Help Deciding on Equipment

[Sam's Mowing]

In the spring I plan on starting a lawn maintenance business. I am 16 years old and I have been researching equipment and reading forums for the last 6 or 7 months. My local dealer sells Scag and Ferris. I am undecided between the Scag Cheetah and the Ferris IS2000z. My dealer recommends the Ferris because of the suspension and more comfortable ride, but the majority of people online recommend the Scag. Also the other equipment I plan on purchasing is the Stihl Br600, the Stihl FS-90r, and the Stihl FC-95. I have already made a down payment on a 7' x 10' enclosed trailer and am currently looking for a truck. I would really appreciate any advice, suggestions, or comments on how you feel about the equipment I am looking at, or point me in the right direction if you feel I need it.

Thanks in advance.

[nnusskern]

Your putting out alot of money without any clients. It also sounds like your financing which i would advise against especially when your first start. I would personality just buy your handhelds and a small walk behind or 21 inch to start.
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[Sam's Mowing]

Originally Posted by nnusskern

Your putting out alot of money without any clients. It also sounds like your financing which i would advise against especially when your first start. I would personality just buy your handhelds and a small walk behind or 21 inch to start.
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I have a toro 21" super recycler already that I just bought this year for my house but I will be using that also. And I have about half of the total cost of all of the equipment, saved up from working during my summers. I will be financing the zero turn but that is it. And I already have a backup plan incase I absolutely need to make a payment or something along those lines.

[SRT8]

Originally Posted by Sam's Mowing

In the spring I plan on starting a lawn maintenance business. I am 16 years old and I have been researching equipment and reading forums for the last 6 or 7 months. My local dealer sells Scag and Ferris. I am undecided between the Scag Cheetah and the Ferris IS2000z. My dealer recommends the Ferris because of the suspension and more comfortable ride, but the majority of people online recommend the Scag. Also the other equipment I plan on purchasing is the Stihl Br600, the Stihl FS-90r, and the Stihl FC-95. I have already made a down payment on a 7' x 10' enclosed trailer and am currently looking for a truck. I would really appreciate any advice, suggestions, or comments on how you feel about the equipment I am looking at, or point me in the right direction if you feel I need it.

Thanks in advance.

I have a SCAG Cheetah, and it has by far the best ride of any mower that i have tried. We paid over $10k for the mower, is that in your budget? I hope you have some good size accounts to pay for this mower. Why not get a used Scag freedom Z? or Tiger Cub? they are about half the price

[Sam's Mowing]

Originally Posted by MSlandco

I have a SCAG Cheetah, and it has by far the best ride of any mower that i have tried. We paid over $10k for the mower, is that in your budget? I hope you have some good size accounts to pay for this mower. Why not get a used Scag freedom Z? or Tiger Cub? they are about half the price

I have thought about buying used... But I've been told that if I am in it for the long run I will be better off buying new. And yes $10k is in my budget, I have a lot of money saved up (compared to my friends who also work) and my dealer offered me a good financing plan if I buy my trimmers and blowers from him in the future. What size cheetah do you have?

[SRT8]

Originally Posted by Sam's Mowing

I have thought about buying used... But I've been told that if I am in it for the long run I will be better off buying new. And yes $10k is in my budget, I have a lot of money saved up (compared to my friends who also work) and my dealer offered me a good financing plan if I buy my trimmers and blowers from him in the future. What size cheetah do you have?

I have a 61" Cheetah with a mulching kit and a stripping kit.

Buying new is always good but you can always find good deals on used.
I just recently bought a Scag Freedom Z with only 8 hours for $2500 on Craigslist. I also purchased a 36" Scag walk behind hydro for $1500 on craigslist and it was also in great shape. There are a lot of companies that go out of business and are forced to sell off their equipment, keep your eyes open for it and take advantage of it.

[nnusskern]

What about clients? Not trying to be an a$$hole but without any clients you just have a bunch of pretty equipment to play with on your own yard. Do you have any yet or any kind of advertising plan?
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[orangemower]

Originally Posted by nnusskern

What about clients? Not trying to be an a$$hole but without any clients you just have a bunch of pretty equipment to play with on your own yard. Do you have any yet or any kind of advertising plan?
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To me this is a oxymoron. How can you have customers if you don't have equipment to do the job? It's a gamble you have to take to get started. I did it. In two years I dropped a cool 30K but it's all paid for now after a 5th season. Once I got what I needed to do a professional job, I seeked out clients.

[Sam's Mowing]

Originally Posted by orangemower

To me this is a oxymoron. How can you have customers if you don't have equipment to do the job? It's a gamble you have to take to get started. I did it. In two years I dropped a cool 30K but it's all paid for now after a 5th season. Once I got what I needed to do a professional job, I seeked out clients.

Exactly what I am planning on doing. Get the equipment and make sure I am totally ready to get started before getting clients. That way if anything happens, or I am unable to get the money or the equipment, my clients are screwed over.

[Greyst1]

Get the Ferris IS2000. You will be glad you did, the 2000 will leave just as nice of a cut and its lighter than the cheetah. It's more comfortable plus it's less expensive. I have several threads on Ferris. To me, they have the best Ztr's right now.
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