Zero turn mower (advice)

[MudHog]

I take that back, my dad has a Troy-Bilt from Lowe's. My dad's parin has a Toro in Texas. 20HP Kohler engine and a 42" cutting deck.

DO NOT buy name brand stuff like JD, etc at Lowe's or Home Depot. Go to a dealer for those items.

[riverat]

just bought the exmark 42" quest for 4200.00 tax and all. got 0% for 24 months. it is a great machine and will really get it. if you have tight places or a small shop to get in this mower is perfect. i compared all of em and dont be fooled by the 2500.00 jobs, the steerin is cable driven. my guy said he sold the husky but wouldnt work on it because they are a hassle. this mower cut my cutting time in half. it is worth the extra grand you'll spend on it.

[SFDdelta1]

I just bought a used 2007 john deere 757 zero turn with the 60" deck and a 25 hp kawisaki last thursday. Its the cats meow. I cut my mow time in half on all my properties.

E

[MudHog]

just bought the exmark 42" quest for 4200.00 tax and all. got 0% for 24 months. it is a great machine and will really get it. if you have tight places or a small shop to get in this mower is perfect. i compared all of em and dont be fooled by the 2500.00 jobs, the steerin is cable driven. my guy said he sold the husky but wouldnt work on it because they are a hassle. this mower cut my cutting time in half. it is worth the extra grand you'll spend on it.

Sorry to bust your bubble riverrat, but my dad's Troy-Bilt 42" is level operated on the hydro just all the other big boys. Has a knob for the electromagnet to operate the PTO, again, just like the big boys. Only cable on this thing is the throttle cable to the Kohler engine.


In my comparison, deck construction is the biggest difference from one brand to another. This is the only regret I will have overtime from the Troy-Bilt. I can see it's a standard tractor stype mowing deck. Granted, it's not a bent and welded deck like say Hustler, but I know some antigue lawn tractors older than me that have new quality decks on them. Anything, I repeat ANYTHING, will last if it's taken care of. All brands overlap in engine make as they all use Kawasaki, Kohler, Briggs and Straton, etc. The pumps and gear boxes are practically all from the same factory, so that only leaves the frame, mowing deck and the nice sticker on the mower. When my dad bought his, I pushed him to buy a Hustler. I have a cousin who's family owned a lawn service for 35+ years and they run a 36" Hustler RESIDENTIAL model for commercial use. They bought it knowing Hustler wouldn't give them a warranty being it was used commercially. They haven't had a need for work and this mower is pushing 10 years old.

[duckkiller]

Being on golf course's since the age of 15 I have run them all, such as scagg, exmark, Ferriss, Toro ect... We only use these in wooded areas and around native areas and hands down Ferriss and Toro beat them all! I talked my dad and a previous employer into purchasing a Ferriss and they both have nothing but positive things to say about them. It has independant suspention and is by far the smoothest riding z turn mower out there!!!!!!! Look into them and call a local dealer for a test drive, and if your anywhere close to Louisville, let me know and one wknd when Im off I will come home and let you demo my dads at our place.

[tunica]

I've been struggling with the differences between the Lowes type Zturns and the ones from the dealer. I know if I buy from a dealer, I could get better service...such as a loaner verses taking a mower back to lowes or whereever but if a dealer is a Authorized repair site dont they have to do the same level of repair on a lowes zturn verses one he sold?

There is a big differences in price.


So is there really that big of difference in the physical make ups of the same mower at lowes or Jacks tractor supply.

[MudHog]

I've been struggling with the differences between the Lowes type Zturns and the ones from the dealer. I know if I buy from a dealer, I could get better service...such as a loaner verses taking a mower back to lowes or whereever but if a dealer is a Authorized repair site dont they have to do the same level of repair on a lowes zturn verses one he sold?

There is a big differences in price.


So is there really that big of difference in the physical make ups of the same mower at lowes or Jacks tractor supply.

I'm not saying that everything is of lesser quality than buying it from a dealer, but Lowe's, Home Depot and Walmart do have some products that are built JUST to be sold in their stores. Like Wal-Mart tires for example. Even though it's a Goodyear branded tire, it's a Walmart compound ONLY sold at Walmart. This is how Walmart gets the prices down so much. A co-worker I share an office with has a wet-vac he bought from Lowe's. Gave him some problems so he called the mfg. They told him those were made just for Lowe's. I was looking for an outdoor sink last weekend. Jenn-Air made one which is a part of MayTag, but Nexgrill made it for Jenn-Air and put the JA name on it and sold it only at Lowe's. There is ALOT of this going on, more than people realize.

Your thinking on auth. service dealer should be able to work on a Lowe's product is partially correct in some cases, but I've realized this isn't always the case. I've been looking at a Husky 223L string trimmer for months now at Lowe's. My nearest husky dealer is 20 minutes away and I have a couple others that are 30 minutes away. In the Lowe's manual that I downloaded off the website shows that I have to call a certain number for service or warranty work. Come to find out, one of the nearest dealers does ALL the Lowe's service and warranty in the area. So basically I would be calling this number, shipping it to somewhere and then it would get shipped to a dealer 20-30 minutes from my house. If that's the case, I just as soon buy it from them and I take it straight to them.

[riverat]

just bought the exmark 42" quest for 4200.00 tax and all. got 0% for 24 months. it is a great machine and will really get it. if you have tight places or a small shop to get in this mower is perfect. i compared all of em and dont be fooled by the 2500.00 jobs, the steerin is cable driven. my guy said he sold the husky but wouldnt work on it because they are a hassle. this mower cut my cutting time in half. it is worth the extra grand you'll spend on it.

Sorry to bust your bubble riverrat, but my dad's Troy-Bilt 42" is level operated on the hydro just all the other big boys. Has a knob for the electromagnet to operate the PTO, again, just like the big boys. Only cable on this thing is the throttle cable to the Kohler engine.


In my comparison, deck construction is the biggest difference from one brand to another. This is the only regret I will have overtime from the Troy-Bilt. I can see it's a standard tractor stype mowing deck. Granted, it's not a bent and welded deck like say Hustler, but I know some antigue lawn tractors older than me that have new quality decks on them. Anything, I repeat ANYTHING, will last if it's taken care of. All brands overlap in engine make as they all use Kawasaki, Kohler, Briggs and Straton, etc. The pumps and gear boxes are practically all from the same factory, so that only leaves the frame, mowing deck and the nice sticker on the mower. When my dad bought his, I pushed him to buy a Hustler. I have a cousin who's family owned a lawn service for 35+ years and they run a 36" Hustler RESIDENTIAL model for commercial use. They bought it knowing Hustler wouldn't give them a warranty being it was used commercially. They haven't had a need for work and this mower is pushing 10 years old.

referring to the newspaper specials at lowes, etc. the husky, jd, and cub are all cable driven that's why they advertise so cheap.

SORRY, QUIT YELLING AT ME DAD.

[Faithful Retrievers]

I just bought a used 2007 john deere 757 zero turn with the 60" deck and a 25 hp kawisaki last thursday. Its the cats meow. I cut my mow time in half on all my properties.

E

Thats one nice rig, we got one for the stores. I bought the small residental zero turn and it cuts my yard just as good for a third of the money. Granted it couldn't handle the commercial stuff, but if I ain't cutting commercial why would I spend that kind of money? I can prob get you the JD 225 in that range. Since I bought mine 5 folks that got on mine bought one. To me its middle of the road. Its alot faster than the regular rider.

[msudog]

I was just in Home Depot and they had a 50 inch Cub Cadet for 2999. my neighbor has one and loves it. He had a Toro before and it was junk. I would not by a Toro for anything. The wheels fell off and he was always working on it. I have had several people say they had the same things happen with the Toro. The cub Cadet deck and wheels look much heavier and look to be alot better quality for the same price.

[Dutch Dog]

Did I mention staying away from Dixon??? We're replacing ANOTHER damn belt on that thing as we speak.

[Faithful Retrievers]

I've been struggling with the differences between the Lowes type Zturns and the ones from the dealer. I know if I buy from a dealer, I could get better service...such as a loaner verses taking a mower back to lowes or whereever but if a dealer is a Authorized repair site dont they have to do the same level of repair on a lowes zturn verses one he sold?

There is a big differences in price.


So is there really that big of difference in the physical make ups of the same mower at lowes or Jacks tractor supply.

I can do some research to find out the exact difference in Lowes JD an ours, but from the number of people that bring their mowers in that were purchased at Lowes and the ones we sale is enough info for me. I have heard that they are made at different location, but find that hard to believe. Our prices from lowes aren't much if any, but I bet Lowes gets a better mark up for units sold vs a local dealer.

[tunica]

I've been struggling with the differences between the Lowes type Zturns and the ones from the dealer. I know if I buy from a dealer, I could get better service...such as a loaner verses taking a mower back to lowes or whereever but if a dealer is a Authorized repair site dont they have to do the same level of repair on a lowes zturn verses one he sold?

There is a big differences in price.


So is there really that big of difference in the physical make ups of the same mower at lowes or Jacks tractor supply.

I can do some research to find out the exact difference in Lowes JD an ours, but from the number of people that bring their mowers in that were purchased at Lowes and the ones we sale is enough info for me. I have heard that they are made at different location, but find that hard to believe. Our prices from lowes aren't much if any, but I bet Lowes gets a better mark up for units sold vs a local dealer.

That would be interesting to know...the real deal on comparing points of differences. I hope to have to purchase a commerical type mower for next years season. Currently I'm just one of those guys that uses a rider and a push mower to get by. Restarting your business career at 58 can be challenging.


My goal is to stay busy two or three days a week and over time build it for the Grandsons to take over once they come of age.

[bobo5]

I guess this is hijacking the thread, but my father in law has a walk behind scag for sale if anyone is interested.

[Damn_It_Boy]

I guess this is hijacking the thread, but my father in law has a walk behind scag for sale if anyone is interested.

Walk?????? bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh