John Deere mower

I am new and want to know if a used John Deere 525 front deck mower will hold up doing smaller residential lawns (1/4 1/2 acre) It has 17 HP Kawasaki and 921 hrs, 48 inch deck. It's the 3 wheel type mower. Price is $1700. Would this be a good starter mower? How does it compare in productivity and ease of use, dependability to, say, a used Walker, Scag, Exmark ztr models? I hope to do about 30-40 lawns a week.<br>Thank you<br><p><font size="1">Edited by: Jerry

 

I don't know about that particular model. does it have a steering wheel?<p>I've heard the steering wheel models aren't as manuverable as the independently steered models.<p>in any event, there are several of the steereing wheel models in use in my area and people seem to like them. however, they are very expensive to purchase new.<p>GEO

 

the 1 he is talking about has no steering wheel

 

I think it has a steering wheel. I'm going to check it out tomorrow. I went to the Deere website and the model 525 has a steering wheel. Do you think it is sufficient as a starter mower if it is in good shape?

 

I thought it had a steering wheel too. It will get the job done, but a ZTR would be lots faster. I've demoed one like that, but I didn't buy it. <p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://pages.prodigy.net/eric.erickson/&quot;&gt;Eric@ELM&lt;/a&gt;<br>

 

Jerry, I have a friend that has two JD 525's with 48&quot; decks (w/mulch kits). Some of his yards are the prettiest around. That mower does a fine job. IMO.<p>Jim

 

THe 5 series are homeowner mowers<br>Commercial mowers are the 6,7,9 series.<br>But, if taken care of , and for tha price, I think you would be alright for a while.<br>If you don't want it let me know. We want it.

 

I think it would be a good starter mower. I know a couple guys that use the 700 series and love them. <br>For $1,700, if it's in good shape, is a great price.

 

O.K., last question. I looked at the John Deere front deck mower today. It looks and runs good. Also am looking at used Lazer a guy wants to sell. If you had very limited funds and were just starting, would you buy the John Deere front deck mower 17hp kawasaki single, 900 hrs, 48&quot; deck $1700 or Lazer z 52&quot; deck 25hp kohler twin, 1400 hrs $2800

 

The Lazer will mow circles around the JD. Go for the Lazer. If you are just starting out the Lazer will get you going and will also provide you with a good back up machine down the road.