Choosing the right Zero Turn

Hello, looking for advice on which zero turn to choose.
It will not see heavy use, I’ll be mowing my 1.5 acre backyard every week.
My price range is right around $4,000

After looking at what seems to be every brand, I’ve grown partial to Gravely’s.

I’ve run across a 2015 Gravely Proturn with a 52” deck and Kawasaki FS691V with 350 hours. The guy brought it in for service and decided that he would rather trade for the new 72” Gravely. Has mulch kit already installed and had the full service with all fluids, belt and blades replaced.

With it being right around the same price as a 2018 ZT XL, which one do you think is the better option?

Also, how much would you base the decision if you had to choose between Kawasaki vs Kohler?

Thank you

Hmm... would you be open to an electric-powered mower?

Either machine will do you well for as little as you are mowing. You can not make a bad choice here. With all that said, the 2015 Gravely Proturn is a better machine because of the drives it has and it is as close to a commercial mower you can buy without moving up to that price point. Not a huge fan of Kawaski. They cost too much to fix. My mower just lost the starter and the OEM starter is 485.00 plus shipping even from the local shops. They are going to charge shipping too.

greenmowers.org said:

Hmm... would you be open to an electric-powered mower?

Click to expand...

I bet anyone in their right mind would choose to make a 30 min mowing job into a 3-hour mowing job. Not to mention that every 3 years you have to spend 1/2 to 3/4 of the cost of the mower to replace batteries. Plus the fact that batteries plants destroy the land around them for centuries after they stop using the plant. Batteries are very dirty technology for something that is supposed to be clean.

greenmowers.org said:

Hmm... would you be open to an electric-powered mower?

Click to expand...

For a 1.5 acre yard?

BlazNT said:

Either machine will do you well for as little as you are mowing. You can not make a bad choice here. With all that said, the 2015 Gravely Proturn is a better machine because of the drives it has and it is as close to a commercial mower you can buy without moving up to that price point. Not a huge fan of Kawaski. They cost too much to fix. My mower just lost the starter and the OEM starter is 485.00 plus shipping even from the local shops. They are going to charge shipping too.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the help here. Just a little weary at the use the mower had in its previous 350 hours of use. Would you at all be concerned about that?

greenmowers.org said:

Hmm... would you be open to an electric-powered mower?

Click to expand...

Absolutely not. I will be powering my mower with good ol’ high octane gasoline.

I always think about how things are used. This is how I see it although I may be wrong. If used by a homeowner who says it is well taken care of I rarely believe that. It may not run as hard but rarely is it maintained correctly. Greasing and oiling all the places that need them. Most homeowners do not even own a grease gun or a can of spray oil. If it is taken in annually to have it serviced then you have not done enough to maintain it properly. I normally shy away from "It has never been used commercially". It has been neglected in my opinion. With Commercial mowers, they a ran hard but most maintain them. I like to look at them when the trailer that hauls them around is available to see as well. If the trailer looks good but used and tires are not almost or completely bald and tools are on the trailer or truck to fix little problems as they arise then I consider them worth looking at. If they do not know how to do at least a little maintenance then I pass. I can tell if a mower has been maintained even if filthy and scratched. You look for grease at all fittings that need it. You look for all the tires to be at the same tire pressure. Look for oil around the oil filler. Some wipe that off but you can tell that too. The oil dipstick should look like it has been used not covered in dirt and no marks where someone has checked the oil. What I am saying holds true for both residential and commershal. If buying a commercial unit even more. I grease my mower every day after mowing. Normally just a squirt or two. Maintenance is the key and you can see when it is maintained and not just clean. Ramble ramble ramble Sorry.

Thanks BlazNT. That is a good perspective to consider. Unfortunately they already changed all fluids and replaced filters, so I can’t see how black the oil was or how abused the filters were. I did however get my hands on the initial report when the mower was taken in for service. One thing that stood out in the report as a potential downfall was that the owner told the dealer that his hour meter was blinking and he was tired of it blinking and wanted it to stop. Well, a blinking hour meter means that it is due for service. So either he performed the service and regular maintenance and didn’t reset the blinking hour meter, or he neglected it entirely. It looks like it was not neglected, but a dealer can clean those mowers up real well...

It's also very easy to change hour meters, to something with lower hours.

If he did not know what the blinking meant then he has missed 6 oil changes. With this bit of info, I would pass on that one.