Buy a new or used mower?

[newlawn]

I want to purchase a new mower but i'm a little confused, i'm using for my home and maybe 3-4 extra yards. A guy in the neighborhood has a john deere lt133 for 700.00 that he wants to sell, so i wondering would this be a better buy than getting a brand new craftsman hydrostat mower with 20hp/42"cut or a brand new john deere for like 1700.00 dollars please be honest what would you do! You guy are the pro's so if anybody has the best advice it would be you guys.

john deere lt133: https://www.deere.com/en_US/homeowners/products_non_current/lt133.html?link=enav

Craftsman: http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Lawn+Tractors&pid=07127682000&vertical=LAWN&subcat=Lawn+Tractors+Series&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

John deere: http://www.deere.com/en_US/ProductCatalog/HO/servlet/com.deere.u90785.cce.productcatalog.view.servlets.ProdCatProduct?pNbr=SKU20398&tM=HO&link=enav

[sildoc]

first of all how much turf do you have? 3000 sqft 20 acres? Big difference in what you actually need. How much money do you want to spend? How long do you plan on living there or where you will have relitively the same amount of turf? what type of grass? are you going to bag? side discharge? How much time do you want to spend mowing? Is time worth more than a large initial cost? Almost all of us are biased on commercial equiptment because for a homeowner it will last the rest of your life and most likely your grand kids life also.

[newlawn]

my yard is close to 1 acre, We are planning to move in the next couple of years so more and likely it will be bigger maybe 2-3 acres. Time isn't really a big deal because i had a old old john deere rear engine mower and i could push my yard faster than that mower. it finally but me down, so i'm just trying to save money i'm looking to spend close to 2k on a new mower. my grass type is bermuda and saint augustine. but like i said earlier my neighbor has a used john deere for 700.00.

[davidcalhoun]

As long as the JD is in decent shape, I would go with it. You would have about a $700 depreciation on the new Craftsman in a year. You might still be able to sell the JD for about $700 when you sell it.

Invest the remaining $1000 and save towards a better mower when the time comes.

[elshauno]

get a quick 36 its commercial grade gives a superior cut and it will last a lot longer i ve heard nothing but good things about them and the link is at the top of the page

[Grass-Masters]

I would buy your neigbors if it is in good shape. But if you are going to spend close to $2000 on a mower, I would buy a good used commercial walkbehind. There are many for sale here http://www.lawnsite.com/forumdisplay.php?f=51. Good luck in your purchase.

[Budget]

The John deere cause you can get parts everywhere. But a walkbehind can go places riders can't. What type of property do you mow? That will be a factor in what you buy, or weather not to go new.