For a few hundred more you can get a brandnew one at home chepo (depot) and if it is a left over you may be able to bargain them down.

The homeowner models are not made to have tons of hours before they start to require maintenance.

If you can swing 1500, try to get a few hundred more together and get a new one from either Lowes or Home Depot.

Just my opinion....

 

They have the z4200 listed at $2,499. Do you think it is worth an extra thousand to get a new one?

 

How does the used mower look?
You can usually tell if a residential unit has been abused by its general cosmetic condition.
I don't think it' a bad deal if you can tell it was taken care of.
These units have the best quality of cut there is for residential use.

 

Honestly, I never once looked at buying a residential ZTR since this is my business commercial is all I know.

From what has been said around here, those machines are not made for many more than 100 or 150 hours because as a residential customer, you are not going to be mowing all day every day and putting 8 or more hours a day on your mower. It will still last for years with a 100 or more hours to put on it but for someone to have put 80 hours on it in a short time, did he use it for more that is was made for?

Residential mowers are simply not made to hold up to the rigorous tasks that they are put to as commercial mowers.

Buy new if you can swing it, buy from a real Toro dealer or John Deere dealer if you can! You will get far better support in the end if you do.

 

It looks like it was well taken care of. The owner even had written down on the manual all the services that had been preformed on it. As far as the hours go, I am estimating based on the seller telling me that his late father used it the '05, '06, and part of the '07 seasons. He had about 1.5 acre lot. I dont know exactly how long it took him to mow it. You guys would probably have a better idea of how long that would take. Thanks for all the input though. I mow my yard now with a 30" John Deere rear engine and it takes me about 1 1/2 hours, so I am expecting the time to be cut in half.

 

I think that the Z420 and has a 16hp is discontinued?? and the one in Home Cheapo now is the Z4200 with a 19hp. I have looked at these and I still do when I am shoping at the Depot and to me they just don't look well built. That does not mean that they will not last. But if you look at a entry level Hustler residential you can see the difference for a little over a thousand more than the Toro residentials. But in any case I think now you are looking at two different machines, but I would probably go with the newer with a bigger engine and different design. Stop buy a Toro dealer and see if you can get a better price.

 

I mow my yard now with a 30" John Deere rear engine and it takes me about 1 1/2 hours, so I am expecting the time to be cut in half.

It really depends on the forward speed and cutting width of the unit to be able to cut your time in half. The residentials only will go so fast, usually 5 to maybe 6 mph, if that, commercial avg around 8mph and greater. If it were a comm unit, Id say go for it. The residential unit will still have some life in it but may need more attention down the road then you initially encountered.

 

It should work good for you. Not for use on rough turf though...

 

Because my neighbors see my Ferris 1500IS they bring me their mowers for odds and ends of maintenance. My next door neighbor has had her Z4200 in the shop for lots of work. I took over some of the minor work as she's a single mom trying to get back on her feet after booting an abusive drunk husband. The 4200 has a really cheap deck and spindles, Everything, and I mean everything, is very difficult to get at for PM. The Briggs motor isn't worth beans either. The hydros have barely enough response to move the thing left, right and forward It's only 3 yrs old and the local repair shop (Not a dealer) has really ripped her off. I hate when businessmen rip off women for major repairs when they aren't needed. I tell her all the time to get rid of the junk that drunk ole man of hers bought and buy a real mower that'll last long passed this thing.
Long story shortened...I'll never go back to homeowner machines again. Heavier decks, better engineering in the motors, much better hydro pumps, thicker blades, higher blade tip speed...The list just goes on and on. Spend another grand and never buy another mower in your life. Worst case scenario...you sell the mower when you sell the property, usually for the same amount you payed for it, too.