New Lawn Acquired from DC user

[SpringValley]

I just acquired a new lawn from a homeowner that fired their previous LCO. The problem was the fact that they took their high speed DC's and just blew the grass over. This combined with the striping kit makes the yard look awful. They put up with this for an entire season before they called me. I use a JD F620 front deck. Nobody likes JD and prefers to slam on them in this forum. My mower works for me. I do not have to lay on my back to change my blades, it cuts great and will handle pretty steep slopes.

This is the second customer that I have acquired from DC users. I do not know what their problem is but you can go too fast when mowing a yard. The "fastest mower in the world" is not a good mower if it is not used properly. When I told my buddy (whom I have gotten several leads from as he does not wish to get any larger) about my newest acquisition, his first response was "Were they using a Dixie Chopper?" Why is that?

I will never own a Dixie. I will continue to acquire yards from LCO's that abuse the speed of the DC. Using different equipment will help me accomplish this and expand my business. IMO the DC looks cheap for what it costs. My dealer sells JD, DC, and Hustler. I looked at a new 72" Super Z next to a DC and what a sweet looking, solid, quality machine the Hustler looked liked compared to the DC. Sorry for the long post but I have seen to many shoddy looking yards mowed with a Dixie. I am not the biggest in this market but I pride myself in my work.

Matt:blob3:

[Husqman]

Prepare for the wrath of the DC cult.

:D

[Lawn-Scapes]

Maybe the operator is at fault?????

[Eric ELM]

I guess I better dig my John Deere out so I don't lose any of my customers I've had for 15 years. ;)

It all depends on the operator if turf gets tore up, I don't care what you are using. You can screw up thin turf with a 21" while turning if your not careful.

If I was mowing in your area, I bet you wouldn't get any of my lawns because I was tearing up the turf or had bad cut quality.

You can not blame a mower for this, it has to be the operator. Some just do not care as much about a persons lawn as you or me. Some do not sharpen blades every day like they should. I know of lawn companies around here that only sharpen their blades when the mower goes in for repair. I know it's hard to believe, but the mechanic himself told me this and his lawns show it. I felt the blade and it was as round as a round pencil.


To sum this up, you can't slam a product for operator malfunction. There are different tire options you can get at the purchase time for ones that do not know how to turn with lug tires. As far as turning, I've probably got several hundred thousand turns under my belt, so I think I have it down now. :)

[kutnkru]

I think that if you think about it that anymore pushing 7-8+ mph is cutting too fast - IMHO.

I also feel that if you are traveling faster than a brisk walking pace that you are cutting too fast. I have times my machines so that I basically cut at the same pace as 4th gear on a belt drive wb.

Most riding units including yours are for acreage cutting IMO. I think that with this new found production advantage that it is used and abused by many. this is why I have targeted my local market to gain clientele from LCOs like yourself who use the wrong equipment for the wrong applications.

If you have the size to justify these machines such as EricELM at 1.5+ acre properties, than it makes sense to own such a unit. If you are cutting 8-15m/sf sized lots such as we have here, its overkill even with the 4' decks they offer.

Personally I dont see how you think that your "front mount" is any better than a "mid mount" Z.

We all know what they say about opinions as well! :rolleyes:

Just my nickle.
Kris

[rixtag]

Nice impression Matt.
Apparently the book is being judged by the cover. Good for you but bad for the book. I would think that the mower is not responsible for the cut as it CANNOT run or be maintained without a PERSON.
For you to say that you would never buy a DC based on appearance is unfair, looks do not cut grass, good mowers AND operators do. I do not own a DC. I own an eXmark and I would never say that your lawn looks like crap because you mow with something beside an eXmark. Rude and condescending. Very general and extremely unfair. I am glad that this all turned out good for you but, unfortunately there are people out there like you and fortunately there are people like me that don't trash others and still have a good reputation and a good business without the trash. I am hoping you misspoke.

As for the wrath of the DC cult, I have my hard hat on thanks to Husqman.

Just one man's opinion and point of view.

Rick

[Eric ELM]

Below is a picture of a lawn we mow and you can see close up where we turn. Turns can be made without tearing up turf if you know what you are doing. Sorry to prove you wrong, but I hate to see any product get slammed when it's the operator's fault.

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010808-001.jpg

Here is a picture of a lawn across from one of ours that is cut by one of our competitors. Is the looks of this lawn the machines fault? I don't think so.

http://www.elmlawnsite.com/images/010905-024.jpg

[KirbysLawn]

Why do people post things like this. It could be any number of factors, maybe they never sharpen their baldes, ever think of that?:rolleyes:

[Eric ELM]

Ray, those blades look like they have a few years of use left in them. :D

[SpringValley]

I was apparently unclear. I was trying to blame the operator for abusing the speed of the DC. BUT, in my own defense, as I have stated before in posts, the dealer makes the difference in purchasing equipment. All makes have their own idiosyncracies that each individual likes/dislikes. I choose not to own a DC. No I have not demoed one nor ever used one. I prefer the front deck, easy to trim with, easy to clean the deck and change the blades. Eric seems the least likely to attach other brands and is quick to defend his brand of choice. I have no problem with that. I was not attacking DC but I have sat on them, looked them over, and I honestly cannot ever see myself owning one. By having something different than a DC (which happens to be a Deere) is going to help me get new customers from poor quality LCO's. That was the general gist of my post. Sorry for the confusion.

Matt

PS I really think there is a DC cult out there. LOL:blush:

[Eric ELM]

Originally posted by SpringValley
Eric seems the least likely to attack other brands and is quick to defend his brand of choice. I have no problem with that.

This is the first thing on the Posting Guidelines, so I try to set an example. ;)

Opinions that slam a manufacturer or product must be
backed up with facts! If you don't own or have not owned or operated a particular
piece of equipment or product your opinion is worthless and will not be expressed
at the expense of manufacturer slander.

[awm]

hoss ,no offence 65, john deere puts out some fine equipment.
it was the smugness of the owners that i finally got tired of.
ive owned them. they made out of metal and plastic just like the rest. plus i got tired of paying three prices for every thing.
now you gon get slamed here . i dont usually get in on that .
but you fired first. have a good day brother.

[Eric ELM]

Originally posted by awm
hoss ,no offence 65

Did you put this on the wrong thread Tony?

I don't see a post here in this thread by Hoss65.

I'm confused :confused:

[Hustla Kid]

"By having something different than a DC (which happens to be a Deere) is going to help me get new customers from poor quality LCO's" *What? You might as well leave the brand names out of it. They all CAN cut good. AND some people will always do a bad job regardless what they are using. So as far as your opinion of "brand vs. brand" your point rediculous.

[Hustla Kid]

oh.......my fault. I just got got the jist of your post. YOU couldn't cut good with a Chopper. oh....ok..... well, the fellows here can..... nuff said, junior.

[awm]

no eric , i call a lot o people hoss ,its pretty common down here.
wanted to let hoss 65 know my coments didnt have anything to do wi him
ps springvalley i do understand pride in a piece of equipment that works day in day out for you with out much trouble.

[Richard Martin]

SpringValley wrote:
.................................
I was not attacking DC but I have sat on them, looked them over, and I honestly cannot ever see myself owning one. By having something different than a DC (which happens to be a Deere) is going to help me get new customers from poor quality LCO's.
.................................

It's probably better that you don't ever own one.

What does having a DC have to do with being a poor quality LCO?

I have a XW2500 DC and if you would like some testimonials from my customers about great service than I can get them for you.

Would you like me to take some pics of lawns cut with JDs? You can do just as crappy a job with a JD as you can with a DC if you don't care what the finished product is.

[Hustla Kid]

Just to clear some "speed issues" up, (for this thread atleast) what speed do you average when your cutting? 7mph-+? (don't see why people think you have to go slow to do a good job)

[a1 lawncare]

jealousy(sp) has reared its ugly head, i don't run a dc, i now run a exmark, when you single out 1 brand, in this case dc's, you are slamming. there are thing's i really like about the dc, one of the major things is the ease of maintenace, i mean you can get to everything, if you don't do your own maitenance this may not be a big deal. jd's are fine machines, i'm glad you like your front mount, i checked out a kubota front mount and there where some things about it i didn't like, and some things i really liked , like being able to trim up under a bush without having to be drug thru it. thats why there are so many different brands and styles
of machines out there. now all that said you can go back to the original problem, operator malfunction or equipment malfunction, you can make the highest dollar piece of equipment out there do a bad job. i bet anybody on this board could take your machine and do a bad job. before i bought the exmark z i owned, still have it, a 455 jd and it's been a great machine, not in the same class as a z, but still a great machine it will now be put to other specific jobs like aerating and dirt werk, if your customers are happy no problem, if there not they'll find somebody else to do the work, i really don't think they care what kind of machine you run as long as it looks good.......

keith

[kutnkru]

Originally posted by awm
hoss ,no offence 65,See Eric ,,, it was a southern thang - LOL!!! :laugh:

Thats why it was such trouble for us yankee folk to ponder and figa it out - LOL!!!

Tony that was quite reptutable to clarify things in your post even if some of us northerners were scratching our heads as to what you were getting at.

Its respect and courtesy such as this that seperates the professionals from the "less-than-desireables" IMHO.

Lot of laughs on this one! :laugh: :D :laugh:
Kris

[Eric ELM]

Originally posted by Hustla Kid
Just to clear some "speed issues" up, (for this thread atleast) what speed do you average when your cutting? 7mph-+? (don't see why people think you have to go slow to do a good job)

This all depends on the lawn I am mowing. I have several that I can mow at 10 to 12 mph, but I probably average around 7 to 8 mph. I do not come sliding into a 180 degree turn though and I do not do huge wheelies taking off. A person has to use some common sense doing this job. What is nice about any hydro is you can go different speeds at different times to get the job done and get it done right. You learn where every bump is in a lawn eventually, so you can vary your speed for conditions. If I see an area like over septic fields that has grown more than others, I may slow down going through the dense tall grass just to chop it up more by going slower.

I'm not a maniac out there on lawns and I don't get complaints about going to fast. Some areas with lawns that have a septic field, I have to slow down since they are very rough. All but 5 of our lawns have a well and septic field, so we are used to dealing with this problem.

If after mowing for a bit I can tell if I will have to double mow a lawn. If so, I go over it fast 2 times and it comes out looking much better than if I went over it one time at 6 mph.

Dochere, a Lawnsite member in my area asked to come out and watch us mow, so he came out 1 week ago last Wednesday and watched us. We have some tall thick lawns, but we only had to mow 1 of them twice to make them look good while still mowing fast on all of them. So if anyone needs to varify any of this, his Lawnsite name is Dochere.

One of the biggest parts of this business is using common sense.

[awm]

i appreciate the kind words. all we really gots each other anyway.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Let's make this easy. 10-11mph not one complaint on how fast. If you know how to run it right.

I agree with Eric's first post about the mower slamming.

LGF:blob1:

[a1 lawncare]

i really don't think they care what kind of machine you run as long as it looks good.......

i went to the dentist this afternoon and i don't think the nitrous had worn off, what i meant to say was, "as long as the job looks good" but it don't hurt to have nice lookin machine, sorry eric, just kiddin, oh yea had some root work done at the dentist, what a way to spend an afternoon


later, keith

keith [/B][/QUOTE]

[GREG R]

I am not a DC fan but that is because we do not have
a dealer around us, I use only jd equipment.
Currently running 2 m665's and a 36" wb. I use to
own a F620 so let me fill you in on my experience with the
F620.

within 800 hours, and less than a year old we had
over $2400.00 in warranty parts.
2 gas tanks
rear axle bushing
6 different shocks on the control arms
broken frame
deck pin holes worn out
4 belts (2 deck belts- 2 vac belts)
engine leaking oil, engine was taken out 2 different times
and still leaked when I HAD to trade it in.
hyro idler pulley
vac housing cracked
Etc.. Etc...Etc
what I am trying to say is I think Eric has said before the
DC will last to 4000 hrs no problem.
So don't slam another product until you know the history of
your own.......why do think the jd warehouse burn't down
last winter that they had all the F620 inventory in.

[SpringValley]

A few points to make:

1. There are a lot of LCO's around here that run DC's and do a poor job. There are a lot of LCO's around here that do a great Job and run DCs. My point is that I do not have a DC and by owning a different mower, helps the dissatisfied customer feel better about my services.

2. I get a little tired of people posting a thread about some legitimate problem and some smart aleck posting a reply that a DC will solve the problem. That gets old and irritating to me. It was funny for awhile but now almost every thread from someone with a problem has that one line reply somewhere. It gets old.

3. AWM, thanks for your remarks. You get the gist of my post, I think.

4. To Eric, the premier DC poster child. We should all look to you for your tact and thought put into each post. Thanks for being professional.

5. My mower works for me. I get slammed by some of my acquaintances and that gets old. All commericial mowers are expensive and my green paint is no more expensive than stainless steel. That analogy gets old too.

6. Thanks to all the slackers out there who like to take advantage of people and do a crappy job. I do this part time and am growing. I sharpen my blades every time before I go out. I mow 10 yards and have 10 very satisfied customers.

Matt

[SpringValley]

Greg R:

One carb problem the first season. No major problems to date. I keep up on the grease and oil changes religiously. Mine is a 1999 and they came out with the F620 in 1997.

Matt

By the way, I only have 450 hours on my machine.

[John DiMartino]

Spring Valley,I had some issues with the cut of my Dixie when it was newer,she's fixed now,but I keep my blades sharp,and have a stripe kit.There is no way your JD will out cut my Dixie,not going to happen,if the LCo keeps his blades sharp,and the baffles clean,the Dixie will cut great up to about 7-8 mph,after than it still cuts good,but it will leave little stranglers here and there if the grass is stubborn.Dixies ,especially the 2000,and newer disharge very well,clumping is rarley a problem,and lift is excellent IMO,Ive seen JD's clump a lot more than Dixies.The other thing is it is very important to move your patterns,I see LCO's that cut the same way,same tracks all year,if you have a stripe kit,this will lay the grass over real bad,and rut it up.Any mower will do this,not just Dixies,post your pics,and Ill post mine,we can compare cut qualtiy,like Eric said,you would not get one of my lawns due to cut quality.

[Premo Services]

:eek: I don`t own a dc, but a lazer. I have aquired 2 lawns form people that use the 60 inch lazer on a size that takes me 15 minutes with a 21 inch toro mower. They used these machines incorrectly on these small lawns, because they were too lazy to use the correct mower and the lawns looked bad.. As a result, they lost the accounts, and I charge more because I use the 21 inch, or my 48 inch walk behind, when it is not too wet. I also picked another one up this spring, that you could only use a 21 inch mower. The company decided for some reason that they were not going to use a mulching mower, and they left piles of hay all over the lawn. These are easy money, and the companies didn`t care how they looked when finished. You can tear up the lawn, make the job look bad, no matter what you are using. This is proof. This post was about dixie choppers, and the post and pics from eric should convince anyone that the dixie choppas go fast and make great stripes...

[MIDSOUTH]

I will use my 60" lazer and ultravac on anthing that is small or large enough for it to fit it, I am tired of people who think the smaller lawns are for a 21", I can make make the yard look better with a 60" as long as it is operated correctly. I can't honestly say I would run a 21" over a lazer, if you learned how to operate your Lazer correctly you could put your 21" back on the trailer. I cant stand those little push mower tracks in the yard anyway!!!!!!!!

[kutnkru]

Originally posted by MIDSOUTH
... if you learned how to operate your Lazer correctly ... Thats just it! There are so many LCOs who are performing shoddy work even though these machines save you guys so much time, that they are letting the overall quality of the properties they maintain often slide from the service they used to give their clients.

I agree that we may not want to resort to trim mowers (21"), but if a lawn takes me an extra 2 minutes with a 36" because it is small than I would use the 36". I have both a 52" and 60" eXmark TT and I try to use the 52" as much as possible.

I hope that many of you Z riders continue to pale Erics work because you keep the rest of us cheap SOBs who wont buy the Zs with a waiting list of potential clients.

Thanks guys!!!
Kris

[65hoss]

I guess it is a south'n thing. I understood perfectly. :)

I guess since I got pulled into this one I will respond to some degree. I don't own a DC, but as I get bigger properties I may. My exmark does fine for what I have now. But when the time comes I will test the larger exmarks, DC's, and Hustlers. Based on my working knowledge of eXmarks, it will be hard to convince me of others.

I pride myself on perfection. Even to the point I sometimes spend more time than I should at a house. Its about common sense when your on a ZTR. I have stated before that on smaller lawns there is not always a difference in time for the mowing. But its easier on the body. Where I really make up the time is on larger properties that I can use the full advantage of the speed. On my average size lawn I never run fast. But the cut of the mower is just tooooo gooooood to let it sit on the trailer while I walk.

[Flex-Deck]

Spring Valley: My theory is and be aware that theory is only what you want or think it is - is as follows. I run JD 455's and can't say enough about their reliability and stability in ditches etc. but the decks JD makes don't mow as well as a lot of decks out there on the market. I have to babysit by decks by keeping blades extra sharp, keeping gators underneath, and when I double blade (see forum on double blades) I use a dixie chopper blade on the bottom and a gator on top (makes a JD deck almost usable). With this in mind here is the theory

GIVE ME A CHEAP MOWER WITH A BIG ENGINE AND LET ME LEVEL THE DECK AND SHARPEN THE BLADES AND I WILL DO A GREAT JOB

GIVE ME A $10,000 MOWER WITH DULL BLADES AND AN UNLEVEL DECK AN MY CUSTOMER WILL FIRE ME.

[Premo Services]

MIDSOUTH I will use my 60" lazer and ultravac on anthing that is small or large enough for it to fit it, I am tired of people who think the smaller lawns are for a 21", I can make make the yard look better with a 60" as long as it is operated correctly. I can't honestly say I would run a 21" over a lazer, if you learned how to operate your Lazer correctly you could put your 21" back on the trailer. I cant stand those little push mower tracks in the yard anyway!!!!!!!!

:rolleyes: GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!
I don`t want to get into a pissing match with you.I know how to operate my lazer. I think these SMALL lawns are a waste of time for the lazer, and quite frankly, they are almost too small for the 48 inch walk behind, but I will use it and do a good job.. I choose to use the smaller mower because you couldn`t even get the lazer on five of the properties. How can you say this when you don`t even know the size of the lawns I am talking about. You have never seen them.The companies that had them before I got them, used a 60 inch lazer and were torn up, rutted from the weight of the mower, from having to cut the same way everytime, because of no where to turn around.. The customer seen me next door using the 21 inch and figured I had some common sense, asked for a bid. I bid it higher and she took the price.I do use my lazer on the larger properties that I have and you would be hard pressed to beat the quality of my work.

[awm]

thankya lord ,i believe we gon get out o thisun without a killing.
:D :D peace brothers

[Redmowers]

Eric or Dc owners:
This could be a dumb question but how do you know how fast you are mowing on a DC ? Do they have a speedometer ?

[kutnkru]

He He Heeasy now boys - LOL!!! :D

Mow Money
He stated that if he can basically squeeze it into a property he will. Thats his discretion just as yours and mine seem to be what best for the turf and overall appearance of properties from a mowing perspective (- just my personal opinion about the Z v. WB issue).

There are many LCOs just like MidSouth who will use the larger pieces of equipment wherever and whenever they can. There are also many clients like yours and mine who do not wish to have these monsterous decks used on their properties.

What works for some doesnt work for all. Mow and let mow I say - LOL!!! :laugh:

[Flex-Deck]

Nice pictures Eric. I am like anyone else, and like what I mow with, but as I have said before, Give me a cheap consumer grade mower with sharp blades and a level deck and the job will be pretty good, but take my 455's, and let the blades get dull and the deck get out of whack, and it can be pretty ugly.

[the point man]

I've picked up two lawns because the customers were not happy
with the high speed with which the former LCO's did their
lawns. Many of our customers are elderly and have lived through
an era when craftsmanship was important, and when they do
things they do them purposefully and carefully. Neither my
customers nor I could find fault with the end result of the speed
demons' work. The customers just didn't like the appearance of
what they perceived as a "rush job". They couldn't care less if
their LCO mows sixteen lawns a day. We're not going to change
customers like that so we have to change ourselves if we want
to keep them. I know, too, that we all have customers who
couldn't care less how the job is done, as long as the end
result is satisfactory.

[Mowingman]

awm says JD makes some fine equipment, but from my experience,their commercial lawn equipment is anything but "fine". Worst ztr I have ever owned: JD M665. Worst 21" mower I have ever owned: the 3 JD jx85's in my shop with cratered transmissions.:angry:
I believe that with sharp blades, most experienced lco's could take most any brand mower and do a nice looking mowing job. On the other hand, an inexperienced idiot can take the best mowers made and destroy a yard.

[Husqman]

This talk of mowing at 8 mile an hour has me wondering, is this only on fescue and rye surely you can't mow that fast on bermuda or zoysia could you?

[MIDSOUTH]

Originally posted by kutnkru
[There are many LCOs just like MidSouth who will use the larger pieces of equipment wherever and whenever they can. There are also many clients like yours and mine who do not wish to have these monsterous decks used on their properties.

[/B]

Like I said If you know how to operate these monsterous decks,You can make it look better than a 21" anyday, If you can turn the machine without tearing turf if is not any worse than using a walk behind or 21". If people would take a look at the width of the rear tires and think of the weight distributed you are not crushing the turf any more than using a walkbehind or 21". It is my discretion as to which piece of equipment to use, if they don't like it they can call someone else. Thing is I explain to them these machines will not harm their lawns. The quality of they lawn is superb when we leave even after using the big decks.
I will even be adding a 72" deisel XP in march, so my customers will really cringe when they see that big ole deck coming.

Exmark 60" 27hp lc Lazer ztr
Scag 61" 25hp Kohler ztr
Encore 34" 15hp ztr
Soon to be 72" 27hp LCD lazer (march 2002)
Soon to be 48" 17hp tthp (march 2002) yes a walkbehind for some toublesome areas and curbs the lazer just won't fit on

[HOMER]

10 yards and a part timer......................one mower..................this really qualifies you to slam another product?

I've seen Choppers, Exmarks, John Deeres and even Craftsmen mowers do a good job when the operator takes the time to to the job properly. I've picked up work from guys who only run Exmark and the reason I got it was they didn't have sense enough to air up one of the flat tires they were trying to cut with! This ain't about equipment, it's totally about stupidity. Your initial post was to slam a product that you have never even run. Nothing more than brand loyalty and you know it. I started with an Airens 40" tractor..............thought it made a beautiful cut. I would sharpen the blades regularly and level the deck, inflate the tires until all were within one pound.........go out and do good work. I moved up to a Scag Super Z, made the best cut!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did the same with that machine, still use it to this day and still have sharp blades and air the tires up, deck is still level too. Wanted something with a little more speed and knew that the Choppers offered that so I bought a 50" Flatlander..........cut was fine just like the others. Liked it so much for a variety of reasons that when I needed a wide area mower for larger properties I bought a 72" Chopper................same dang results:blob4: ! I bet I could go buy a Deere and not even lose a customer, not that I want to but I know that I could................it's about being smart and taking pride in your work. We all brag about our equipment, we should, they cost a fortune. We don't all slam others for the machines they have and blame the machine for the quality of the finished product.........which is exactly what you were doing.

Have a nice day.

[KerryB]

Well I am not as experienced as some of you but I have used quite a few different machines. All when maintained properly made fine cuts.
However, I have noticed that all the lco's around here run deeres. They run them to the shop quite a lot.
My brother is asst. super at a country club in Southern Pines, they have all JD equipment for now. Over 2 million dollars worth. JD makes fine tractors but everything they make with a blade under it or out front just isnt holding up. True maybe they use them more than any of us would, but if a piece of equipment can hold up to a golf course then it would surely be a great peice for one of us.
I worked in the car business for over 15 years and I know that even with the best of products there are invarably lemons. But the JD's seem to be lemons more times than not.
I believe that the person mowing is as important to the final outcome of the job as the equipment that person is using. Speed is not an issue, if a piece of equipment allows you to be more productive and not sacrifice quality you make more money and isn't that what we do it for?
Just my oppinion, but I could be wrong.
kerry

[John DiMartino]

Point man, the older people tend to associate slow with qualtiy,I se this too,they would rather have a slow riding mower on ther 1 acre for 2 1/2 hrs,scalping,and clumping in circles,than a Dixie that will be on and off in 1/2 hr,trimming included.My neighbor has an old JD 214 tractor,it has a 42" deck,it takes him 3 /13 hrs to mow his 1 1/2 acres,and trim it,it looks terrible when he's done,clumps,scalps,and circles everywhere.I can start a 1/2 hour after him,and finish my 7 acres before him,trimming too,and it looks like a million bucks.My rush job looks 10 times better than his slow quality work,but you could never convince an old fellow that fast can be better.Ive found that no one cares how fast i go,so long as its all mowed,and looks great.Wow,that was fast,and man that looks great are the 2 things I hear most when im done.

[Flex-Deck]

I am with most of you. Give me a cheap light duty mower with sharp blades and a level deck, and I will do OK. Give me my 455 John Deere mowers (over 10,000 bucks) With dull blades and an unlevel deck and the job will be less than acceptable at best.