Buying advice for a new mower

[ncage30]

Hi everyone, we are buying a new house. Its now time for me to upgrade my push mower . I't has about a 1/2 acre of land with many obstacles. Its on the flat side except for a small section in the front yard which slopes downwards. So i'm thinking on buying a low end (residential) z-turn type mower. I'm looking for 2-3k price range. Locally i pretty much have lowes. I have a Home Depot about 45 minutes away that will deliver for free too. I prefer to buy from lowes just in case there are issues since my store is local but willing to maybe buy from Home Depot. I'm guessing for the amount of property i have a 42-in deck will be fine. I've been looking at the toro mustangs @ lowes. For the 2-3k residential mower are most of the build almost the same? I know many of the brands are all owned my MTD. On the low end does engine choice make that much difference? The mustangs @ lowes all have briggs or kohler engines. If i want a Kawasaki @ lowes i'll have to go with the Hustler Raptor (which i've never heard of before). Now if i'm willing to go to Home Depot they do have the timecutter series that have kawaski engines but then again if i have issues i'm going to get better service locally. Anything other than engine choice i should look at in the price range i'm looking at?

I'm not trying to be rude but please don't anyone reply and say i need a commercial 5-8k mower because i don't and i can't afford that much for a mower. To be honest with you i don't trust buying a used commercial mower when you don't know anything about it. For someone who has a lawn mowing buisness thats a pretty good idea but i don't and don't ever plan to.

Anyways, i probably wont' be buying until spring but i'm doing my research early.

thanks....

 

[7394]

Well congrats ongetting the new place first..

This time of year many mower dealers can offer great deals to make room for the 2015 models coming.. (FYI) That's how I got my 2014 Toro SS 4260 w/Kawasaki engine. (which imo is a very well designed machine & NOT owned by MTD).

I personally don't like dealing with the big box stores, since they won't ever be able to fix anything should the need arise.. But that's me..

Not trying to sell you on a brand, you need to look at as many as you can, & test drive as many as possible. Then when you see something you really like, do some internet searching to see how others feel about that model..

Bear in mind when going to a V-twin engine, your gas comsumption is not gonna be anything like what you have now. But your mow times wil be greatly reduced, that's for sure.

 

[Shughes717]

Hi everyone, we are buying a new house. Its now time for me to upgrade my push mower . I't has about a 1/2 acre of land with many obstacles. Its on the flat side except for a small section in the front yard which slopes downwards. So i'm thinking on buying a low end (residential) z-turn type mower. I'm looking for 2-3k price range. Locally i pretty much have lowes. I have a Home Depot about 45 minutes away that will deliver for free too. I prefer to buy from lowes just in case there are issues since my store is local but willing to maybe buy from Home Depot. I'm guessing for the amount of property i have a 42-in deck will be fine. I've been looking at the toro mustangs @ lowes. For the 2-3k residential mower are most of the build almost the same? I know many of the brands are all owned my MTD. On the low end does engine choice make that much difference? The mustangs @ lowes all have briggs or kohler engines. If i want a Kawasaki @ lowes i'll have to go with the Hustler Raptor (which i've never heard of before). Now if i'm willing to go to Home Depot they do have the timecutter series that have kawaski engines but then again if i have issues i'm going to get better service locally. Anything other than engine choice i should look at in the price range i'm looking at?

I'm not trying to be rude but please don't anyone reply and say i need a commercial 5-8k mower because i don't and i can't afford that much for a mower. To be honest with you i don't trust buying a used commercial mower when you don't know anything about it. For someone who has a lawn mowing buisness thats a pretty good idea but i don't and don't ever plan to.

Anyways, i probably wont' be buying until spring but i'm doing my research early.

thanks....

The hustler raptor is a very good mower. I agree that you don't need a commercial mower for 1/2 acre. The drawback to buying from a big box store is they can't do repairs if needed. Some local dealers won't even work on mowers purchased from a big box store. You may be able to get a good deal from a local dealer on a residential mower if you decide to purchase this time of year.

 

[Ric]

Hi everyone, we are buying a new house. Its now time for me to upgrade my push mower . I't has about a 1/2 acre of land with many obstacles. Its on the flat side except for a small section in the front yard which slopes downwards. So i'm thinking on buying a low end (residential) z-turn type mower. I'm looking for 2-3k price range. Locally i pretty much have lowes. I have a Home Depot about 45 minutes away that will deliver for free too. I prefer to buy from lowes just in case there are issues since my store is local but willing to maybe buy from Home Depot. I'm guessing for the amount of property i have a 42-in deck will be fine. I've been looking at the toro mustangs @ lowes. For the 2-3k residential mower are most of the build almost the same? I know many of the brands are all owned my MTD. On the low end does engine choice make that much difference? The mustangs @ lowes all have briggs or kohler engines. If i want a Kawasaki @ lowes i'll have to go with the Hustler Raptor (which i've never heard of before). Now if i'm willing to go to Home Depot they do have the timecutter series that have kawaski engines but then again if i have issues i'm going to get better service locally. Anything other than engine choice i should look at in the price range i'm looking at?

I'm not trying to be rude but please don't anyone reply and say i need a commercial 5-8k mower because i don't and i can't afford that much for a mower. To be honest with you i don't trust buying a used commercial mower when you don't know anything about it. For someone who has a lawn mowing buisness thats a pretty good idea but i don't and don't ever plan to.

Anyways, i probably wont' be buying until spring but i'm doing my research early.

thanks....

You say you have about a 1/2 acre of land with many obstacles. There are other options available besides a ZTR. If you don't mind walking you could go to the Toro Timemaster 30" for like 1K which you can buy at HD or if you want to step up to the Toro Turf-Master 30" and it's full commercial for around $1700. Another option would be a Cub Cadet Lawn Tractor like the LTX 1042 for around 2K and it comes with a professional grade 18hp Kawasaki v-twin which can be purchased at HD. Personally I wouldn't buy a mower from either lowes or HD, I'd buy from the nearest dealer and have them and there service dept available to me. They service what they sell the others lowes and HD don't.

 

[exotion]

Hi everyone, we are buying a new house. Its now time for me to upgrade my push mower . I't has about a 1/2 acre of land with many obstacles. Its on the flat side except for a small section in the front yard which slopes downwards. So i'm thinking on buying a low end (residential) z-turn type mower. I'm looking for 2-3k price range. Locally i pretty much have lowes. I have a Home Depot about 45 minutes away that will deliver for free too. I prefer to buy from lowes just in case there are issues since my store is local but willing to maybe buy from Home Depot. I'm guessing for the amount of property i have a 42-in deck will be fine. I've been looking at the toro mustangs @ lowes. For the 2-3k residential mower are most of the build almost the same? I know many of the brands are all owned my MTD. On the low end does engine choice make that much difference? The mustangs @ lowes all have briggs or kohler engines. If i want a Kawasaki @ lowes i'll have to go with the Hustler Raptor (which i've never heard of before). Now if i'm willing to go to Home Depot they do have the timecutter series that have kawaski engines but then again if i have issues i'm going to get better service locally. Anything other than engine choice i should look at in the price range i'm looking at?

I'm not trying to be rude but please don't anyone reply and say i need a commercial 5-8k mower because i don't and i can't afford that much for a mower. To be honest with you i don't trust buying a used commercial mower when you don't know anything about it. For someone who has a lawn mowing buisness thats a pretty good idea but i don't and don't ever plan to.

Anyways, i probably wont' be buying until spring but i'm doing my research early.

thanks....

Sounds like you live in the middle of nowhere.

If you ask lowes or homedepot sales rep you can try it out. Just about every z in that price range is the same. You get differences like ride comfort and color. I agree with ric a 30" would do nicely there for you

 

[Bill Martin]

If you take care of the mower type you mention, it will last a long time. If you abuse it, it won't. I have a friend who washed his mower after each use! He is extreme but his mower was running like a new one when he upgraded to a bigger one.

 

[sjessen]

Local dealer sells the Hustler Raptor and speaks very highly of it. In the long run it is well worth paying a couple of hundred $ more for a mower purchased through a local dealer just to get the improved level of service when repairs are needed. A mower purchased through a dealer will likely move through the queue much quicker than purchased elsewhere.

 

[7394]

If you take care of the mower type you mention, it will last a long time. If you abuse it, it won't. I have a friend who washed his mower after each use! He is extreme but his mower was running like a new one when he upgraded to a bigger one.

Bill- I agree about taking great care of my machines.. I wax mine. But I don't like hitting it with water regularly, too many sensors & etc imo. I blow it off & wipe it down.

Local dealer sells the Hustler Raptor and speaks very highly of it. In the long run it is well worth paying a couple of hundred $ more for a mower purchased through a local dealer just to get the improved level of service when repairs are needed. A mower purchased through a dealer will likely move through the queue much quicker than purchased elsewhere.

I agree 100%.. My Dealer said they would cover my battery & belts for 1 Year, the book says only 90 days..(just an example).

Buddy

 

[exotion]

Bill- I agree about taking great care of my machines.. I wax mine. But I don't like hitting it with water regularly, too many sensors & etc imo. I blow it off & wipe it down.

I agree 100%.. My Dealer said they would cover my battery & belts for 1 Year, the book says only 90 days..(just an example).

Buddy

Gotta keep it pretty, you got a good dealer there!

 

[7394]

Gotta keep it pretty, you got a good dealer there!

Yep, I try to keep my stuff looking 'pretty'.. :smile:

Thanks, & I agree about my Dealer, family owned & operated since 1969..