Are these any good? We might buy a house on 4 acres (but only 1.4 acres inside the fence that surrounds the house). If we can agree on a price for the house and property we might see about buying the mower as well but we are not sure if this mower is a good one or not. It looks like we could probably buy it new for about $3100 to $3200 or so. If it is a good mower, what would be a reasonable amount to offer? I am not sure how old it is but I think she said it is a few years old.
Ask about maintenance….if the oil in the drive gearboxes has been changed. How many hours. What brand and model engine. Check the frame for hairline cracks at joints. For a zero turn that can be bought new at that price you know you’re not getting a high end even for a residential machine.
Last edited by OlRufus; 09/04/23.
Good judgment comes from experience, and most of that comes from bad judgement! 🥴
I have two friends that have them. One buddy runs a part-time landscaping business is large. His property is about an acre and a half. He has about six properties total. He loves that damn thing, has had it for a few years now, and never had any breakdowns just change the oil good fuel and she runs. A buddy bought a place upstate New York and he cuts over 2 acres with his again. No issues has a trailer hitch on his grades the road by dragging a mat with a steel I-beam and again no issues. Change the oil regularly clean air filter good fuel and you’re good to go.
Ask about maintenance….if the oil in the drive gearboxes has been changed. How many hours. What brand and model engine. Check the frame for hairline cracks at joints. For a zero turn that can be bought new at that price you know you’re not getting a high end even for a residential machine.
Correct... is a Kohler (very typical) and in the same class a $3k MTD, Craftsman or Cub Cadet (FYI Craftsman or Cub Cadet are owned by MTD).
If ya get it cheap... sure. But don't insult the owner of the house with a lowball mower offer... would be my opinion.
If you are not actively engaging EVERY enemy you encounter... you are allowing another to fight for you... and that is cowardice... plain and simple.
Every manufacturer but Honda makes Schmidt mowers to meet big box price points. A Briggs(Vanguard) is far preferable to a Kohler Courage for example.
Kawasaki FR series engine. Real good. Consumer grade drives. Not necessarily junk, but bottom of barrel There is one drive on each side, if they go bad you can bet on $1k. For 1!
The engine will last, it's got a 10ga deck, it should last with care. Spindles fail, that's a given. The frame will hold up unless it's junk.
Drives are my concern. 15 years ago Cub Cadet got into ZTMs and used the then bottom line drives. The local dealer ended up with them sitting everywhere after several years. What do you do when your $2500, 5 year old, mower needs a $100p part that wore out, you don't know how long the new one will last, or when the other one will shìt the bed?
Thats why I shopped around and bought a small (23hp, 52") commercial mower with 450 hours, for $2800. Good engines have 2500 hours expected service life. In 10 years, that mower has had a deck belt, oil changes, grease, sharpening. And only 200 more hours. It needs real work now, air filter, hydraulic filter, another oil change...
Parents who say they have good kids..Usually don't!
It's a consumer grade mower with a stamped deck and light duty hydro drives. It might be okay if the maintenance has been kept up and it wasn't beat by teenagers running it or whatever. Not sure on price. I wouldn't pay more than $1k but I don't really know what the market is like for a used consumer grade mower. Maybe call a few dealers and see what they would sell something similar for. Definitely test drive it first.
Every manufacturer but Honda makes Schmidt mowers to meet big box price points. A Briggs(Vanguard) is far preferable to a Kohler Courage for example.
Kawasaki FR series engine. Real good. Consumer grade drives. Not necessarily junk, but bottom of barrel There is one drive on each side, if they go bad you can bet on $1k. For 1!
The engine will last, it's got a 10ga deck, it should last with care. Spindles fail, that's a given. The frame will hold up unless it's junk.
Drives are my concern. 15 years ago Cub Cadet got into ZTMs and used the then bottom line drives. The local dealer ended up with them sitting everywhere after several years. What do you do when your $2500, 5 year old, mower needs a $100p part that wore out, you don't know how long the new one will last, or when the other one will shìt the bed?
Thats why I shopped around and bought a small (23hp, 52") commercial mower with 450 hours, for $2800. Good engines have 2500 hours expected service life. In 10 years, that mower has had a deck belt, oil changes, grease, sharpening. And only 200 more hours. It needs real work now, air filter, hydraulic filter, another oil change...
You kin to Festerman?
He makes more sense... BTW.
If you are not actively engaging EVERY enemy you encounter... you are allowing another to fight for you... and that is cowardice... plain and simple.
If you have a working knowledge of some good shops in your area you can buy heavy duty commercial grade with something wrong with it for cheap, and get it fixed.
My Dad had a stroke a little over a yr ago, all of a sudden I had 3 acres total to mow. I bought a Toro Z-master commercial 60" with a 3 cylinder Kubota diesel engine for $2500. Right side hydraulic pump was extremely weak. Toro doesn't fix, they just swap new parts. They wanted $1150 for the pump, plus labor. Took the mower to a local Amish shop that rebuilds hydraulic cylinders, etc.
He rebuilt the pump.....total cost including labor was $260. This is the second full summer mowing and it's still going like a banshee. That thing is a lifesaver, wouldn't know what to do without it. The fuel efficiency of it is absolutely amazing.
One is alone in a land so vast, there is only the mountains, the wind, and the eyes of God.
Every manufacturer but Honda makes Schmidt mowers to meet big box price points. A Briggs(Vanguard) is far preferable to a Kohler Courage for example.
Kawasaki FR series engine. Real good. Consumer grade drives. Not necessarily junk, but bottom of barrel There is one drive on each side, if they go bad you can bet on $1k. For 1!
The engine will last, it's got a 10ga deck, it should last with care. Spindles fail, that's a given. The frame will hold up unless it's junk.
Drives are my concern. 15 years ago Cub Cadet got into ZTMs and used the then bottom line drives. The local dealer ended up with them sitting everywhere after several years. What do you do when your $2500, 5 year old, mower needs a $100p part that wore out, you don't know how long the new one will last, or when the other one will shìt the bed?
Thats why I shopped around and bought a small (23hp, 52") commercial mower with 450 hours, for $2800. Good engines have 2500 hours expected service life. In 10 years, that mower has had a deck belt, oil changes, grease, sharpening. And only 200 more hours. It needs real work now, air filter, hydraulic filter, another oil change...
You kin to Festerman?
He makes more sense... BTW.
What don't you understand. Censor and spellchecker screwed up my curse and changed motors to mowers. Should have said engines, but hey!
Point is Kohler makes crap. For some retarded reason a company that built a fantastic reputation for top tier small engines, decided they wanted to enter the low budget market. Using their good name.
Seems everyone is doing it. Using a hard won reputation to schill substandard product. In turn damaging that valuable name.
Parents who say they have good kids..Usually don't!
Husky bought out Dixon quite a few years ago, if the Husky is 1/2 the mower that the upper end Dixon was…..it’s one hellofa good mower! memtb
You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel
“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
I don't have a zero turn but have owned a Husqvarna TS354D for 5 years still running strong very few problems with it.
I have this same tractor that I bought earlier this summer. Before that, I had the same tractor with the Craftsman label that I bought in '07. The transmission finally went out and it was obsolete. I couldn't get parts or a replacement so I sold it for parts. Husky builds some very good machines.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
Are these any good? We might buy a house on 4 acres (but only 1.4 acres inside the fence that surrounds the house). If we can agree on a price for the house and property we might see about buying the mower as well but we are not sure if this mower is a good one or not. It looks like we could probably buy it new for about $3100 to $3200 or so. If it is a good mower, what would be a reasonable amount to offer? I am not sure how old it is but I think she said it is a few years old.
How much turning is required? If there are lots of trees, etc to mow around, you can't beat a zero turn. But if it's just a lot of land with few obstacles, a good tractor is much cheaper and will do a very good job.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
After an ordeal with a Cub Cadet, Kawasaki engine (great), crappy drive, crappy stamped steel deck that broke in three years.
If I had four acres I’d get a diesel tractor or at the minimum a used commercial with a fabricated deck. Either, if a good one, will outlast three regular of the run of the mill mowers. And be sure there’s a local service guy that’s been around the block.
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