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ellusionz

clueless at buying first riding mower

ellusionz
11 years ago

After purchasing my first home on a half acre lot the push lawn mower broke. Instead of investing another hundred or so into one of those i want to get a riding mower. My property is realitively flat with a few trees and surrounding fence.

I've never bought a mower before but is it similar to a car? The new ones pretty much seem to start at $1k at lowes and home depot. The cheapest i saw new looked like a toy for almost $800? If i can find a friend to check it out would buying used on criagslist be a good option or am i probably getting someone elses problem?

I live in orlando florida so if y'all know any other options here I'd appreciate it. Thanks so much!

Comments (8)

  • grass1950
    11 years ago

    Alot depends on your budget. Depending on your budget, there may be some new machines available to you that have good reputations for quality. Finding a good machine on craigslist takes patience. You'll need to be willing to scan daily as the real deals go fast and it can take months for a deal to show up. Also used machines are pretty much a crap shoot. A knowledgable buyer can make an educated guess of the true condition by looking for tell tale signs of abuse, neglect, failing components and signs of regular maintenace. But good buys can be had.

  • 1111gd1111 3b NW WI
    11 years ago

    My .02 is if you want to buy new, stay away from the big box stores (Lowes, Home Depot, etc) and look for a place close to you that specializes in lawn and garden equipment. The lawn and garden place may very well have used equipment that they have taken in trade then offered for resale. Personally I would not buy something from Craigslist...too good a chance that you are buying someone else's problems.

    Everybody has their own brand preference and mine by a wide margin is Simplicity. You have several Simplicity dealers in the Orlando area.

    Other brands might be Deere, Toro or Ariens.

    Size? = I have a 14hp Briggs V-Twin in my Simplicity and have a twin turbo bagger. I was mowing yards to 3/4 acre no problem with my 38" deck. We bought a house with 1.5 acres and I'm just dying to get a bigger mower....48"+ deck....but my 38" is doing fine really. Look at a Simplicity Regent EX. Good engine choices, full width rear roller deck that looks to be the easy on/off deck.

    I guess it boils down to how much $$ you want to spend. Yup...in 1996 I spent $1000 more on my Simplicity but it's still running strong and looks like new!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Orlando area Simplicity dealers

  • rcbe
    11 years ago

    Repost of Slammer's Rules...

    1. Carefully evaluate the size mower you need and buy at least one size larger.

    2. NEVER buy a mower from ANYPLACE that will not let you test drive it or at least a similar model. Ergonomics are just as important as performance and capability.
    (Vitally important!)

    3. DO NOT base your purchase on price or brand name alone! Do proper research and find all of the available models that fit your criteria and haggle, save, or trade to get the right equipment for the job. Do not compromise!

    If you follow these three tips you will end up a happy camper with just the right unit for the job. If you disregard this advice your gonna end up with One or the other of the following problems:

    A. Buyers remorse. Stuck with a piece of junk or simply a unit inadequate for the task at hand.

    Or..

    B. A teed off spouse when you start shopping for another tractor just 3 - 6 months down the road because you didn't buy the right unit in the first place.

    Now go forth and shop and try and have fun!

  • txtom50
    11 years ago

    Another thing to consider is getting it home, and back to the dealer for any repairs or service. At the very least you'll need access to a pickup and set of ramps to haul it yourself, or a dealer who provides pickup and delivery service.

  • canadave
    11 years ago

    I bought my first tractor 10 years ago and like you, knew nothing about them at the time. Based on my needs, this site recommended a Simplicity and I bought the Conquest 18 HP model with the commercial rated Vanguard engine. Ten years later it's still a great tractor although one winter, mice got into the engine and consequently, the following spring, the engine blew from over heating. That wasn't the tractors fault although a temperature gauge would have given me advance warning. I went to this site again and got referred to a good site for good prices on engines which saved my literally hundreds of dollars on a new Vanguard. This site also recommended putting moth balls into socks and to surround the engine compartment with them which so far has kept the mice away. In the winter when it's stored in the garage for several months, I also put Bounce laundry sheets in the engine compartment. Be sure to use only Bounce and not other brands. In the winter I also surround the tractor with rodent poison and years later I have never had a mouse problem. I also use Bounce and moth balls inside my boat over the winter and have never had a mice problem. Oddly enough I came to this site today to find a solution to my PTO for the mower deck suddenly stopped working but I'll start a new thread for that.

  • Ken Yolman
    11 years ago

    A 1/2-acre lot requires a lot of tight turning, most likely. Might want to go with a nice push mower, again. Honda makes a crazy nice push machine. My Dad's got one and the neighbors think he's pretty cool. Too funny man!

  • canadave
    11 years ago

    Turns out my problem was the PTO switch which was a $22 plus 13% tax fix for a total of $25. The same switch in Watertown NY after tax was $15. I recently bought a transmission cable for my old reliable 1997 Acura CL in Syracuse NY for $188. The same cable in Kingston Ontario after tax was $361. OUCH!!! It was worth the 115 mile trip each way to Syracuse to get it not to mention all the stuff we bought there a lot cheaper than in Canada at the Carousel Mall. Mind you that's a small price to pay not to have a total fraud radical leftist for a Prime Minister like you're stuck with as your President at least until November. The one good thing that Obama has done for Canada is that by destroying your economy, Canada now officially has a higher standard of living than the U.S.

  • ralphxyz
    11 years ago

    If you want a absolute delight in mowing your lawn get a Husqvarna push mower!!
    It is so easy to push these mowers unbelievable.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Husqvarna push mower

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