Hello - need some advice.
I live in Southern Maine and currently mow an acre with a 13 year old Snapper RER. It takes me 2 hours. My good friends and neighbors have a lawn service mow their 2 acres, for about $1500 year.
I have been toying with idea of a used commercial mower to decrease the time I spend mowing, and my neighbors want to get out from under the financial burden of the lawn service and do it themselves. We have decided to buy a mower together.
We would like this mower to last at least 10 years, so we have decided to go commercial. Almost all the lawn services in this area use Walkers, and a few use eXmarks. You do see the occasional other brand, but they are rare.
To keep costs managable, we want to go used. We are seeing 48" Walkers ranging between $6,000 and $8,000 for one with about150 hours, to $3,000 to $5,000 for one with 1200 hours, depending on the engine, of course. What scares me is that I see the occasional mower with 1200 hours that is being sold as repowered. Shouldn't the original engine last at least 2,000 hours?? Or have they been abused? Would we be better off buying a low hour machine used for personal use rather than a higher hour machine used commercially that may need a $2,000 engine?
My expectation is that a lawn service would religiously maintain their machine, as down time means no $$$, and the Walker dealer has a 3 week wait in the summer for service.
Any words of wisdom would be apprciated - we hope to do this in the fall when prices come down - some companies folding and others dumping equipmenr as they gear up for winter plowing.
Any feedback would be appreciated as to what to look for, and what to avoid.
Thanks,
Lou
I live in Southern Maine and currently mow an acre with a 13 year old Snapper RER. It takes me 2 hours. My good friends and neighbors have a lawn service mow their 2 acres, for about $1500 year.
I have been toying with idea of a used commercial mower to decrease the time I spend mowing, and my neighbors want to get out from under the financial burden of the lawn service and do it themselves. We have decided to buy a mower together.
We would like this mower to last at least 10 years, so we have decided to go commercial. Almost all the lawn services in this area use Walkers, and a few use eXmarks. You do see the occasional other brand, but they are rare.
To keep costs managable, we want to go used. We are seeing 48" Walkers ranging between $6,000 and $8,000 for one with about150 hours, to $3,000 to $5,000 for one with 1200 hours, depending on the engine, of course. What scares me is that I see the occasional mower with 1200 hours that is being sold as repowered. Shouldn't the original engine last at least 2,000 hours?? Or have they been abused? Would we be better off buying a low hour machine used for personal use rather than a higher hour machine used commercially that may need a $2,000 engine?
My expectation is that a lawn service would religiously maintain their machine, as down time means no $$$, and the Walker dealer has a 3 week wait in the summer for service.
Any words of wisdom would be apprciated - we hope to do this in the fall when prices come down - some companies folding and others dumping equipmenr as they gear up for winter plowing.
Any feedback would be appreciated as to what to look for, and what to avoid.
Thanks,
Lou
