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New member in need of advice

3K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  Grass Shark 
#1 ·
Hello all,

I am a new member to lawnsite.com and hoping to get some advice about purchasing a zero turn mower. While I was deployed to Afghanistan with the Army, my 25 year old cousin was mowing my lawn for me. Just before being MEDEVACed out, I received a message that my Bowlens riding mower was no longer working. Since I am not sure what happened to it and cannot seem to fix it, I need a new mower. I have about 1.5 acres of Bermuda grass with some hills. I am interested in a zero turn and am considering a Cub Cadet Z-force with a 44" deck and a Kohler Courage 22hp motor. A local dealer has a 2009 left over with .3 hrs on it and I can get it for $3,074 out the door.

Does this sound like a good deal? Does anyone have one of these that they would or would not recommend? Are there any maintenance issues with these mowers?

Thank you,
 
#6 ·
Welcome Home, and thank you for your service.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Yeah I'll spare the usual verbal barrage I reserve for folks barging into the business owner's lounge on account that
you served the country and that I was in the Red Sea in the first desert scramble but you won't be seeing me do that again,
not even for the next guy claims to be a veteran.

That having been said I do believe that $3000 mower your dealer has is a fair deal, not so much a good deal meaning you're not
getting something for nothing, but it's fair, you get what you pay for and it is value for the dollar in that he's not ripping you off,
it's neither over nor under priced, for that kind of machine it's about right because you can look for better but you would have to
be ready to start looking long and hard because you need at least 6 months and you might not find much of anything.

Don't know what to tell you, should you buy it, but I'd certainly add it to my list of definite possibilities.

Peace out.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for your opinion on the mower. As far as barging in on the site as you mentioned, I was not aware it was an owner only site. I may have missed that while registering, it just looked like a place to get unbiased opinions on lawn equipment from folks who actually knew what they are talking about.
 
#10 ·
There is a "Homeowner Assistance" forum but many get confused I think because of the title of this forum, Commercial & Residential Lawn Mowing. One could easily think that questions relating to residential lawn mowing belong here.

I'm not familiar with that particular mower but I think you will find that a zero turn mower is more capable on hills than a lawn tractor. The only thing to keep in mind is that they can also be very dangerous going down hills since most of the weight is on the front wheels and your steering/control is with the rear wheels.

Also, personally I would want something a little bigger than a 44 inch deck for 1.5 acres, but for a homeowner I suppose it would be fine, especially if you have some tight areas and manuevering to do. Keep in mind that in general the wider the mower, the more stable it's going to be on slopes.

But in my opinion you are far better off purchasing your mower from a reputable local dealer than a "big box" store, so it sounds like you're on the right track.
 
#13 ·
You're welcome.

I checked the Cub Cadet web site and don't see a 44 inch model. It looks like they discontinued it; only 48 and 54 inch models are currently listed on their site. But I did a search on the 44 and found a page for that too, presumably an older one. It lists the Engine on the 44 as being a 20 HP though, not a 22HP.

Based on the MSRP and the sale prices listed, the price you were quoted appears to be a bargain regardless.

Here are links to both pages.

http://www.cubcadet.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category2_10051_14101_16200_600000_600000_-1_image

http://www.cubcadet.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10051_14101_10236_33817_-1_33817_33817
 
#16 ·
Thank you for servicing our country and welcome home. From a "commercial" stand point Cub is garbage, but if you are just using it to cut your own lawn and at that price, I guess you could make it work. If you want a higher quality machine I would go with the toro titan or john deere 445. That 44" cutting 1.5 acres will take you forever, I would look for at least a 52". Just my 2 cents, good luck.
 
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