Should I buy a 2006 Hustler or a 2013 John Deere?

I helped my son start a small lawn business last year. We mow together and average 8-10 lawns a week with the intention of growing the business in our neighborhood. I have two younger sons that will come into the business over the next 1-3 years. We first used 21" self-propelled push mowers (Toro and Troy-Built). Now a friend gave us a big trailer (6 1/2' x 12') and is letting us borrow his 42" John Deere riding mower (LA120). It only has 62 hours on it. We are thankful to use it but are thinking about what we should invest into that will be good for the next 5+ years.

Here's the question: The local John Deere retailer just received a 2006 Hustler FasTrak (42") that has the mulch kit plus Flex Forks. It has the Kohler Courage 17 motor. It has 69 hours and they are asking $2600 for it. It was owned by a homeowner. The other option is to buy a brand new John Deere Z235 that comes with a 2 yr warranty for $2,500 ($100 more for mulch kit). Would you buy the Hustler? If not for $2,600 then what price would you buy it for? If not the Hustler then what about the John Deere? I know they are not as good a quality as Hustler and other brands but for 10+ lawns a week (thinking about getting more clients based on time savings of a zero-turn).

Thanks in advance to whomever shares their wisdom.

That is a dilemma, and that's a Mini-Fastrack.

Check if the JD warranty 2yrs is "residential" use only, and yearly hour limitations won't put you into a commercial situation, and your stuck.

JD pluses- New, warranty (but see above), twin cyl engine smoother, and more torque. Neg- stamped deck

Hustler pluses- More a commercial, robust built unit with a fab deck.

If it were me, I'd do the Hustler, "if there is a local dealer/ parts acquisitions outlet" for minimal downtime.

Good luck!

Hustler. Faster mowing than the Deere and you do say you want more lawns. You need a zt if your planning on expanding your business.

Make that 3 votes for the Hustler:0)
P.S.
Don't confuse my "vote" for "wisdom":0)

RatRacer said:

That is a dilemma, and that's a Mini-Fastrack.

Check if the JD warranty 2yrs is "residential" use only, and yearly hour limitations won't put you into a commercial situation, and your stuck.

JD pluses- New, warranty (but see above), twin cyl engine smoother, and more torque. Neg- stamped deck

Hustler pluses- More a commercial, robust built unit with a fab deck.

If it were me, I'd do the Hustler, "if there is a local dealer/ parts acquisitions outlet" for minimal downtime.

Good luck!

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Whowwww...talk about un-biased, a John Deere owner voting for a Hustler over a JD:0)
Go guy!!!!!
P.S.
Of course we could avise him to buy a Kubota Kommander......I know, I am sooooooooooo bad:0)

Well, looks like no confusion here with you guys. All of you said to get the Hustler.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. It is helpful to not walk into this decision blind.

I just bought a Hustler Fastrak .....arrives tues-wed. I noticed three lawn services here just by chance all using Hustlers. Around here its Scag, Exmark on most trailers.

I say Hustler because it one more person in the Hustler forums . :thumbsup:

Plus they have the nicest brochures!!

Tom59 said:

I just bought a Hustler Fastrak .....arrives tues-wed. I noticed three lawn services here just by chance all using Hustlers. Around here its Scag, Exmark on most trailers.

I say Hustler because it one more person in the Hustler forums . :thumbsup:

Plus they have the nicest brochures!!

Click to expand...

Congratulations Tom59!!!! Be sure to post some pics and give us some first-hand feedback. Nothing except good reports would be expected for a Hustler. If my local dealer would have negotiated better last fall, I might be driving a FasTrak Super Duty rather than the Gravely. He wouldn't budge off MSRP:0(

djdicetn said:

Congratulations Tom59!!!! Be sure to post some pics and give us some first-hand feedback. Nothing except good reports would be expected for a Hustler. If my local dealer would have negotiated better last fall, I might be driving a FasTrak Super Duty rather than the Gravely. He wouldn't budge off MSRP:0(

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I certainly will. Thanks !

Hustler has a deal going right now. :wink:

Another thing I liked about this machine it has wheels under the rear to prevent engine scalds when trailoring it. I guess they would make popping wheelies smoother too. :smile: The E-brake seemed like a smart setup also.
He had the Fastrak SD there (built) thats what I test drove. 6500.00 iirc. It's just out of my budget reach. Oh and for BTS , this one spins 'em at 18600. Really knowledgable dealer about his product , he should , he has sold Hustler since 02'.

Is Hustler and Big Dog the same company or off shoots of one another. Seems like there is some connection. I noticed a lot of the same stuff on each like the deck height adjustment setups.

I would be driving a Gravely right now if the dealer didn't jump his price 300.00.

I'm going to build a setup for the bucket on my tractor to pick up the front of my new ZTR. I already have bucket forks so it should be fairly straight forward. My wheels are turning to clean the deck, blade swaps and sharpenings.

Tom59 said:

Is Hustler and Big Dog the same company or off shoots of one another. Seems like there is some connection. I noticed a lot of the same stuff on each like the deck height adjustment setups.

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Yes. Big Dog is the "residential" price pointed subsidiary of Hustler. It came about after they fabbed cheaper models from leftover upgrade model year parts hanging around, and offered them at a homeowner friendly price, and they sold like hotcakes. So they took it and ran with it 4 years ago. Built on the same assy. lines. A lot of bang for the buck. I had a leftover '12 R745PB for 2 weeks, paid cash for it, and the sales guy called me a couple days later to have me pay an extra $322 because he forgot to add tax. I made him refund me and take his mower back, when he wouldn't work with me on reducing his faux pas.