anymore. we go over to the wrights which i had never even heard of. i'm looking at these things going this thing is sick. grease fittings all over it. hydraulic pumps and hoses nicely installed. frame on this thing was a piece of art. great engine. basically he said that these mowers are the most manuverable and fit in the tightest spaces. also they are built to last 2000 hrs plus and then he did the math figuring with the yards i cut that this mower would last approximately 30 yrs. i'm pretty much sold. its $5000 out the door with tax and everything.
basically what i think it comes down to is getting what you NEED and sometimes you need someone that can tell you what that is because i had no clue. he knew i would not be happy with a mower i had to replace because the stamped deck rust in 5 years. he knew the ZTR would rack my back sitting down. all in all i'm very happy to have spoke with hugh at the dealer. otherwise i'd have a big mower that wouldn't fit into the back yards and i'd be replacing again in 5-10 years. and thats not what i wanted. hope this helps. if my needs change i'll be going back to hugh.
my first place to look was lowes. found returned troybilt for $1600. stamped 42" deck. looked really nice. started talking to the mower guy there. he told me to spend the extra grand and get the $2600 john deere zz225 which is a 42" stamped deck also. i could clearly see some unique differences. beefier wheels. better engine kawasaki. just overall looked like a sturdier machine. so then i go and ask my buddy who repairs these mowers for a living. he said they were both junk. basically he said that after 500 hours on any of the residential mowers serious repairs will have to be made that would out cost the price of buying a new one. and he said it wouldn't all happen at the same time as silly as that sounds. he told me to goto my local dealer and check out the commercial stuff. his advice was to find something used.
so now i'm at the pros store. i tell them i want a 42" zero turn to mow my grass but don't want to break the bank. they point me to the toro MX4260. 42" deck 10 gauge steel which is welded. clearly an upgrade from the stamped decks on the residential mowers. decks are your most abused part of the mower. also advertised with this $3700 is a beefed up transmission and arm rests on the seat. so the extra 1000 gets you a beefier deck, transmission, and arm rests...i'm like cool. i want that one. so i go back to my friend. he says no no no its still not what you should get. its definetly better but your still at 500 hours give or take. so i'm leaving the dealer confused as ever and wanting to bang my head on the wall.
couple days go buy. i see another dealer and stop in for a look. i meet a salesman named hugh. i tell him what i want. he looks at me puzzled....says sir....why do you want this 42 zero turn? i said well i have 5 rentals less then a 1/2 acre each that i mow and i really think it will cut down my time and i don't ever want to buy another mower. i'm 28. his next question. do these homes have fences? i said well....yes...somewhat shell shocked. the 42" isn't gonna fit threw the gates sherlock i think to myself. this was a game changer. he went on to ask me what kind of trailer i had. 4x8 i replied. he also saw the work van i was driving. i sit and drive all day long. he went to go on about his back problems as i also have back pain from sitting all day. at this point my mindset had completely changed. i now wanted a mower that would fit threw a 40" fence and i did not want to sit anymore. we go over to the wrights which i had never even heard of. i'm looking at these things going this thing is sick. grease fittings all over it. hydraulic pumps and hoses nicely installed. frame on this thing was a piece of art. great engine. basically he said that these mowers are the most manuverable and fit in the tightest spaces. also they are built to last 2000 hrs plus and then he did the math figuring with the yards i cut that this mower would last approximately 30 yrs. i'm pretty much sold. its $5000 out the door with tax and everything.
basically what i think it comes down to is getting what you NEED and sometimes you need someone that can tell you what that is because i had no clue. he knew i would not be happy with a mower i had to replace because the stamped deck rust in 5 years. he knew the ZTR would rack my back sitting down. all in all i'm very happy to have spoke with hugh at the dealer. otherwise i'd have a big mower that wouldn't fit into the back yards and i'd be replacing again in 5-10 years. and thats not what i wanted. hope this helps. if my needs change i'll be going back to hugh.
