[billyebrown]

I'm thinking about upgrading from Exmark 48in WB to my first ZTR. I have been looking at mowers in the $5k-$6k range and was wanting some opinions on these mowers. I only do 5 commercial accounts plus 2 acres of my own. I may try to double that next spring. Here is what I'm looking at:

Tiger Cub 48in - Kaw 19hp - $5999
Cub Tank 48S - 19hp - stamped deck - $4999
Cub Tank 48 - Kaw 19hp - $5799
Ferris 1000z 62in - Kaw 23hp - $5999
John Deere 717 48in - Kaw 19hp - $6299
Exmark CT 48in - 18 Kohler - $5399

Also I live in the Central KY area (about 30 miles south of Louisville in Nelson County) and was wondering on Dealers any would suggest to visit or stay away from and how far is to far for a dealer. The Ferris because of the deck size and full 2 yr warranty(however not much word of mouth to go by) is probably the leader with Scag(because of reputation) next but they are all pretty close. Any opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks...

 

[WESLEY BROWN]

Hey I just wanted to say that the Ferris Looks like the best deal, but you need to make sure that you are getting the same type of seat, stripping kit, ect. I have heard that there is a little bit of a reliablity issue with them, becuase of all the moving parts. I do not own one so you might try a search on them. Do you have any Exmark Or Gravely Dealers near you.

 

[billyebrown]

That's what worries me regarding the Ferris as well. There doesn't seem to be a lot of Ferris owners on this forum but from what I have found it is pretty good.

The Ferris dealer said that Ferris are really big in St Louis area like Exmark and Scag are here.

I Do have a local Exmark dealer but I have not had the best of dealings with him but that is mainly dealing with car repairs (He is an auto repair shop/Lawn Equipment Dealer) so I am a little leary.

I know the Scag dealer here locally and he is a good guy as far as I know. The Ferris dealer is about 40 minutes away but he is a Platinum dealer. There is a Ferris dealer here but he has only been selling them for a year so he wasn't much help.

 

[costcutter]

you might want to go to exmark site and compare, the reason I say that is the ct is a good mower but a single valve engine, the hp might be 800 dollars more but you get a lot more, twin valve engines for one and even if you only cut 10 yards up from 5 the twin valve motor will help.

 

[work_it]

Sorry to all of you who own Scags. I love their w/b, but their Z's..........you can keep those. The Scag dealer here always braggs about their reliability, but alot of the lco's here are selling them off due to too much down time. They've told me that they're either going with Exmark or Hustler.

 

[TRex]

Check out http://www.wrightmfg.com they offer seasonal discounts under what is called channel partner discounts. They have the sentar which is the shortest rider and the stander which is the shorter than any mower of its class. I have demoed the 52" stander with the 17hp and it was great it was more than what I need right now, but if you don't mind standing which is what are bodies are made for check out the stander. Demo all of your main selections before you unlode the cash to see which one your going to feel most comfortable on.

Also I love my Exmark and you can get better deals from the star dealers than a regular service dealer, go to the website and find out where the closest star dealer is and try to get on his good side.

 

[WESLEY BROWN]

It sure would be nice to have a dealer that offered everything and demoed it.:blob4:

 

[qualitylandscaping]

I just bought a John Deere 717 on Saturday and I love it so far!!
I got mine for $5849 + tax..

I also demoed the Lazer Z CT, but thought it was alittle too small for what I need. It felt more like a homeowner model to me, which is what eXmark calls it anyway. The Cub Cadet felt the same as the Lazer CT.. Never got to demo a tiger cub. Didn't have any in stock and the sale price was still, in my opinion too expensive. The Ferris is not very comfortable unless you get the Independent Suspension model.

Out of all of those I would recommend either the JD 717 or the eXmark (if you are tight on budget). You will also get a free striping kit with the eXmark.

Here's a picture of my deere!

 

[qualitylandscaping]

Striping pic from today Using the 717 48"

 

[John Gamba]

Try the CT,You can get the stiping roller and the foot deck lift, The deck is what they put on there lazerHP 48.
John

 

[wissel_landscaping]

I have 4 ztr's 2 scag tigers 1 tiger cub and a tank.
out of the 4 all being bone stock the tank blows the other 3 away
i bought the 54" deck with the honda engine i have been running it for a couple of months and not one single problem yet, the tanks quality of cut and the striping is far superior than the scags
before i bought the tank i demoed a J.D, A encore prowler, and a gravely. the encore was the one i like the least. i choose the tank
mainly for the price $7,200 the quality of the cut, user friendly, and with the honda engine you get twin 7 1/2 gallon tanks. plus the cub cadet dealer is right down the street from me.
the J.D dealer was an --- he's also the encore dealer. the cub cadet guys were great. my tiger cub is a 03 with 200hrs. on it and its been in the shop more times than i can count the same goes for my tigers i am sick of the scags and the dealer here has horrible customer service. i'm considering trading my scags for a couple more tanks.

 

[greasy_gun]

Grasshopper has a promotional price going on the 220 20 hp kohler w 52 inch deck...$6299.00:blob2:

 

[greasy_gun]

Grasshopper has a promotional price going on the 220 20 hp kohler w 52 inch deck...$6299.00:blob2:

 

[Lawnalternatives]

Exmark hands down. I live in Louisville and here is my Exmark dealer...

The Mower Shop on Preston Highway. Ask for Brian (the owner)and tell him that Jeremy sent you. He has more Exmark stuff than Carter has liver pills. Service kicks a**.

I talked to Hill's in Bardstown, but they didn't seem too up on things. I had mowed with Scag w/bs for 3 years and Exmark all this summer. The quality and refinement of there mowers is very hard to beat. If you had a LazerZ HP sitting beside a Tiger Cub, you could really tell a great big difference. Noise, feel, comfort.

Just another opinion.

 

[WESLEY BROWN]

Hey wissel_landscaping what Gravely unit did you demo and how cool was your dealer? I like the tank also, but I am not sure how will everything bolted on the machine is going to hold up. Be sure to make sure that any unit you look at has the same features and then compare pricing.

 

[qualitylandscaping]

Just for those of you who don't know.. The Lesco Z-Two and the Cub Cadet Tank are the exact same machine...

 

[homerescue]

new 2003 toro 255 25 kohler 62" cut foot lift and jack stand. $6500.00. Hope i didn't get burnt on price

 

[WESLEY BROWN]

Thanks I did not know that. There is a lot that I do not know.

 

[wissel_landscaping]

wesley
i demoed the gravely152z 52", 23hp kawasaki 10 gallon fuel tank. the gravely guys were cool and it was a very nice machine
i choose the tank over this one mainly because the tank has a 24hp honda (i wanted the honda engine) 54" and 15 gallon fuel tank.

I was going to demo a superZ the scag dealer is also the hustler dealer he told me and i dont know if its true or not but he said that my scag tigers are a step above the superZ he said it is a nice mower but the tigers can do a little more and i dont like my tigers plus they are the only hustler dealer around here and i dont want to deal with them anymore so i didnt demo it.

 

[fivestarlawnken]

Wissel -------what part of ohio are you in>???????