I have looked at the zero turn Cub, 46" cut Honda power, 3k at Home Depot. Any other suggestions?
I have looked at the zero turn Cub, 46" cut Honda power, 3k at Home Depot. Any other suggestions?
Don't buy from a big box store. Just don't. Find a dealership, it's worth it.
If your willing to go a little used, check out John Deere x300 or x500 series or a low hour GT245. These were sold at dealers. I don't know much about zero turns. I haven't heard the greatest news about Kohler "Courage" engines. The old "Command" series were better. I have a 2004 JD Gt245 with a kawasaki engine. I also inherited a 2000 JD 455 yanmar diesel that's been in the family since new. Both are great tractors. John Deere parts and maintenance will cost you, but they are great mowers.
$3k gives you a lot of fantastic options in the used market. I will second the never buy a mower from a big box store thought.
How much land are you cutting and how fast do you need to cut it?
I believe to get the good hydrostat transmissions you need to go up to around $4k for a new mower. And look for welded deck, not stamped. I would also look for something with a Honda and Kawasaki motors. Lightly used units will be in your price range.
I would definitely buy high quality used over anything at a big box store, or even a dealer in that price range. I picked up an 87 Deere 318 for $1200 on Craigslist this spring and it has to be one of the most overbuilt machines I've ever had the pleasure of using. I'll vouch for the 400 series Deeres as well. Spent a lot of time on my dad's 425 as a teen and it was equally as beastly.
In reply to The : I owned the basic Honda rider for decades. I used it way beyond it’s designed specs including towing Timbers and carts loaded with debris. I only changed oil once a year and the belts lasted until I donated it. The last 5 years the tires started to leak and one tire needed pumping up every time I used it. I sharpened the blade only a couple of times. It started well but I replaced the battery ever 10 years. Some winters it stayed outside covered in snow. Every fall I added gas conditioner. I drove it off the wall once and it dropped almost 5 feet to the driveway below. It took me almost an hour to straighten things Out.
Bottom line? It served me well and lasted beyond expectations. I had wanted the John Deere but it was way too expensive and I was repeatedly warned not to buy the Cheap John Deere
I went through this 8 years ago when I bought my ZTR, and I took another look at the market in the spring when I considered selling it.
Long story short, in 2011 I spent about $4k on a new Cub Cadet ZTR with a 23hp Kohler Courage and a 48" fabricated deck. It's kind of a "homeowner plus" model, not quite as robust as a commercial model, but better than the regular homeowner-level stuff. It's been.... OK. Mechanically, it's rock-solid, the engine and hydrostatic trannies have given me zero problems. But the deck, belts, and electrical subsystems have all been problematic. For one thing, there are way too many safety switches and system on these things, all of which render the machine inoperable when they fail. I have bypassed as many as I can, but you can't get them all. My deck and wheels have taken a beating, but to be fair, my yard is pretty rough in places with things like exposed roots and such. The deck belt, I maybe get one season out of, it's at a good 10-15-degree angle when the deck is down, so it gets a lot of wear. Not the greatest design, IMO.
I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm going to have to fix something on it every other time I mow. I really don't think I can do much better without spending the money on a commercial model. And I do maintain it, I clean the deck pretty regularly, and every fall it gets a thorough cleaning, I change the oil, lube the chassis, sharpen the blades, clean the air filter, and so on. As I said, I considered selling it and buying something with green paint a few months ago, but decided to save my money and stick with the devil I know.
Everyone says to buy a used commercial model, but I never felt comfortable with that. For one thing, I'm not really sure what to look for. Used cars, sure, I'm fine, but how do I know how healthy a hydrostatic transmission is? How many hours is too many? Also, one nice thing about going new is that you can usually get free or cheap financing at a dealer in case you don't have a few grand sitting around.
I'm not the OP, but I just ordered this. Seemed pretty good with a fabricated deck and Kawasaki motor. Did I make a mistake?
Used Dixie Chopper & never buy another mower the rest of your life.
scardeal said:I'm not the OP, but I just ordered this. Seemed pretty good with a fabricated deck and Kawasaki motor. Did I make a mistake?
You will know in 10 years. Good luck.
We've had our Dixie for 10 years now. In 10 years I've replaced the battery twice, changed oil in the Kohler 23hp every season, changed airfilters about as often. I've replaced blades once. Belts once. I grease the deck spindles every spring. I changed the gearbox fluid and filters once.
And that's it. Dad's Dixie is a commercial 60" that is now 24 years old. He did have to replace the engine in it about 3 years ago, but it was beat pretty hard before he bought it 11 years ago. They're hard to beat honestly. With all the other ZTR's out there, used dixies are finally getting to be a decent price.
I paid ~$3k for our zero turn Cub with a 23 hp Kohler with a 46" deck. Mowing is fun now. Got the mulch kit and the at home delivery too. The Bluetooth feature seemed stupid but it communicates to the app on your phone to walk you through the required maintenance at the required run times. It was actually helpful. Part numbers and everything.
I actually wanted an Ariens since they are manufactured an hour away but apparently so does everyone else in our area because none were available.
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