Best mower+3 acres quick, comfortable, durable - wife has given me no budget :)

Hi guys, I'm new to zero-turn mowers and need advice. I have a 4 acre lot, with 3 acres of grass needing cutting. The land is gentle sloping hillside. I will build my home there, so eventually will be 2.3 acres after house, driveway, flower beds, etc.. Also I'll cut my office, 0.4 acres too. I don't want to spend any more time on the mower than I have too, but I like doing things myself. And while I am on the mower, I want the most comfortable ride I can get. If possible, I want to get 10-15 years out the machine, with low maintenance. I have herniated discs in my low back, so I want to have as little of pain as possible - My wonderful wife knows all of this and is cool with whatever I buy.

As a starting place I've been to local Scag, Exmark, Bad Boy, and John Deere dealers in Greenville S.C. area. The rural Scag/Bad Boy dealer seemed the most hungry for business, but all were nice. I've considered the Cheetah 52" or 61", but honestly, I don't know enough to know, what I don't know.

Thank you for any advice.

Cheers,
Jack.

A goat :laughing:
Spend nothing and you will get nothing.

With that much grass you should be considering the largest deck that you can get that will fit everywhere you need it. It sounds like you have the flexibility of landscaping around your mower so you can set it up to get your mower where you need to. 61"-72" deck would be ideal as your mowing time with a 48" or 52" would take much longer than you may like. Also, it would be wise to spend a good amount of time having your yard smoothed out so that you can mow at fast speeds without being tossed around. A little bit of planning will go a long way with making your mow fast and easy. At that point a mower with 12cc pumps that is capable of at least 10mph will get you going and maximizing your time. Scag Cheetah, Exmark Lazer Z or Ferris F320Z would be great choices. Be prepared to spend upwards of $10,000 but all of the machines should last you 10 plus years if taken care of.

Be prepared to spend upwards of $10,000 but all of the machines should last you 10 plus years if taken care of.[/QUOTE]

YIKES

Around here the pro's use either Exmark or John Deere.

cruzenmike said:

With that much grass you should be considering the largest deck that you can get that will fit everywhere you need it. It sounds like you have the flexibility of landscaping around your mower so you can set it up to get your mower where you need to. 61"-72" deck would be ideal as your mowing time with a 48" or 52" would take much longer than you may like. Also, it would be wise to spend a good amount of time having your yard smoothed out so that you can mow at fast speeds without being tossed around. A little bit of planning will go a long way with making your mow fast and easy. At that point a mower with 12cc pumps that is capable of at least 10mph will get you going and maximizing your time. Scag Cheetah, Exmark Lazer Z or Ferris F320Z would be great choices. Be prepared to spend upwards of $10,000 but all of the machines should last you 10 plus years if taken care of.

Click to expand...

An upper end commercial Z should last a lot longer than 10 years mowing 3 acres.
I'm expecting 25 years from my Hustler Super Z mowing 8 acres.
The 55-60 hours I average per year will take me 25 years to hit 1400-1500 hours. My Super Z should do that no problem ( I maintain my equipment. If it needs something it gets it.)