which lawn mower to buy??

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fishy68

fishy68

Tyr Fryr's Inc.
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I'm looking at new zero turn lawn mowers. $3000 is all I plan to spend and there are a few in that range. I've narrowed it down to either the John Deere Z225, Toro Z4235, or Cub cadet RZT42. Does anybody have any experience with any of these? They all have similar features and are priced within $200 so it's anybodies game at the moment.

Oh yeah, the Cub and Toro have 3 yr. warranties where-as the Deere only has a 2 yr. warranty. Also the Toro has 2 yrs. free financing where-as the other 2 only have a yr. I like the idea of free financing for 2 yrs. That makes it easier to get paid off before they start charging finance charges.

All in all right now I'm leaning towards the Toro because of the longer warranty and 2 yr. free financing but it's a close call.
 
I know that Toro is used by lots of the golf courses around here.... they make a lot of commercial stuff which in my opinion says a lot about their quality. Also, you can get parts for a lot of their older stuff.... Toro would be my vote!
 
TORO All the way
I know they are one of the best, and all the commercial lawn co. use them here and they have some modes the other don't have just because of patent law's
My vote would be the TORO, The Jonesboro country club golf, and the collage uses them
 
My advice ???? Take the $3000.00 and pay someone to do your yard.... Leaves more time to work and play with your cars and family.... Plus you wont be making winter payments on a mower that you are not using..... This is not what I do but wish I did... By the time I Buy new blades every year $45.00 , New battery every other year ( $50.00 ) , Oil , oil filter, air filter , and spark plug, And $3.00 a gallon gas.... Not to mention any other needed repairs (Flat tires , deck bearings ) Plus my time... Am I saving any money ???? Not to mention I hate mowing...... BTW I own a Cub Cadet non ztr mower and its a POC.... Just like any other mower at Lowes or Home Depot !!! JMO..... Cheers..
 
69BCuda-A buddy of mine said he heard Toro parts are easier to get so that echo's your comment.

Mike-I've noticed them at golf courses too and those guys are picky so they must be good.

Thanks for the input guys, Tracy
 
WARRANTY-WARRANTY ,go with the guy that will take care of you the best!!
Bill
 
SleeperScamp said:
My advice ???? Take the $3000.00 and pay someone to do your yard.... Leaves more time to work and play with your cars and family.... Plus you wont be making winter payments on a mower that you are not using..... This is not what I do but wish I did... By the time I Buy new blades every year $45.00 , New battery every other year ( $50.00 ) , Oil , oil filter, air filter , and spark plug, And $3.00 a gallon gas.... Not to mention any other needed repairs (Flat tires , deck bearings ) Plus my time... Am I saving any money ???? Not to mention I hate mowing...... BTW I own a Cub Cadet non ztr mower and its a POC.... Just like any other mower at Lowes or Home Depot !!! JMO..... Cheers..
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I understand your point but I have a pretty good size yard so $3000 won't even pay for doing it for the 2 yrs. I will be paying on the mower. That's why I want to have my own mower. I kinda enjoy cruising on the mower anyway. I looked at them at Lowe's too and you could tell they didn't even use wrenches to tighten the handles. Just flopping loose. Pitiful!! That's why I'm buying for a local lawn mower shop. Wow, you have to replace blades every year? I take them off and sharpen them and only on my second set on my 95 Simplicity. Hopefully I will get one that won't have many problems. My Simplicity has been fantastic. I'd buy another but I haven't seen them in Zero turn. They might make them but there's no dealers around me anymore. Thanks for your input.
 
My dad has 4 acres and has gone through several riding mowers in 20 years. Mechanically the best one he ever had was a Cub Cadet. It ran forever, rarely had any problems and you could get more optional parts for it.
 
Not a John Deere any more around here petty, MTD does them unless you get the yellow mower deck and pay the big price at a John Deere dealer, This happened in 2006 I was told and I looked at them at sears. That green paint job is a good seller, But Like I said you can go to a John Deere tractor dealer and get the good one's still
 
I have a JD 737.

Have had it for 7yrs now and it is awesome.
I had one problem with it.....leaking seal.
They came picked it up and repaired it free of charge.
That was 4 yrs after I bought it and at least 1 yr after the warranty ran out.

$3,000.00 may not get you the best but you should be able to get a decent one. I would even suggest getting a slightly used commercial mower.

I don't know how big your property is but a 48-52 inch deck works awesome and gets the job done quickly.

Also makes your lawn look like a golf course or ball field....leaves sweet lines.

Good luck.
 
i had a lawn care buis. for yrs. and i have owned a grass hopper,sage,and a toro i sold the grass hopper,sage and still have the toro i got it in 1997 and never had any major problem just belts and filters and it still has the or. back tires on it today....but my stuff was for comm. use but toro is a good mower..being said that not all j/d or real j/d they dont use briggs motors they use j/d motors just to let you know...anything with a kaw.or kolar motor and your good to go..you will never go back to a conv. type mower ...just my 2cents
 
I would say Cub . Ihave owned two garden tractors and their tuff no plastic. Probably alittle more then John Deer. If you use it 15 years you'll get your monies worth and more.
 
Don't be swayed by the references to golf courses. The machines they buy are only sold to golf courses and you will never see one on the market. Learned that when I worked on a greenskeeping crew for Berry Hills Country Club. The closest thing to what they have, available on the market, is a Dixie Chopper. FWIW most of the machines Berry Hills had were Toros with Honda engines. I personally use a Lawn Boy that my dad bought in 1979, but that's all I need.
 
All the lower end John Deere equipment (stuff that ISN'T industrial) is NOT made by john deere anymore... It's all contracted out.. I want to say it could be MTD, but I could be wrong.... I'd have to look it up again..
 
Judge Mills said:
All the lower end John Deere equipment (stuff that ISN'T industrial) is NOT made by john deere anymore... It's all contracted out.. I want to say it could be MTD, but I could be wrong.... I'd have to look it up again..
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No I don't think its Mtd, Mtd took over Cub. Mtd does have most of the mower market.
 
If they were all painted the same color, I would go with Toro, no question. The other two are pretty, and with the Deere there is an added pride of ownership, but Toro seems to have the best reputation right now.
FWIW, I just bought one of the new four stroke Lawn Boy rotarys, and I love it. Toro recycler quality AND painted green. Sometimes you can have your cake and eat it too.
 
Why a Zero-turn? I just bought a JD X300 (not the Lowe's model) and it turns on a dime.
 
we have a JD lt 190 its 05 and never had a problem, I mow lawns for people during the summer also, but ours is not a JD nockoff and cost almost $7000 with tax the actual JD tractors are very pricey but you get what you pay for also
 
I have a Cub Cadet 44" ZTR that is about 7 years. I wish i had bought something else.

I bought the commercial model, better deck, but sounds like an airplane taking off.

Fuel tank and throttle on the left side, guess which side you turn against the trees & bushes

How much are you mowing and having to trim around? The ride on a regular mower is better and they have some now with very good turning radius.

One of the biggest problems is I also have a WOODS (AKA Grasshopper) commercial mower to use. It is the difference between night and day.

I agree to buy from local lawn mower shop. Lowes and Home Depot has same brands but different models. I think the ones at mower shop will be a better quality than Lowes, plus at Lowes where do you have to take it for service (what good is warranty if you have to haul it 50 miles to get service).

IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, get to take it for a test ride, run the deck and see which one feels better to you.

I had a JD 955 compact tractor with 3 cyl. diesel at the job before going to Ford. It was a great all around tractor.

Have Kathy get on it, she may be using it too.
 
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