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I am a parent of special need children so the quicker I can mow the better off I am. It would be about 3 acres of property. Does anyone have any ideas for a greenhorne? LOL!
I like thie one but wow, so much money, limited income... Ariens Zoom 34 in. 14.5 HP Briggs and Stratton Power Built Single EZT Transaxles Hydrostatic Zero-Turn Mower.

Thank you for your thoughts in advance...

Welcome !
You say about 3 Acres, but what kind of lawn, yard, trees, bushes, slope ?
What were you planning on for a budget ?
What dealers or places to buy are near you ?

Live around Lansing, MI, honestly, I don't know anything, which I'm sure is not helpful, sorry. The land is mainly flat, there are newly planted trees on property, mainly in lines, other wise there is bushes diagonally placed in yard, also a unused carousal used once for horses.
As far as cost, honestly, don't have a lot of money, really, maybe a couple hundred, I was hoping to find something on craigslist or for free?
But some knowledge of what I should be looking for can only help me in my future searches.
Thank you for your time and advice.

Don't have a clue about craigslist and NO clue about anything for free or very little, but I'm sure someone can help.

Good Luck ! :thumbsup:

Thanks BK.

I don't have to go buy it right now, but I have no experience so I can't begin to make a decision, nor do I have thousands of dollars, I'm from MI.
Can anyone shoot some ideas at me regarding riding mowers and what the best brand is?
What to look for?
Maintenance issues?
Up keep?
Any ideas?

Thank you.

faithfullyforgive said:

Thanks BK.

I don't have to go buy it right now, but I have no experience so I can't begin to make a decision, nor do I have thousands of dollars, I'm from MI.
Can anyone shoot some ideas at me regarding riding mowers and what the best brand is?
What to look for?
Maintenance issues?
Up keep?
Any ideas?

Thank you.

Click to expand...

I don't think I can help much either but to say the best brands will be waaaaay beyond your budget.

I don't think a few hundred will even buy a mower that runs unless it was a hand mower.
You say faster would be better well a huge deck ZTR would be the fastest but they are 10 to 17 grand depending on the model you choose.

I guess what I'm trying to say is nothing exists that fits your guidelines for a mower.

If you find a used ZTR, have it checked out before buying it. Lot of them around here but they are not worth having. Goes for anything used, if you go that route. Keep in mind, new has a warranty, used does not.

Well i can offer a suggestion here,but don't go blasting me here...you say you have little to minimum cash for a mower to cut 3 acres i'm assuming this is your yard? well how bout having a garage sale ,a bake sale,some sort of fund raiser(be creative here)neighborhood yard sale at your place ,raffle, etc.etc. etc.i'm just saying i don't know all the facts here but hows this for starters maybe some neighborly help cutting, until the cash comes in. is there a repair shop close by that can cut you a good deal on a used one that his customer never picked up. hope this helps

I think it will be easiest to find a reasonably good, USED, push mower...
& then only cut a small area for your lawn, NOT the 3 acres...
You will be better in the long run, maintaining a lawn size that you can keep up with, than trying to cut a space that you will not be able to knock out in the time (and equipment available).

:smile:KennyV

Thanks everyone!

And Kenny, your right that is a perfect idea. My neighbor is luckily helping me out.... and the kind gentleman that brought one today from 45 miles away had the belt break on my property so hopefully we still have a deal... I am so very grateful since I don't have any brothers or father... :smile:

I will do as you suggested, thank you! :thumbsup:

Keep ypur eyes open for a used mower, just picked up a used John Deere 180 46in cut for 300 dollars at a lawn sale and the only thing I had to do to it was install deck bearings. Keep looking they are out there.

KennyV said:

I think it will be easiest to find a reasonably good, USED, push mower...
& then only cut a small area for your lawn, NOT the 3 acres...
You will be better in the long run, maintaining a lawn size that you can keep up with, than trying to cut a space that you will not be able to knock out in the time (and equipment available).

:smile:KennyV

Click to expand...

This is the best idea in my opinion. You have your hands full with your children and God bless you for doing all you can to give your family a nice home and yard but 3 acres is an awful lot. Your time will be better spent with your children instead of stressing out over a huge lawn. Maybe you can mow a few little paths to favorite areas so you can still feel like you have places to walk and explore without having mow everything.

As far as good brands, it's not that important for push mowers as long as you take good care of it. If you do find a way to get a tractor I prefer Simplicity and John Deere or pre-1980 Cub Cadets and older Wheel Horse but those can be expensive even for used ones if they don't need repairs, but you may get lucky if you keep looking. As for cheaper used tractors I guess Craftsman would be a decent choice and there are usually a lot of them available.

I agree with the one that said John Deere and a zero turn rider is the fastest way to go. But they are expensive sometimes you can get a really good deal at a dealer one used that needs some work done to it. You could put an ad in the local news paper. Look online sometimes there are auctions maybe an estate auction.local lawn care companies that have an old tractor that needs some repairs. If you have a friend in the lawn care business ask them to look around. I have had customers that quit using there tractors started getting me to cut there grass then sold there tractor. I got an old cub cadet last year for $300 it looks great needed the carb rebuilt.I got it to use if I get a field to cut that I don't want to use my new John Deere on. Also you could check out commercial walk behind mowers. With zero turn mowers getting popular the walk behind are not being used much. You can get the from a 36 inch deck up to a 60 inch deck. They also make a thing called a sulky that you stand on to mow so you don't have to walk 3 acres. Also maybe a local church could help some times they will ask for a member to help out some one in the community.

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