How to build up a repair savings for future repair needs on your mowing and other equipment.

A

Auto Doc's

Lawn Addict
Hello Folks,

This may sound odd to some of you out there, but no one ever plans for their equipment to have problems or break down. (Until it happens)

So, what's the plan?

Every time you run your rider, push/ self-propelled mower, generator or weed eater put $10-20.00 dollars away in an envelope for safe keeping.

It is amazing how little the parts costs hurt when it comes time to face a repair, especially if you can do it yourself.

This method works very well and keeps a person's anxiety and blood pressure down during times of minor crisis.

Aside from that, this money can also be partially utilized for needed servicing to keep your machines in top condition.

With the rising cost of goods, services and materials all the time, it is better to have a game plan in place and stick to it.

I've used this plan for many years for my equipment and vehicles, and it works.

The key is to be disciplined and never "borrow" from your stash meant for this purpose, because the mind has a way of creating false emergencies for "convenience" at times.
 
Auto Doc's said:
Hello Folks,

This may sound odd to some of you out there, but no one ever plans for their equipment to have problems or break down. (Until it happens)

So, what's the plan?

Every time you run your rider, push/ self-propelled mower, generator or weed eater put $10-20.00 dollars away in an envelope for safe keeping.

It is amazing how little the parts costs hurt when it comes time to face a repair, especially if you can do it yourself.

This method works very well and keeps a person's anxiety and blood pressure down during times of minor crisis.

Aside from that, this money can also be partially utilized for needed servicing to keep your machines in top condition.

With the rising cost of goods, services and materials all the time, it is better to have a game plan in place and stick to it.

I've used this plan for many years for my equipment and vehicles, and it works.

The key is to be disciplined and never "borrow" from your stash meant for this purpose, because the mind has a way of creating false emergencies for "convenience" at times.
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Sounds good in theory, however, since many people are broke, would rarely work in reality. Ask random cashiers and clerks what percentage of customers pay cash versus using debit/credit and cash apps and you will be surprised.
 
Hello M.,

I understand what you are saying. There has been a big effort in recent years to eliminate or reduce cash transactions and automate everything and watching a store cashier struggle to count back change lately has become a form of entertainment.

Some people think I'm crazy when I tell them up front, I only accept cash. A few of them get frustrated because now they have to go somewhere to withdraw money or cash a check to pay their bill when they pick up their equipment.

With older ranchers & farmers and the like, it's not a problem, they expect to pay in cash. It's their kids that want me to take a credit or debit card for everything. I am tired of paying the processing "convenience" fees or having customers complain because I have to add it to their bill.

Down here in my area of rural South Texas, older people still deal in cash a lot of the time. It's much of the younger generation who have no concept of good spending and savings habits.
 
This is really solid advice and honestly one of those things nobody teaches you when you buy your first mower. Most folks find out the hard way when a spindle bearing lets go in July and they are looking at 300 bucks they did not budget for.
Something I would add to the envelope method, if you can stand a bit more structure, is to actually break the savings into two buckets. One for consumables (blades, air filters, spark plugs, belts, oil) which you know are going to hit every year like clockwork, and one for genuine repairs (spindles, hydro fluid, deck rebuilds, engine work) which are the unpredictable ones. The first bucket you can pretty accurately estimate at maybe 50 to 100 bucks a year per machine, the second one is the pad against the surprise.
The other side of the coin is preventive maintenance actually does most of the heavy lifting for keeping repair costs low. Sharpen blades twice a season, change oil at the end of every season instead of the start, blow out the cooling fins under the shroud every couple mows in summer, and check tire pressures monthly. Those four things eliminate probably 70 percent of the calls to the small engine shop. Not glamorous but way cheaper than fixing a warped head from a clogged cooling system.
One more thing that has saved me a lot of dollars over the years is buying quality replacement parts the first time. Cheap aftermarket blades from the big box stores wear twice as fast and unbalance faster, cheap Chinese carbs give you a season if you are lucky. Spending 25 instead of 10 on a blade or 120 instead of 40 on an OEM carb pays back within one season in avoided callbacks. There is a decent rundown of current mower options with notes on parts availability at this current lawn mower rundown that might help folks thinking about how repairable their next machine actually is, since that is a real factor in long-term cost too.
Good post to make people think about this before something breaks. Most people set aside money for the car and the house and forget the outdoor gear entirely.
 
kuldeepbaswal said:
This is really solid advice and honestly one of those things nobody teaches you when you buy your first mower. Most folks find out the hard way when a spindle bearing lets go in July and they are looking at 300 bucks they did not budget for.
Something I would add to the envelope method, if you can stand a bit more structure, is to actually break the savings into two buckets. One for consumables (blades, air filters, spark plugs, belts, oil) which you know are going to hit every year like clockwork, and one for genuine repairs (spindles, hydro fluid, deck rebuilds, engine work) which are the unpredictable ones. The first bucket you can pretty accurately estimate at maybe 50 to 100 bucks a year per machine, the second one is the pad against the surprise.
The other side of the coin is preventive maintenance actually does most of the heavy lifting for keeping repair costs low. Sharpen blades twice a season, change oil at the end of every season instead of the start, blow out the cooling fins under the shroud every couple mows in summer, and check tire pressures monthly. Those four things eliminate probably 70 percent of the calls to the small engine shop. Not glamorous but way cheaper than fixing a warped head from a clogged cooling system.
One more thing that has saved me a lot of dollars over the years is buying quality replacement parts the first time. Cheap aftermarket blades from the big box stores wear twice as fast and unbalance faster, cheap Chinese carbs give you a season if you are lucky. Spending 25 instead of 10 on a blade or 120 instead of 40 on an OEM carb pays back within one season in avoided callbacks. There is a decent rundown of current mower options with notes on parts availability at this current lawn mower rundown that might help folks thinking about how repairable their next machine actually is, since that is a real factor in long-term cost too.
Good post to make people think about this before something breaks. Most people set aside money for the car and the house and forget the outdoor gear entirely.
Click to expand...
Most people these days, 2 out of 3, cannot pay for an unexpected cost/repair for around $1000. So no, they are not setting aside money for unexpected problems on the house, car, outdoor power equipment, or anything for that matter. People, like the United States, are broke and in debt.
 
As Auto Doc say it is not that hard put back little each time unless can't up a vice every once. It is the same with loans pay a little more than minimum payment when can and stop borrow from all the pay day loan companies.

I had customer and friend that got sucker into this scheme. They just keep sending him checks in the mail for him to cash. First I got him to stop cashing those checks and to start sending a little extra each month on payments. It took nearly a year to get him out of debit. He paid nearly 15K on a 5K loan. I would even loan some cash each so he could make to payday of his SS check.

The best thing is give up some of the vices every month so you have the extra money. Say one less case of beer or one less steak every month is an example. It called being savvy with your expenses. And for me I have to be since I am on a fixed income.
 
Here's what I would suggest for reducing operation and maintenance and related expenses on on types of vehicles and equipment. #1.) stop using petroleum based oils and replace with quality synthetic lubricants. (2.) Use appropriate gasoline or diesel fuel additives because if you do not then issues will result in premature wear in this category a well. (3.) Finally, in the finance category, Initiating a dealer account at http://rudyhiebert.myamsoil.ca has the potential to create commissions from your dealer account. If you would like more information I will get your email to [email protected]om
 
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Years ago and buddy of mine would save up money if he needed or wanted something. For instance if he wanted a new mower he would grab a new envelope and write, New Mower on it. He may have a half dozen envelopes going at the same time.
 
When I started my lawn care business and had break downs, I'd see how much it cost to repair, and if I could buy the tool for the price or less or even a bit more, I bought the tool and did the job... there being I had the tool for the next time.
Over the years I accumulated everything including a machine shop to repair the so called unrepeatable parts. I would engineer priority parts to parts I could buy off the shelf. All my repairs are now done in house, which has been a huge savings.
The last mow mower I bought was in 2000 and still going strong.
On my web page you'll find where I built my own mower deck that was twice the thickness of the original. I had about $1000 into steel.
I also won't give the middle man free money buy using credit card apps.
You can see the mower deck build on my website monroelawncare.com
I hope this gives you guys some ideas to keep more of what you earn in your pocket and have a lot of equity in tools when your done.
You can educate yourself on YouTube in things like machining and auto repair and fabricating.
This may not be for everyone, but I've been in the business for 44 years and it work out great for me.
 
All good advice. My particular vice is "extras". Meaning: finding a reputable online parts dealer and stock up on the consumables. Granted you don't usually have spare heads, carbs, cranks etc etc etc lying on your shelves, but the small things are the ones that will give up the ghost at the worst possible moment.
 
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