ZTR to Hell and back

Sandman1964

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So I went shopping for a zero turn, simple I thought, go out test some mowers I thought and boom buy the perfect lawnmower so I thought. Bazinga was I wrong . Went to 5 dealers selling 2-3 brands, what a nightmare. So need some help solving the mystery of the perfect ZTR. Below is my list of candidates. All come in the 48" deck ,all with 3 blades. Dealers are all around the same distance from home.It should be noted I live in Ontario, Canada so all prices are in Canadian dollars.

Big Dog Alpha MP- Kawasaki engine- 5600.00
Scag LibertyZ- Kohler engine -5400.00
Dixie Chopper-Zee2- Kawasaki engine-5300.00
Country Clipper Boulevard-Kohler engine-5895.00 only lawnmower with a joystick control and flip up deck
John Deere-Z535m-Briggs engine-5100.00
John Deere-Z445-Kawasaki-engine-5100.00
Simplicity Courier-Briggs engine-4800.00
Ferris 600Z-Briggs engine-7200.00
Toro Titan ZX-Kawasaki engine-7100.00
Gravely ZTXL- Unsure about engine-5000.00
Snapper 550Z Kawasaki engine- 5900.00 this is supposedly a pro series with a 61" cut. I only put this on the list as it seems to be a very good price

As you can see it was a busy day with no clear winner, Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Please pick your top three and if you can state the reasons for your choices that will be great
 
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BlazNT

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Ferris 600Z-Briggs engine-7200.00 with out a doubt. It is better all around. It is also the most expensive. You listed them and I just looked at all the specs and choose what I would buy out of the list not taking into account price.
 

Sandman1964

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Ferris 600Z-Briggs engine-7200.00 with out a doubt. It is better all around. It is also the most expensive. You listed them and I just looked at all the specs and choose what I would buy out of the list not taking into account price.

Thanks for the response. I would like to narrow it down to three so what would your 2nd and 3rd choice be, I will modify my question to reflect this.
 

Ric

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So I went shopping for a zero turn, simple I thought, go out test some mowers I thought and boom buy the perfect lawnmower so I thought. Bazinga was I wrong . Went to 5 dealers selling 2-3 brands, what a nightmare. So need some help solving the mystery of the perfect ZTR. Below is my list of candidates. All come in the 48" deck ,all with 3 blades. Dealers are all around the same distance from home.It should be noted I live in Ontario, Canada so all prices are in Canadian dollars.

Big Dog Alpha MP- Kawasaki engine- 5600.00
Scag LibertyZ- Kohler engine -5400.00
Dixie Chopper-Zee2- Kawasaki engine-5300.00
Country Clipper Boulevard-Kohler engine-5895.00 only lawnmower with a joystick control and flip up deck
John Deere-Z535m-Briggs engine-5100.00
John Deere-Z445-Kawasaki-engine-5100.00
Simplicity Courier-Briggs engine-4800.00
Ferris 600Z-Briggs engine-7200.00
Toro Titan ZX-Kawasaki engine-7100.00
Gravely ZTXL- Unsure about engine-5000.00
Snapper 550Z Kawasaki engine- 5900.00 this is supposedly a pro series with a 61" cut. I only put this on the list as it seems to be a very good price

As you can see it was a busy day with no clear winner, Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Picking a model out of the ones you posted is really six of one and a half dozen of the other. The choice comes down to maybe what engine manufacturer you may want to go with or like, Kohler, Kawasaki or Briggs and how much money you want to spend on that particular quality line of mower. There all High end Residential with a few commercial things added to help sales.
Yes when you look at the spec's you'll find some will be running 3400 drives while the other may have a 3100 drive unit and the difference between the two is minimal at best in that range of mower and the same with the engines.
You'll have people telling you there favorite based on maybe there personal experience with one or the other or what particular engine they like or company they prefer when you should be looking at warranty, dealers and what type of service they have and if they back up there equipment or not.
If I were to make a choice I'd go with the Toro TitanZX then Dixie Chopper and Scag in that order.
 
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Sandman1964

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To add a twist I can buy a 2014 used 50 hours ferris 700 52" for 6500.00 or a new 2015 ferris 600 48" for 6150
 

Ric

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To add a twist I can buy a 2014 used 50 hours ferris 700 52" for 6500.00 or a new 2015 ferris 600 48" for 6150

I was going to suggest looking into a good used commercial mower, maybe off Craigslist or something of that nature. Even with 4 or 500 hrs a commercial would be a better mower than the ones your looking at. Ferris, Simplicity and Snapper are all made by Briggs and Stratton. Bad Boy is made Excel Industry same as Hustler and you may want to look at something like the Hustler Fastrak SD it's a better mower than any you've posted.
 

pugaltitude

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What dealer has the best reputation for service and back up?

Customers come to me not to buy my named product but to buy what I suggest.
 

Sandman1964

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closest dealer is 40 min away. I have had no dealings with any dealer in particular.
 

Sandman1964

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Narrowed it down to four

2014 ferris 700 52" used fifty hours asking 6500.00
2015 ferris 600 48" 1 year old but brand new 6150.00
2015 snapper 550Z 52" 1 year old but brand new 5900.00
2015 gravely ZTXL- 48"1 year old but brand new 5000.00

What does everyone think?
 
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BlazNT

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1. 2015 ferris 600 48" 1 year old but brand new 6150.00
2. 2015 snapper 550Z 52" 1 year old but brand new 5900.00
3. 2014 ferris 700 52" used fifty hours asking 6500.00 (I think it is too high priced take $500 off and its very strong #2 or #1)

Not in the running
2015 gravely ZTXL- 48"1 year old but brand new 5000.00
 
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