Another New Member Looking To Buy MY First Zero Turn

Toro also owns Exmark I believe. Lochin is in China. But I'm hearing these engines are doing ok as well.

Padroo said:

Toro owns Ferris so you will see a lot of similarities. Ferris is owned by Briggs & Stratton.

I own a Toro for 15 years and bought my first Ferris last fall for my wife.

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Correction, Toro owns Exmark and yes you will see many similarities. Toro has a huge presence in equipment designed for golf courses, municipal properties and homeowners. Although they have an entire commercial line of mowers, which has expanded significantly over the past 5 years or so, the Toro comes second to the Exmark brand for commercial use. Whether it be brand reputation/recognition or the slightly better warranties on the Exmarks in the past, the Exmark didn't necessarily cut or perform any better than the Toro counterpart. It's like the Dodge Stratus, Plymouth Breeze, Chrysler Cirrus; slightly different and all made by the same parent company meaning shared technology and shared components. In these rebranded cars the Chrysler's were always the "premium" option but all sucked the same!

As for Ferris, they are owned by Simplicity Manufacturing who also happens to own Briggs and Stratton. Yes you will see many of their models with a Briggs and Stratton engine but they also have Kawasaki and even Honda engines powering their mowers.

Sounds like some very strong support for the Titan. I called the dealer today with a few questions and set up a time to stop in and take a look at it.
Unfortunately, its not on site yet. The current owner traded it in an 800 series Ferris which is being shipped and should be ready for delivery next week.
When they deliver the Ferris, they are bringing the Titan back to the shop. They were able to share a bunch of nice pictures and it appears to
look in new condition. In the meantime, I'm going to continue getting an up close look at other brands so I have a clear comparison in mind when viewing
the Toro.

cruzenmike said:

As for Ferris, they are owned by Simplicity Manufacturing who also happens to own Briggs and Stratton. Yes you will see many of their models with a Briggs and Stratton engine but they also have Kawasaki and even Honda engines powering their mowers.

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Correction: Briggs & S owns Simplicity & Snapper (non-commercial) & likely more.

7394 said:

Correction: Briggs & S owns Simplicity & Snapper (non-commercial) & likely more.

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I stand corrected. I was reading into the history of Briggs and an online source sited Simplicity as pending Briggs. If you read the entire history of Briggs it is astonishing that they have been around for so long and that they are quite diversified.

Blue-Grass said:

CruzenMike I agree totally on upgrading to the better hydros. After searching and reading some posts about failures at 150hrs, rebuilding processes and cost, it's definitely not the area to cut back on. I would like to shop other Ferris dealers but unfortunately the next closest one is over an hour away. I was hoping the one 5 minutes from my house would work out. However, today there's a game changer. A local Toro dealer listed a used machine that has my attention. A 2014 Toro TITAN 54" ZX5400 with 120hrs. This model has a 23HP Kawasaki and ZT3100, listed at $2497. That's a lot more machine then the classes I was considering and half of what I was planning to spend.
I'm going to look at it tomorrow and give it a good going over. If anyone has experience with the Titan? please chime in and let me know the pros and cons?

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Although I've only used it for one season, I bought a used Toro Titan ZX6020 with 220 hours and I couldn't be happier. Previous owner was a meticulous NASA employed mechanic who kept the machine pristine mechanically and very clean. All preliminary break in maintenance has been done and all I have to do is follow suit. The price itself sounds reasonable and you've only got about 2 seasons of use on it. Kawa power is a plus as well. It's what I would seriously consider, but I'm biased. It really depends on the previous owner and how well it was maintained and why it is on the market with such low hours.

Selluwud said:

Although I've only used it for one season, I bought a used Toro Titan ZX6020 with 220 hours and I couldn't be happier. Previous owner was a meticulous NASA employed mechanic who kept the machine pristine mechanically and very clean. All preliminary break in maintenance has been done and all I have to do is follow suit. The price itself sounds reasonable and you've only got about 2 seasons of use on it. Kawa power is a plus as well. It's what I would seriously consider, but I'm biased. It really depends on the previous owner and how well it was maintained and why it is on the market with such low hours.

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I don't know the full background story on why he is trading in. I do know ho's trading in on an 800 series Ferris.

cruzenmike said:

I stand corrected. I was reading into the history of Briggs and an online source sited Simplicity as pending Briggs. If you read the entire history of Briggs it is astonishing that they have been around for so long and that they are quite diversified.

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Agree 100%, I'm still running my 15 year old (made in USA) Flathead Briggs in my MTD push mower. That is a good one.

Briggs and Stratton owns Briggs & Stratton®,*Simplicity®, Snapper®, SnapperPRO®, Ferris®, Vanguard®, Allmand®, Billy Goat®, Murray®, Branco®*and Victa®*brands. *Kawasaki engines are available on some models.

TORO owns LAWN BOY and DITCH WITCH. TORO outsources it’s low end products to MTD.

I placed a deposit on the Toro Titan. Just waiting for it to stop snowing here and schedule the delivery. I appreciate everyone's helpful feedback.
It really helped steer me in the right direction for making this choice. I think I got lucky on the price for such a well maintained machine with
low hours. And the plus are having a dealer close by for parts and service when needed. Knowing i've got a solid proven frame, Kawasaki engine
that I favored and most of all the 3100 hydros. I sure I'll be back on the forum inquiring on blades, tires and general maintenance down the road.
Thanks again!