First Time ZTR Buyer needing opinions

Bought a used Craftsman YS4500 last year. Noticed some issues but I only paid $400 for it so seemed like decent deal still. Now my pullys are loose and my belts keep falling off and the deck welds are coming apart. I have been wanting to upgrade to a ZTR so instead of investing in a dying machine I am looking at options of upgrading to Zero Turn.

Do to budget restraints I need to finance a mower if I go this route.
As of right now I have 2 locations with a good choice. One is a mom and pop company and they use to sell Gibson mowers but now sell Gravely and Bad Boy. They offer 4 yrs no interest so I can get out of there spending $3k for about $60 a month. Other option is Home Depot. They are offering Poulan Pro, Toro, John Deere, and Airens. I can get out of there for about the same at $3k.

I have under 1 acre but is decently sloped. I have spent the last 2-3 hours reading reviews and ratings. Help me come to a conclusion please. Thanks

Home Depot won't repair your machine if needed when you buy there. You will be sent to local Dealer & since you didn't buy from them, their loyal customers will come first.

Just my .02 The Mom & Pop is where I'd be considering for a place.

As to which brand Z, my opinion will be biased. Test as many as you can.

August many Dealers have Year end sales to make room for the new models. I got mine in August 2014 for almost $500. off sticker.

If I do got with Mom and Pop do I go with Gravely ZT or ZT X and Kohler or Kawasaki?

And a third for the mum & pop store.
He services what he sells cause he sells what he servces.
All Home depo do is put in a very large order to force down a discount price and then pocket 95% of it while pretending to be doing you a good deal.
There are some exceptions but generally a small shop gives better service cause they need the repeat busines and the good feed back.

Always go with the local guy if possible. Also the Gravely and other brands they sell will give you better equipment and more years of service.

JeremyFOwens said:

If I do got with Mom and Pop do I go with Gravely ZT or ZT X and Kohler or Kawasaki?

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Go with an established Mom 'n Pop with decent reputation regardless of brand when dealing with these higher end ZT mowers.

The Gravely ZT has a 12 gauge stamped deck and ZT X has a heavier 10 gauge fabbed deck. That alone make the X more desirable for me. I think they both use EZT transaxles. If you manage to talk the wife into a heavier duty mower, the XL uses HT-2800's and HD uses HT-3100's. Be careful on deck size selection. There's not much difference in price between deck sizes (at least not for my HD) and you may be tempted with "bigger is better". Measure the skinniest spot you will get into on any property you may mow or store the mower and remember that the mower is several inches wider than the advertised deck (cutting) width. Gravely has the actual width listed in their literature. I don't know for sure if the measurement is with the chute up or down on the ZT and X because it isn't specified. It is specified with the chute down on the XL.

I'm not an engine guru, but I chose a Kawasaki for my ZT HD and my old Craftsman (AYP) has a Kohler that's still running after 20 plus years...smoking on startup, but still running. Everything on it is worn smack dab out, but it gets around enough to pull the aerator, with a half turn's worth of play in the steering. Keep up with the maintenance and they both should last a good while. IIRC, they offer the Kohler 7000 series on both models and Kawasaki FR691V on the X. Folks with long term experience with these motors can help you out there.

Go with the mom and pop. The mowers they sell at home depot and lowes ect are not the same mowers you buy at the dealer. I can tell you from first hand experience that John Deere is not the same as when you go to the dealer. We had a JD stx38 years ago that literally fell apart. I bought a used JD lx277 from our neighbor's daughters after he died to take care of his place. It is probably a 1999 model and is still running and mowing like a top. Better than dads newer husquvarna. I will recomend John Deere all day long but only the quality models. If you see it at lowes.. dont get it. If you see that model at the dealer DONT get it. Ask them what their quality model is. Im not sure of this with the other brands but i know it for JD. One reason is because a trusted parts guy told my grandfather when he was looking for a mower. Told him straight up- dont get the D series cause theyre cheap. Get the X series. Sure enough he was right. Anyway. Go to the local. Youll be helping your local economy too.

Well the mom and pop shop didn't have the one I was looking at. The one i was looking at was the Gravely ZT X 52" with Kohler engine for $2,999. They also carry Bad Boy mowers. Staying in the same $3k price range should I just continue looking at Gravely or take a look at Bad Boy as well?