Newbe, Help me decide

[keno]

Ok,

Im a homeowner with 4 acres of thick healthy irragated fertlized grass, thast Im getting sick of mowing every 4 days with my Craftsman Garden tractor. It clumps, the deck is a pain to clean and so on.

Which machine should I be looking at?

Ive attached a pic of 1/3 of my front lawn(hilly part)

Im looking for the best value and a machine that will work for me. I may also go pick up 1 neigbors lawn to help offset the cost. But then I may not either :)

Ive checked the paper I saw 1 ad for a 2 yr old Toro with a 23HP air coled 62" deck with 100 hrs for 6300 or the dealer has new ones for 7K for a 52" deck.

Ive noticed most of the commercial guys are using Exmark or Toros in this area .

Can anyone point me to what I should be looking at. And yes Im a little anal about my yard

Ken

[tiedeman]

Ask the dealers if you can test it out the mowers first. If they say no, then move onto someone else

[EastProLawn]

For a home owner, I would buy the Toro ( not the one @ home depot ) go to a Toro dealer.

[keno]

East Pro,

If I can ask why the Toro vs the Exmark or something else?

Any comments about that one used unit I mentioned as far as value

[pryker]

2 Months ago I was in the same situation as you. 3.5 acres of healthy green stuff growing like wild fire and I was using a Scotts (John Deere) 42" home depot special lawn tractor.

So... I started doing research (intensive). I concluded that for my size yard to be able to knock it out in 2 hours or less I needed a 60" ZTR. Did more research and demoed... Long story short: I purchased a Exmark Lazer Z with a 60" deck and a 27 HP Kohler. It took a few cuts to get used to it (stay away from the ditch) but now I can cut the lawn in 1 hour and 50 minutes. I timed it.

I am a lawn fanatic... this is my drug!! I also went out and just bought this: http://www.jrcoinc.com/spreader.html I bought the electric broadcast spreader for fert and seed and such. No more walking for me :-)

Get a ZTR at least 52" and you will be happy!!!!

[JHE]

Hustler is having a sale you cannot beat. Z with a 25Kawasaki and 60" deck for @$7,000. I was looking at the exmark but could not touch one for that price. Folks here are going to push you towards the smaller commercial line of both exmark and Hustler but if you have the $ don't go down that road. If you plan on mulching get the most horsepower you can. As for hills, both the Hustler and Exmark would work just don't mow the hill when it is wet.

[keno]

JHE,

Is that a local sale, those #s seem very good. Any documentation anywhere for the sale

Thanks

[seb442]

That is what I have been quoted the past 2 weeks on a Hustler Z 60" cut with 25 KAW. 7,800 on Super Z 60"cut with Honda 24 HP engine. There is a dealer rebate on Mini z's and above of 1300 until the end of May. The Fastrack has 700 dealer rebate till end of May. My dealer also told me this past Saturday that on June 1 there will be new and different financing.

[blaze347]

I have a Hustler Z-60",23hp Kaw. Great mower. Find a dealer in your area and take one for a spin. By the way, the above pricing sounds great. Does it have a suspension seat?

[seb442]

The Hustler Z for 7,000 did not have a suspensions seat. They said they would trade up to one for an extra $350.00. The Super Z 60" cut with Honda 24 HP did have the suspension seat.

[blaze347]

Seb442
You should be able to get a Z, 23kaw, sus.seat, 60" for tax total of $6900.

[keno]

Blaze,

You said,
You should be able to get a Z, 23kaw, sus.seat, 60" for tax total of $6900.

Are you saying I should beable to get a Std Z with a 23 Kawi 60" deck with a Susp seat for 6900 +tax or incl tax.

Ive seen that deal 6900 for a 25Kawi but w/o the seat


Ken

[blaze347]

I just bought one(Z,23kaw,susp. seat) for $6600 plus 6% sales tax in Indiana,=$7000
His sales tax rate is 4.25% for a total of $6900.
I thought it was a great deal, every other dealer I went to wanted about $300-$500 more for the same specs.

[mowhigh]

Keno, I'll throw out 2 more for you to consider: the Country Clipper Charger (flip-up deck for easy cleaning, single joystick for effortless steering and pivoting front axle and 24x12 tires for a smooth ride) and the EverRide Warrior (super-power and the 8" tall tapered deck is the meanest around). The 23hp 60" Charger is $6185 (25/60 is $6385). The Warrior is also offering attractive intro pricing.
Good luck!

[dvmcmrhp52]

Keno,
If you are not going to shy away from spending 7 grand on a mower you have many,many excellent options to choose from.
Check out the mower manufacturers that advertise here at Lawnsite just to give you a taste...........there are many others out there as well. Get yourself a free subscription to turf magazine as well. If you are truly anal about your lawn you can gain some great knowledge as well as find many equipment manufacturers in this magazine.

Speaking of anal..........If you like your lawn that much and want it to look good....................Ya need to learn how to do some better striping in normal directions..................not circles..........Just busting on you,but serious to a degree as well,a nicely striped lawn adds proffesionalism to the look. JMO.

[seb442]

I took delivery of a new Ferris 3000 61" with Kolher 27 hp yesterday. Best I could do on price was $8,449. Mowed great. Rode even better. Only missed 3 blades of grass and that may have been driver error. The only bad thing I found during first use was that it cuts up the grass so fine the wind catches it sometimes and blows the grass back in my face-eyes. I guess it is human nature to be unhappy about something.:rolleyes:

First time to mow with a ZTR and it took me between 1 3/4 and 2 hours to mow about 3 acres. Using a JD LT133 it would take between 4.5 and 5 hours to mow same amount. I LIKE IT.