I dislike my lawnmower. Going to buy a new one. Opinions sought....

RR

....glutton for punishment.....
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I don't like my current lawnmower.

It's about 4 years old. It runs fine, but it's a pain in the ass to steer around the landscaping and such in the yard. Wide turn radius and steering mechanism isn't the smoothest.

So I'm in the market. Looking to spend no more than 3000.00. 2500ish or less if I can get away with it. Open to either traditional riding mower or zero turn. Easy steering is the main criteria as we have a good bit of landscaping and such to mow around. We don't have a lot of acreage to cut though. 2.5 acre lot but a good acre and a half or slightly more is woods.

Recommendations?
 
We have 3 mowers ... a Honda walk behind for trimming around stuff, a Deere Lawn Tractor and a 1980’s Snapper Hi Vac rear engine (Forrest Gump style). Funny thing is the Snapper gets used 10X more to mow than the Deere because it turns so easy. Now the only drawback is it’s not completely a “Snapper” now. It was my Uncle’s mower and the engine went out 10 or so years back. I switched the old one out for a Honda engine. While doing that I went on and welded up any weak points in the frame, replaced linkages and painted the thing completely. I don’t know how good the newer versions of Snappers are but for a non-zero turn I think it handles way better than the standard front engine lawn tractor. If I had to buy a new mower though I’d definitely be looking at zero turn ... and then I’d be looking at a Kohler engined model most likely starting with a Husqvarna.
 
Yes the one thing I like about my current mower is the Kohler engine.....
 
For that price you could get a hustler zero turn. I don’t have personal experience with them but have a couple of friends that have and like them.
 
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I have a John Deere x300 I've had going on about 10 years now. 46 inch deck and Kawasaki engine. I bought it from the dealer, it was about $3000 ish. I've been nothing but pleased with it. Pretty rock solid, IMO. I just lost my first belt at the end of last season. I do the pm every spring and...well...it runs like a Deere. I find it pretty easy to maneuver around what we have. It does well on a couple of hills that we have.
 
For that price you could get a hustler zero turn. I don’t have personal experience with them but have a couple of friends that have and like them.


Have couple neighbors with them and seem pretty solid according to them
 
My John Deere lasted over 20 years. After it died, I tried to save money with a cheaper unit. Cub Cadet had lousy traction, so I switched to Husqvarna, which has better traction, but the deck gets clogged very quickly. I have to hoist it up and scrape the clippings after each mowing.
Now, I'm saving my pennies to get another Deere!
 
If you have any serious hills the zero's can be not-so-good. The front doesn't track very well. One of my customers bought a new one recently that doesn't use the free-floating front wheels, but uses a power steering setup instead and that one works well for his 7 acres.
Another thing about the zero's is you can haul a$$ with them, they do like 7 mph. But that's only if your lawn is runway smooth otherwise they beat the crap out of you. The ones with suspension are marginally better.

Three of my neighbors have the Husqvarna's. Two are 48" and one is 60". All three...the center spindle housing for the middle blade has burnt out and they're
$70 to replace. One of the guys has had to replace that thing 3 times. Super-weak part with the Husky's that use three blades. And unless you weigh 200lbs, if you shift your weight on the seat, the seat safety cuts off the mower. Hyper sensitive.

When I had my campground, I found a rider that the back wheels turned with the front wheels. You could circle a 20" semi wheel (fire-ring) and snuggle the whole way around. Super tight turning. And it was just a 42" cheapie MTD..Murray I think..but it worked well so those types are out there too. That was a great mower for tight stuff, and a campground is a real pita to mow the grass. At least a graveyard has everything in a straight line and the customers don't complain. :rolleyes:
 
Go to tractor supply and buy a Bad Boy Zero turn Tom. They’re right popular
 
I had 2 snappers over 20 years. Had to chase/hunt someone to work on them there at the end. Bought a D100 John Deere 5+ years ago. It's been good but annual maintenance has gotten expensive (like $200 for Quality Eqpt to come get it, PM it and bring it back). I can and have done my own maintenance and repairs on my Snappers and first year oil change on my JD but dealing with multi blade decks, belts and oil changes go to be a PITA for this old man so I let the dealer do it but damn it's gotten expensive. Bout time for a new mower as I think this one is starting to burn oil. May say EFF IT and hire a yard man or a kid who needs a summer job. I cut yards for spending money as a kid for a lotta years till I got old enough to drive and got jobs in restaurants. That work suited me better and could always get dates with waitresses.
 
Go to your local John Deere place and see if they have any that have been traded in. I found one that was 8 years old that had power steering, 48 inch deck and Kawasaki engine for 1700 only had 400 hours on it. I put close to 200 hours on it then sold it for $400 less than I bought it.
 
For easy steering, it's hard to beat a John Deere with power steering. I don't believe you'll find one for $3,000, or less. Next would be a zero turn mower. Most major brands will do. John Deere, Cub Cadet, Hustler, Husqvarna, Toro, Bad Boy, Gravely. Generally Home Depot, or Lowe's, will have the cheaper price. Other places to look are major hardware chains, agriculture dealers, etc. I prefer Kawasaki engines! I suspect the Toro branded engines are Briggs. Don't forget to compare the Hydrostatic drives and pumps. Speed is important to me. I didn't retire to mow grass more than a half day a week. Some makes of mowers have grease fittings, some don't. Your budget will rule out a lot of them.

I have a Cub Cadet Z-Force LX 54. This is the third year I've used it. Just under five acres, with plenty of trees and fence lines. The wife likes to mow grass and she uses a John Deere to do the trim work. If I live long enough to need another one, I'll look long and hard at the Hustler Fastrak. Then again, my Cub Cadet has been absolutely trouble free. Maybe one of the Hustler Rapture's will work for you?

Re-read @Friday post. He makes some pertinent points.
 
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There is a Arians zero turn used 42” cut here local for $1500. I know the owner and he moved from a large parcel in the country to a small lot in the city. They use a lawn company now as he doesn’t work anymore as the wife has built a highly successful company. I have a super small in town yard of .33 acre with the house covering half of it or it would be in the garage now. 48” is not popular with people as 52” is more desirable.

Edit- 42” after texting the owner. Purchased 2015. 20 horsepower. Town is Newton, NC.
 
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I bought a 60” bad boy about a month ago and have been happy with it. Cut my mowing time from 3ish hours to 45 minutes on a slow day.
 
If you go zero turn you will kick yourself for not doing it sooner. I did a lot of work with my Toro time cutter but I sold it to "upgrade" to a bobcat. I wish I had it back.

And it's in your range.

Edit, Also you should look for the Kawasaki engine.
 
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Check the government sales listings for surplus mowers. The top grade zero turns can be bought at a reasonable rate and will out last any mower that you can buy new for $3000.
 
Which mower do you currently have? What kind of terrain? Hills, tight landscape areas, fence gate, etc.
 
zero turn all the way. I would look for a nice Used commercial zero turn which will still last homeowner a lifetime. what do I have a Toro 6000 60 inch cut with a kohler 34 hp efi it will do 14 mph and I cut 8+ acres in 3.5 hours
 
I just bought a 2008 X304 John Deere with 4ws with 215 hours for 1500.00 two weeks ago and love it!! Takes a little getting used to the 4 wheel steering but it cut down my mowing time by 1/2. 15 inch turning circle....had a 1990 John Deere lx173 bought it in 2004 and mowed with it till I got this Deere, still have it might restore this one and keep it.

Nothing wrong with those big box stores lawnmowers but you always see those for sale after a few years of use..... makes you wonder why?
 
zero turn all the way. I would look for a nice Used commercial zero turn which will still last homeowner a lifetime. what do I have a Toro 6000 60 inch cut with a kohler 34 hp efi it will do 14 mph and I cut 8+ acres in 3.5 hours
Now that’s fast!!!! Careful going into a head wind it might take flight!
 
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