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odd idea of mine?

2K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  Accu-cut Lawn Care 
#1 ·
i was flipping through my j Thomas cat and got a idea. would it be economically feasibly to just buy all the parts from them and build you own ex-mark or scag, or ect?
 
#8 ·
Neat idea..... and you could do it, but economically feasible, I doubt it.

Many years ago I managed a collision shop, and once, during a slow spell, I decided to figure out what it would cost to buy the parts and assemble a car. I don't remember the exact model, I think it was a mid sized Chevy that sold new for about 12k. In the test, I priced the parts with my discount (about20%) and I didn't figure the labor into the total. The total was somewhere around 17k just for parts and I'm sure there would be a lot of incidentals that were not in there. Keep in mind that this did not include the labor cost to put it together. I suspect that the same would be true for your mower idea. The parts travel through too many hands to make it viable.

But if you have time to kill, get your calculator out and sharpen your pencil. Then let us know for sure. :usflag:

Dan
 
#9 ·
I buy alot from J Thomas. Belts, bearings, switches, clutch, alot of the working parts. Some of it like the chasis, cutter deck, fuel tanks, Im not sure they even have. Wheel motors, pumps and engine would be 3500.00 +. So buying out right would proly be cheaper. But it would be fun to build your own, if a person had the time.
 
#10 ·
margins are higher on parts than whole goods. This is true for virtually any industry. There is no way it would be economically feasible. The freight alone would eat you up on a frame and all the parts, not to mention the labor and guaranteed incidentals like parts ordered screwups. And you wouldn't have a warranty or a professional setup by a dealer.
 
#18 ·
I'm sure it would cost more but even if it came out about right as far as I know they don't sell ALL the parts you'd need...
For my own machines they sell roughly half, and some are more complete than others but that's after doing a lot of cross-referencing meaning I take my chances getting the wrong part, too...

Lessons learned: Don't diss your dealer :p


Other notes:
How can a deck be 2,500 when the whole mower goes for 3-4?
Is that for real, I know they're not cheap but that's just BS
 
#19 ·
I'm sure it would cost more but even if it came out about right as far as I know they don't sell ALL the parts you'd need...
For my own machines they sell roughly half, and some are more complete than others but that's after doing a lot of cross-referencing meaning I take my chances getting the wrong part, too...

Lessons learned: Don't diss your dealer :p

Other notes:
How can a deck be 2,500 when the whole mower goes for 3-4?
Is that for real, I know they're not cheap but that's just BS
Well I was talking about a real mower, not a play one. A Scag Velocity Plus deck is easily $3000.
 
#20 ·
What would really be fun is doing it like Johnny Cash... "One piece at a time". Using parts from different model years to build it. Or better yet, parts from different brands. You could end up with a FerToScagmark. :laugh:

Dan
no take features from all brands you like to have on your mower. toro mower controls scag advantage deck and exmark deck floaters, dixie chopper wheel speed, ect
 
#21 ·
LOL. If you succeed, you'll be right up there with BOP! They do it, why can't you!:usflag: Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
 
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