This is a 1985 model. I bought a 2003 model for $500 without the bagger but it came with the dethatcher and mulch kit. These mowers have changed very little over the years and are pretty bulletproof, but be sure it fits your needs before you buy (I had mine for two months before I sold it as it took longer to mow my 1/2 acre then it did with my push mower.

So in other words this is just an average deal on a mower?
Are there any problem issues with these mowers that i should know about?

I have .75 arces but only half of that is grass. I also have lots of beds and trees that i have to go around.

They have terrible turning radius at anything but the lowest speeds due to the tiny front wheels and all the weight being on the back (engine, bagger, driver). They have very touchy clutches so you need to be careful so you don't give yourself whiplash. 28" is barely larger than a push mower and there are no anti-scalp wheels so you can gouge pretty easily when turning as there is a pivot point between the rear and front wheels. On the good side, they are built stout and there are very few things to go wrong on them, and they do mulch pretty well (with the right deck). It took me about an hour to mow a half acre and now with a JD LX178 with a 38" deck it takes me about 25 minutes. If you have all day to tool around and want a mower that will last this is the mower for you.

"So in other words this is just an average deal on a mower?"

If it were in good condition it would be, needs battery and working on, naw, well not in this area anyway.

"They have terrible turning radius at anything but the lowest speeds due to the tiny front wheels and all the weight being on the back (engine, bagger, driver). They have very touchy clutches so you need to be careful so you don't give yourself whiplash."

Agree. While these are good sturdy machines, but the resale market has gone to heck around here. I used to deal in them and got to where I couldn't make anything on them so quit.

Walt Conner

I tried out a new one once. I liked the way it was built and that was about it. It did not ride good; did not handle good, and it was not comfortable. I put all that together with it will last a loooong time, and I looked elsewhere.

The one good thing about the single blade setup is that it collects and bags pretty good for a system that has no blower. Take to heart what Walt and Metal are saying about the the weight distribution and the clutch. I was once heading up a steep hill and lost traction, I put in the clutch so I could roll back a couple of feet and try again. When I let the clutch out the whole machine flipped end over end. I was not hurt, but quite embarassed. Did you know that the engine will run upside down? well for about three seconds anyway. Don't think I have ever told anyone this story before... anyway good luck.

"The one good thing about the single blade setup is that it collects and bags pretty good for a system that has no blower."

Snapper Hi-Vac is darned good at bagging and quick to change over.

Walt Conner

"Snapper Hi-Vac is darned good at bagging and quick to change over" This is why I bought one. Here in Orlando, I get leaves twice a year, sycamores in fall and oaks in spring and I'm tired of raking leaves.
I bought a used 2002 28" 10hp; with a double bagger for $550 recently, I think it was a good deal.

I inherited a HiVac 8 HP and it ran great till motor shelled out. So I bought another just like it. Runs fine BUT it won't climb even slight uphill grade. Any ideas?

It probably needs the drive wheel replaced. It is up behind the vertical plate at the rear of the machine, under the engine area, and can be changed in about ten minutes. I only changed mine once since 1983. That wheel has a rubber "tire" glued on it, and they do wear out, but not very fast.
As for rarin' up on a hill, folks try to start up with a full grass bag on the back, and it gives ya a "start", but i have never turned mine over backwards. I don't really believe the guy here who said his turned clean over on an up-hill start-out. Maybe side-ways, but not rearwards!

I had an early 1980's 8 HP, 28" Hi-Vac with grass catcher. I loved the performance, simplicity and readily available parts for this machine. Its biggest drawback was an overly sensitive (and dangerous clutch). However, the clutch design rendered the mower able to climb a hill like like a bulldozer. When it finally died about 20 years ago, I replaced it with a Snapper 14.5 HP, 33" Hi-Vac. What a mistake!! This mower is obviously a product of some CEO's family member's freshly minted, clueless MBA. (check this out) The addition of poorly engineered safety devices and other basic modifications have reduced Snapper rear-engine rider mowers to the classification of "junk". The corporate CEO's should be castrated for reducing the once-iconic, highly reliable Snapper rider into a cheap pile of useless junk. All of the foregoing is based solely on my experienced-based opinion, FWIW.

That's what happens when offshore junk flood the market !

You'll be glad to know that they were castrated (OK given big bonus checks instead) and now work for Briggs...

It is ok

I flipped my old sr928 over backwards.... Climbing a logging trail with baby ag-

No I buy and sell old mowers the most I have been able to get is about 150 to 175