Bought a house in January and I'm looking at mowing the crap out of some grass without spending stupid money on a new mower.
Found this: http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/grd/2966059509.html
What says the GRM hive mind?
Also tempted by this for go-kart conversion. http://boston.craigslist.org/sob/grd/2966173336.html
well the Murray is an MTD clone (ie 90% of all mowers made)
the snapper.....parents had one. I hated it.
Don't do it.
I spent DECADES going through crappy mower after crappy mower.
Last year, I finally bought a new Husqvarna. I am NEVER, NEVER, NEVER looking back.
New riding mowers start at around $900. For your $900, you can have a nearly unending supply of aggravating headaches, along with a plethora of pains in the arse, and every other place possible. You can also have your lawn nearly never finished, because of breakdowns.
After 2 years of aggravation, you can sell it for about $250 and start the joy all over.
A used one has the same issues, plus low compression, bad batteries, half the lifespan, and zero resale value.
Buy a name brand. In my area, that means Husqvarna or John Deere. Buy what other people want to buy.
I paid $1600 for mine. I will easily get 4 or 5 years of good life out of it, and then be able to sell it for $1000. That's pretty good math.
Starts every time, works perfectly. I bought the hydrostatic transmission not because I cared, but because I know buyers want it. My wife and 13 year old d most of the lawn care, and never call me for help fixing the darned thing any more.
One buying tip- unless you live on the 16th green, most normal people's lawns are no where near as flat as they look. Holes, roots, etc are really rough on steering linkages. If you put a little weight over the front wheels and try turning the wheel, it shouldn't feel like you are bending, straining, or about to break something. Cheap mowers will feel like the steering linkage is about to snap. It is.
A new riding mower isn't in the budget (well, it is but I'm unwilling), and if need be I could do this yard with a push mower and a six-pack of beers. I just got used to riding mowers growing up with 8 acres of yard.
My parents also never bought good mowers after our Simplicity finally quit, so I'm accustomed to working on these things.
Have a Murray similar to that one except 14hp. Need a carb though. Mine lasted 10 years of cutting and mulching leafs on 1.2 acres before the carb started giving me trouble. SWMBO let me get a John Deere to replace it. No complaint with the Murray until carb issues and I got tired of fixing it. Came down to buy a carb or buy a new mower, SWMBO let me buy a new mower. Supposed to buy a carb and fix the mower and give to my daughter though. Bought the John Deere LA105 because I'm too cheap to buy a zero-turn which would probably work better on my 1.2 acre partially wooded lot with several garden plots around the yard. There are things about the Murray that I liked over the Deere. Like it's not a tall, fits under the trees and bushes better. Murray is no more, no called MTD.
Know people with Snappers like that and they swear by them. One guy a new had a used one that was about 30+ years old when it died for good. He bought another one. Not fast (stock)but realiable. Very good for lawns too big for push mowers but too small for standard riders.
Oh Yeah. Sort of agree with SVreX. Unless your yard is smooth you can count on having to repair the deck on the Murray at some point. On mine the deck cracked at the mounting bracket. A steel plate under, some slightly longer bolts mounted up to clear the blades fixed it.
Can relate to buying used when you first move into a newly purchased house. Need something now but can't swing new yet. Been there, twice. Get something that will work for a while and start saving for a better, preferebly new when you start spending more time fixing mowers than cutting grass. You'll also know more about what would work better for you by then.
This for $100 and a 13yo do mine. 
Weedeater brand from Wally's World.
It's 4 years old and has never had a wrench on it. I've never even changed the oil. It cranks on the first pull every time. As soon as it doesn't, it'll be replaced with the same thing.
Get one of the reel mowers. Easy to push, aint a damn thing to break on it, good workout, and can't get a DWI pushin' one.
mndsm wrote: Get one of the reel mowers. Easy to push, aint a damn thing to break on it, good workout, and can't get a DWI pushin' one.
+1. After accounting for the extra weight of the gas powered mower, I think the reel mower is actually easier to push around than the gas mower. I have both, and vastly prefer the reel mower.
mndsm wrote: Get one of the reel mowers. Easy to push, aint a damn thing to break on it, good workout, and can't get a DWI pushin' one.
Not my experience. The handle on mine, and most of the models I've seen, are tubes that are flattened about six inches shy of the mower end. At the mower are two horizontal pins that accept the handle. The first time there is a lateral load on the handle, the flattened part flexes. Later it bends, and eventually gives way. I had three fail this way inside of the Lowes return period. I haven't seen one in a store near me that doesn't appear to suffer from this defect.
I'm all for doing things the green way but a reel mower is out of the question.
Here's another option: http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/rvs/2955020201.html
SVreX wrote: Don't do it. I spent DECADES going through crappy mower after crappy mower.
I concur. I would get my mowers from my neighbors garbage and brag how free they were.
At 40 years of age I quit and bought a $299 Toro self propelled lawn mower and a $499 Toro snowblower. Ten years later they still work great since I kept up on maintenance. I got tired of dicking around with crappy old lawn mowers and blowers.
In reply to SVreX:
When that hydro brakes give me a PM. Might be able to get you parts real real cheap like....
Go get an Ariens at Home Depot if you want to go the cheap hydrostatic route.
Drop the transaxle and go full synthetic Rotella T back in it. Do the same for the engine.
Fa get about it.
Ariens=Husqvarna=Sears Craftsman=about a dozen other labels.
They are built in one of the crappiest facilities ever in Orangburg South Carolina. The only difference is the size of the deck, tires, and engine.
The Ariens is the cheapest unit available with that transmission in it. You can get the for $1299.
You have 4 major competitors now in the residential market.
Briggs and Stratton (yes the engine maker)- They are Murray, Snapper, and a couple others Husqvarna - Ariens consumer stuff, Husqvarna (duh), Sears Craftsman John Deere - Jonn Deere and I believe they are bringing back their low cost line next year MTD - Troy Bilt, Cub Cadet etc.
Oh yeah one other thing about the engines. If you get one with a Briggs buy the smallest Horsepower with the same displacement as the larger HP. The only difference is a sticker.
If you buy a Kohler it isn't like the old Kohlers, it is a cheaped out china made Kohler, that was done to keep up with Briggs on Prices.
Remember the Box store stuff is designed to last you about 5 years using it 2 hours a week for a 6 month mowing season. Flat ground. Not pulling hauling or any of that stuff.
Toyman01 wrote: This for $100 and a 13yo do mine.
That mower has been passed around more than a bong at a college frat party.
That is a generic push mower that has been copied from everyone, Murray (before the Briggs buy out), MTD, Husqvarna (the one you have) Western Auto, Sears, Montgomery Ward.
With hard mounted push bars, (not the stupid moving ones) they are about as good as you will ever get.
Nice buy!
We had a Big O (no kidding that was the name) and a Murray
my first summer in my house ('02),i went thru a pair of cheap (almost free) little Ariens rear engined riders that were very, very used when i got them. they had a single 22" blade on them and it took me 4 hours to mow my 1 acre lot. the next year, i bought a well used 46" Murray rider that is very similar to the one in the first CL ad in the OP from a friend of mine for $200, and it cut my mowing time down to about 1.5 hours.. that mower hasn't seen a lot of use over the 7 years since i moved out of that house, but it still gets the job done when i need it to..
here's what it looks like now- the scoop adds like 5hp and the stickers like 4 more hp on top of that.
look around for a cheap small lawn tractor- they are built more heavy duty than a mower and are just better.. my mom's fiance bought an early 80's vintage John Deere 220(??) for $200 and it is an absolute beast that can mow about twice as fast as my Murray and does the 2 acres or so in their lawn in under an hour.
When we bought this house nine or so years ago, I wanted a Honda push mower but couldn't swing it. I found that for a few bucks less we could get a Honda-powered Craftsman. To date it has been flawless. Periodically I change the oil, replace the filter, and put a new blade on it.
I have a 14 year old Toro Wheel Horse, from before the MTD buyout. The even older Wheel Horse tractors (with the horizontal shaft engine) seem to be collectible enough to sell for what you have in it whenever you need to. If you can find one cheap, buy it.
All modern riding mowers suck. Unless you spend money on a lawn tractor like a Kubota, it's built to be disposable.
For over a dozen years I mowed with a 1971 Simplicity with a 5hp Briggs engine. Other than a belt replacement and oil changes, I did nothing to it. It was a garage kept unit that looked 5 years old when I bought it in 1992. I replaced it with a 2x larger Craftsman hydro model I got for free with a blown engine. I've got a half acre that's more grass than plantings, and the hydro with the bigger deck and more power has shaved off 15 minutes from my mowing time. Sold the Simplicity for what I paid for it. BUT...the Craftsman has a pretty obvious built-in lifespan. I'm on the lookout for a Kubota which I hope will be the last mower I buy, but they are big money.
If I was just starting out, and knew how to use a basic tool set, I'd try to find a rider from the 1970s-early 1980s before they all morphed into MTD copies. Any decent name brand will still have good parts availability, you'll pay a fraction of what a junk Lowe's version will be, and it won't depreciate. 
Murray riders are dirt cheap beaters that never really run right or work terribly well, and never quite die either. At $150, I'd probably pass on it, but it does look nice. Beware that forward tilting deck lever, it catches every branch and vine.
Snappers are the roughest crudest things ever made. They come from the factory pre-worn out. And they never get any worse. Very nimble, and with the engine on the back, they can actually go across slopes without sliding down, and up hills with the grass wet. Lots of entertaining yard autocrossing potential with those things. That particular one has a tiny deck, so if you've a yard of any size, you'll be making many passes to actually cut.
This is a tough call. One thing to consider: a 40" deck is pretty damn puny. My cheapo Deere has a 42", and when I replace this mower (currently 10 years old, no issues except a bit of oil leaking) I will go no smaller than 48", preferably 54". Nothing like running a gas-guzzling beast up and down the lawn and getting nowhere fast.
I opted for a Deere because everyone I talked to said a mower that had a stamped steel front suspension would break. I made a cast iron front axle a must-have, and ended up with my Deere from H-D. Honestly, it's been perfect, even has the original battery, which is freaking me out.
If $1500. is above your budget, maybe try to find something serious that is well-used, but also well-maintained. Of course, if this thing works for $150, you could just figure on getting a new one every year. 
Toyman01 wrote: This for $100 and a 13yo do mine.
Holy cow! That's the same dang mower I bought at Lowe's back in 1995 right after I bought my first house. Had a 3.75 HP Briggs on it, IIRC. Worked fine--never had an issue, I left it with the house. It might still be running.
A cheap rider isnt always bad, and for $150 for one that apparently works, its probably hard to go wrong. If your yard is relatively smooth and not too steep I dont see why a cheap tractor can't do the job easily.
I think the "You'll never be happy with it unless you spend $XXXX on a new one" comments are pretty ridiculous.
I got a 42" Craftsman Lt1000 for $180 a year and a half ago, A few weeks later I dropped $180 on parts to replace the bent stamped steel axle with cast iron, new spindles and wheel bushings. Previous owner used it on rough/steep terrain, and so am I, and the loosey goosey front end was a bit scary. Other than that its just been routine maitenance, and a few odds and ends here and there (replacing some fuel line, new drive pulley to replace bent one, loading tires, etc.) To be honest for my yard a Garden Tractor would be a better choice with more robust build quality all around, and more weight, But what I have now is working fine. In the meantime am keeping an eye out for another cheap tractor that shares parts with this one to pick up for spares.
Toyman01 wrote: This for $100 and a 13yo do mine.
I 2nd this. Have the exact same mower, bought new 8 years ago and has never missed a beat, started up on first pull after the winter this spring. Have changed the oil a couple times, sharpen the blade occasionally, that is it. Dollars per year, hard to beat.
Parents are still using a cheap mower bought from Kmart 17 years ago. Still chugging along, and surprisingly the front drive is still working, never been worked on either.
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