Tru Cut Mower - $150?

13 years ago

Hello all! I have been browsing for quite some time and decided to join. I have been looking for a reel mower as I will be installing patriot bermuda this summer.

I have come across a Tru Cut mower with a 3.5 Briggs. In the ad it stated it was a 25". It appears to be a 20" after receiving pictures.

The seller acquired from a customer of his that could not pay his bill for services. He has stated that it runs great and does not smoke. It also has the front catcher. The blade may need to be sharpened/replaced. He only wants $150 but it has been for sale since early November.

Does this seem like a decent deal? For this price I can afford to put some money into it and still have a decent mower (from what I have read on here). I have an 11,000 square foot yard and would like to use this mower to mow my bermuda.

Can I get some opinions on if this seems like a fair deal and what else I may need to consider?

Comments (3)

racernhra
Original Author
13 years ago
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Greg Goyeneche
13 years ago
Your pictures are pretty low resolution. Looks like you scraped them off Craigslist.

Anyway, I think the mower is a 21". Pretty good mower and I have lot of respect for Tru-Cut. My worry is the comment that blade may need to be sharpened or replaced. If the seller made these comments I'd assume the worst.

If reel and bedknife are sound, then a backlapping should cost about $50, or you can do yourself with handtools and $10 of Clover compound. A full sharpening will probably run about $150 at a shop which services golf course equipment. Might be able to get a golf course mechanic to do as a side job. Either way, $150 is not a bad price.

However, if the reel or bedknife need replacement, you are looking at $150 or more for reel and $100 for the beknife. Plus you have labor to remove, replace, and set everything ip, and then another $50 to lap the reel to the bedknife. At this point, even for free the mower is not a good deal.

You have to examine the reel and bedknife very carefully. If there is enough "meat" on both, and they are well aligned (meaning equal clearance along each blade along the length of the bedknife) you have a machine you can work with. Otherwise, leave it for the next sucker on Craigslist.
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racernhra
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. Exactly the information I was needing. The guy took the pictures with his phone. He admits that he knows very little about it but he has researched enough to know that these mowers are expensive if purchased "new" and that the reels are expensive. In that it has been for sale since early November is another issue to consider.

Again, thanks for the info.