Hoping to purchase a new mower soon, opinions?

[mike1589]

Hey guys, I'm new to this forum but I have done ALOT of reading on here, and there seems to be a lot of people with great opinions and information. Ive had a real small landscaping business for a little bit, im up to about 10 accounts this year. I havent been trying to expand (it was just side work before) but Im about to start advertising a lot and spreading the word to get my name out there. I currently just have an exmark 48" turf tracer walk behind, however its becoming surprisingly inefficient. Ive sharpened the blades and what not, I just have to cut very slow for it to give a good quality cut, and Im still not happy with the final product. Once I get 20 or so regular mowing account a week, Id like to look into purchasing a new mower. Just looking for some feedback on which direction to go, id like a little bigger deck, Ive mostly been looking at the Scag Cheetah, but I was wondering how the new exmarks are as well. Mines getting a little older now, probably about 8 years, ive only owned it a year and it was used commercially (every single day all day) for probably the first 4 years of its life, and like I said it just takes too long to get the job done and im not very happy with the end result. Just looking for any feedback, opinions, information, anything helps. Thanks everyone

[Cat 320D LRR]

if you have 20-30 accounts id say go with a 52in or so deck if your looking scag check out the tiger cub or wildcat with a 52in deck if you look used there are some 56in exmark lazer but the new scags do stripe very nice

[mike1589]

Havent really looked into any of the other scag models im actually gonna check them out right now, i had been looking at the Cheetah with the 72" deck but I think that may be a little crazy for what i do right now, might end up getting in my way more than helping. As far as the exmark I think the way mine cuts kind of scared me away from buying a brand new one, however my exmark runs awesome and I know they have a great reputation, I just seem to hear people talking about a much better cut with scag..

[Blade Runners]

52" would be about right and is a pretty versatile deck size. I have cut 2+ acre properties down to 7600 sq ft with my 52" V-Ride. I just bought a 36" Scag SWZ hydro walk behind because I feel the 52" is a little too big for my smallest accounts, plus I needed something for for hilly accounts.

There is no way I would buy a 72" if it was the only mower I had. I tend to go for versatility in a mower and try to buy based on how many accounts I can use the mower on. I might be able to mow a 2+ acre property in alot less time with a 72" (maybe some scalping too) but I would be spinning in circles on a 7600 sq ft property.

Versatility is the reason I went with the Scag brand also. They cut very well in a wide range of cutting conditions and are known to be built very rugged. So far I have been very impressed by them.

From what I've read, the Cheetah is a very nice machine. I would love to have one and can afford it but I just can't justify the cost for the amount of accounts I have. One day I will have one but that day won't come until my accounts justify it. One thing to keep in mind is that this is a low profit margin business and it is hard to pay for a 10-11k mower and make a profit cutting $35 yards.

[TheBetterDoorhanger]

I know you mentioned that you may be doing some advertising pretty soon and i just wanted to through out my name. I'm Glenda and I'm with A'Deas Printing. We do several different types of print advertising. We have specials on door hangers and a few on direct mail as well. So if you are needing any printing done check us out. We have great products with new innovative ideas that help keep your piece noticed and not tossed in the trash or blown in the yard. our website is www.adeasprinting.com but you can also call me at 1-866-778-4254 or shoot me an email at anytime for more info glenda@adeasprinting.com

[mike1589]

You have a good point, I wasnt really thinking about hills and scalping either. the 72" is definitely too big for me now that I'm thinking about it. I do like what scag has to offer though, and like you said ive heard great things about their cut in different conditions such as wet grass. The cheetah probably is a little costly to justify right now, or even in the near future, I just have to do something about my mower soon, its taking me far too long to get lawns done. I may try just giving it another tune up and some new blades and see what that does, and look into a lower model scag when the time comes

[Blade Runners]

Check out Scags V-Ride. I am very happy with mine and I feel it is a productive mower without being too expensive. I actually have fun mowing with mine and can't wait to put it on our larger properties and open it up. If you have hilly peroperties you can still use your walk behind for those.

[mike1589]

If u dont mind me asking, roughly how much do the v rides go for new? Do they stripe nice?
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[Blade Runners]

There is not much striping going on where I'm at in TN, but on some of the nicer lawns it stripes well. Overall they are known to stripe very well though.

I gave $6783 OTD and that includes 9.5% sales tax. Scag was running a 20% off special when I picked mine up. Call around because prices fluctuated by 4-$500 just in a 50 mile radius from where I live. One of the dealers even told me there was no way he could sell at the price I was getting mine for because it was at or below dealer cost. He was full of sh!t unless Scag runs specials then makes the dealers eat the 20%.

[mike1589]

doesnt sound to bad for a brand new mower, ill definitely check them out