HELP!!! which walk behind to buy??

[TeamYardsale4]

My first of the running my lawncare business is starting to wrap up and I decided I want to add a used walk behind to my fleet and was hoping you guys would give me some insight. Ive never owned one and never used one so I dont really know what im looking for pros and cons. here are my options:

John Deere 36" with 13HP kohler command, belt drive, bagger included, striping kit. looks to be in real good shape and hes asking $1100

Ferris 32" with bagger, belt drive, new recoil and just tuned up. says its only 4 years old and was not used commercially. looks a bit more used then the John Deere. hes asking $850

both say well maintained but obviously if I was to purchase one I would change oil and grease everything all the required maintenance stuff just for piece of mind. ANY AND ALL INFORMATION you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated

[ashgrove landscaping]

Go with the ferris from those two but seriously consider a hydro unit. Everything will be easier and will be immune from weather conditions.

[TeamYardsale4]

Just found out he lied about how old the ferris is tho! After looking at pictures I noticed it looked a bit diff then even the 04 models I was seeing on here! He says he doesn't know how old it is which makes me pretty nervous! Hydro is that much better in wet grass then the belt driven?

[TeamYardsale4]

Am I right thinking those are better quality then say a toro walk behind? There's a few of those for sale near me too for about half the price?? They all seem to be self propelled which I'm assuming is about the same as hydrostatic

[ddixon7]

Hydro is a better for quite a few reasons. They are all good quality. Try and find an Exmark. They have the better handles. Pistol grips suck.

[ashgrove landscaping]

Originally Posted by ddixon7

Hydro is a better for quite a few reasons. They are all good quality. Try and find an Exmark. They have the better handles. Pistol grips suck.

Pistol grips are fine and will give you no problems. Some folks are just softer than others. They were the norm for years back in the 90's and 2000's. That's all we ran for years and were delighted. The young guys these days are soft and still live off their mommy's. and buy big trucks and mowers. We were kicked out at 17-18 depending when you were done high school.

[DA Quality Lawn & YS]

Exmark hydro's are pretty nice. I have much less hand fatigue with the ECS controls. And deck wise, haven't scraped out the deck more than twice the whole season. As compared to my old BOP Quick which was an every day scrape.

[TeamYardsale4]

Well I actually decided not to buy either mowers due to they were both kinda older models (late 90's) and I felt I could find newer for around the same price! I still appreciate all the comments and have a long winter to be in the hunt

[ddixon7]

Originally Posted by ashgrove landscaping

Pistol grips are fine and will give you no problems. Some folks are just softer than others. They were the norm for years back in the 90's and 2000's. That's all we ran for years and were delighted. The young guys these days are soft and still live off their mommy's. and buy big trucks and mowers. We were kicked out at 17-18 depending when you were done high school.

Yeah they were the norm back in the day. I remember using them... When something better comes along, why stay back in time? If you are using your walk behind around 800 hours a year, get the best. They are fine if that is all you have. There are many advantages to ECS is all I'm saying vs. piston grips. No argument.