Well, I've been doing my lawn business with an older model cub cadet (international harvested cub cadet.) Been great and well suited to my needs because of the smaller size of lawns I mow. Bullet proof hydrostat, upgraded to a 22 up engine. Now looking to expand and get a zero turn. Love the looks of the ariens for a low cost zero. Any yea's or nea's? I know they aren't commercial, but it wont see 100% of the work. My old cub is just too good a mower to retire completely.
zero turn quality!
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txzrider
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do the math ... most residential ZT's are built for an hour a week tops... how many hours will you be mowing with it? 1 yard a day? 5 yards a day? That is a range of 500% to 2500% more use than it was intended for!! At least look at a low end Commercial. My 1st ZT lasted 15 years at maybe 2 hours a month... I do not think it would have lasted more than 2 years with the kind of use these lawn care pros would put it to... and that was a $2600 investment that I easily claim it paid for itself many times over... but I would not have made the same statement if using it commercially. The low end Ariens I have seen do not look like they are as well built as my Snapper was ... My Country Clipper is near Commercial and sells for 50% more than the snapper. But it would have a much better chance of holding up to the use you would put it to. By the way... I bought it off craigslist for $2300(with only 27 hours), a $800 savings vs the last years model price I had been quoted and $1200-$1500 cheaper than the current years model. I would look for light to moderate used commercial mowers off Craigslist before I would buy the Ariens.
I agree with txzrider. I'd look into a commercial, you might find that the productivity of it pays for itself. A lot of dealers have 0% interest financing right now. If new is out of the budget there are always plenty of good mowers on craigslist
djdicetn
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hayseed00,
The Ariens are "good" ZTR's but I agree with the others that you shouldn't consider the entry-level residential mowers and I would suggest the Max Zoom if any. Also, I was leary of spending several thousand dollars at a big box retailer like Home Depot for something they can't service if waranty repairs were needed so I would suggest finding an Ariens "dealer". If you decide to go with a commercial(which I agree would be best for you since you have a lawn business), you may want to consider Arien's big brother the Gravely(been around since 1916, but purchased by Ariens Co. a few years ago). The Gravelys(even their residential models) are a LOT heavier duty than the Ariens ZTR's and not really much more expensive than the Ariens Max Zoom models. As suggested, you may want to find a good used commercial ZTR with low hours. I preferred a brand new entry-level commercial and am very pleased with my Gravely Pro-Turn 152 XDZ.
P.S.
Don't know what part of TN you are in, but Chiltons in Nashville carries the Gravelys and the Scags. They gave me a good deal on my Gravely!!