Scag advice, please

[Rockcrusher]

I've been shopping seriously for a commercial mower to decrease the mowing time on my property. There is about 5 acres that I prefer to have a groomed look, and the other 11 are cut with a tractor-mounted rotary. The units I had focused on are Exmark or Scag mid-mount 51"/52", and was prepared to purchase a brand new mower, but now there are two in the newspaper for sale that I think are worth looking at:

1. Scag Tiger Cub, 52", 22 HP Kohler, 76 hours, 1999 or 2000 model, $5500.
2. Scag Tiger, 61", 25 HP Kohler, 74 hours, 1999 model, $6500.

I don't have particularly confined yard areas, but storage space requirements, cost, and trying to keep the unit as small as possible (to not intimidate my wife from using it) led me to the mid-mount decision. OTOH, I do realize the Tiger is a heavier duty unit, and probably has a smoother ride.

Is the 61" a flip-up deck? Also, the 61" has a "Bahia deck". Is that just the predicessor to the Advantage deck, or something special? Finally, I understand there may be some reliability issues with the 25 HP Kohler. True?

Both are owned by homeowners, not commercially used, and both have been stored indoors. Opinions please, on which is the better value?

TIA for any responses.
Neal

[ohiolawnguy]

we dont run scags, but we have had both the 22hp, and 25 hp kohler engines.

the 22hp ran fine until it reached just over 2000 hours. then it dropped a cylinder. we sold this mower last year real cheap.

the 25hp is on our power trac utility machine, and has roughly 1100 hours on it. it still runs just like day one.

personally, i prefer a kawasaki engine. but, i cant really complain about the reliability of either kohler engine we have had.

the prices you mention seem to be acceptable if they were maintained properly.

i have a friend who has the 61" tiger it is a 1998 model his doesnt have the flip up deck. as for 1999, and 2000, i dont know.

with the exception of the ferris IS(independent suspension), most commercial midmount riders are similar as far as rolling smoothly goes.

[TFL]

the motors on the scags only having mid 70 hours being a home owner you should(with good service) be able to get years of service out of them.