Buying Zero turn. Advice

[rodflu]

I cut 4+ acres hilly (not too steep, but bumpy in places also). Looking for durable machine with good speed and performance my budget of $6500 (top) puts me at some used commercial mowers. Specifically Skag Cheetah 61' with Kaw 31HP. 454 hrs. Dealer demo. Same dealer has demo Snapper pro s200xt 61' 32HP Vanguard 260 Hrs.

Wants $6500 for Skag and $5500 for Snapper pro. I know Skag is pricier machine to start with. Would I be much better with one or the other? I haven't sat down to talk numbers with dealer, but he said used/demo machines should be eligible for new financing prices, as they have not been sold before.

 

[Shughes717]

I cut 4+ acres hilly (not too steep, but bumpy in places also). Looking for durable machine with good speed and performance my budget of $6500 (top) puts me at some used commercial mowers. Specifically Skag Cheetah 61' with Kaw 31HP. 454 hrs. Dealer demo. Same dealer has demo Snapper pro s200xt 61' 32HP Vanguard 260 Hrs.

Wants $6500 for Skag and $5500 for Snapper pro. I know Skag is pricier machine to start with. Would I be much better with one or the other? I haven't sat down to talk numbers with dealer, but he said used/demo machines should be eligible for new financing prices, as they have not been sold before.

They are both great mowers. My father has a 2011 snapper pro s200xt with the big block vanguard. It's an excellent mower. I have some experience with scag mowers as well. The cheetah is a well built mower. That is a great price on both machines as long as they haven't been abused, although the snapper pro sounds like the better deal to me. The vanguard and the Kawi are two of the best commercial mower engines on the market. Both mowers have the same hydrogear zt5400 pumps, which have a transport speed up to 16 mph (a lever must be flipped on the pump to get that speed). In reality you won't be able to mow that fast. You are looking at a top mowing speed in the 10 mph range. That is still pretty fast. Both mowers leave a great cut. Scag decks have a great reputation for cutting wet grass well. I have the icd deck on my snapper pro and it does great. You should demo both and go with the one you like best. Btw, I mow 4.2 acres with a 48" snapper pro s150xt. Bumpy ground, lots of trees, with some slopes. Can get it done in about 2 hours and 15 minutes. I would suggest getting the suspension insert with which ever mower you choose. I would want to know if the demo mower comes with a warranty as well. If the mowers are from the same dealer, and both are in good condition, then you will be paying $1000 more for the Kawi engine and orange paint imo.

 

[bertsmobile1]

They are both great mowers. My father has a 2011 snapper pro s200xt with the big block vanguard. It's an excellent mower. I have some experience with scag mowers as well. The cheetah is a well built mower. That is a great price on both machines as long as they haven't been abused, although the snapper pro sounds like the better deal to me. The vanguard and the Kawi are two of the best commercial mower engines on the market. Both mowers have the same hydrogear zt5400 pumps, which have a transport speed up to 16 mph (a lever must be flipped on the pump to get that speed). In reality you won't be able to mow that fast. You are looking at a top mowing speed in the 10 mph range. That is still pretty fast. Both mowers leave a great cut. Scag decks have a great reputation for cutting wet grass well. I have the icd deck on my snapper pro and it does great. You should demo both and go with the one you like best. Btw, I mow 4.2 acres with a 48" snapper pro s150xt. Bumpy ground, lots of trees, with some slopes. Can get it done in about 2 hours and 15 minutes. I would suggest getting the suspension insert with which ever mower you choose. I would want to know if the demo mower comes with a warranty as well. If the mowers are from the same dealer, and both are in good condition, then you will be paying $1000 more for the Kawi engine and orange paint imo.

Both of them will eat what you are doing for breakfast.
If the terrain is very rough go for the one that is the more comfortable
second consideration would be ground clearance particularly if you have a lot of old dainage ditches.

 

[whelch1]

I don't have too much useful input on either one of these mowers. I can however tell you that my local dealer has a 2013 scag cheetah demo, 61" with a vanguard motor and they want $10,900 for it. $6500 sounds like a really good price, especially if it comes with a warranty. I couldn't find a good used tiger cat for that good of a price.

 

[Shughes717]

I don't have too much useful input on either one of these mowers. I can however tell you that my local dealer has a 2013 scag cheetah demo, 61" with a vanguard motor and they want $10,900 for it. $6500 sounds like a really good price, especially if it comes with a warranty. I couldn't find a good used tiger cat for that good of a price.

That's not much off of what a 2013 cheetah cost new. Probably why the dealer still has it. You can get a new 61"cheetah with a 27 hp Kawi for that price. $6500 isn't a bad price for the mower the op is talking about, but it does have 454 hours on it. I doubt it will have much of a warranty. Mine came with a 3 year / 500 hour warranty when I bought it new. That would be a question I would ask before purchasing either though.

 

[rodflu]

UPDATE: Pulled trigger on new machine. Re: Buying Zero turn. Advice.

I cut 4+ acres hilly (not too steep, but bumpy in places also). Looking for durable machine with good speed and performance my budget of $6500 (top) puts me at some used commercial mowers. Specifically Skag Cheetah 61' with Kaw 31HP. 454 hrs. Dealer demo. Same dealer has demo Snapper pro s200xt 61' 32HP Vanguard 260 Hrs.

Wants $6500 for Skag and $5500 for Snapper pro. I know Skag is pricier machine to start with. Would I be much better with one or the other? I haven't sat down to talk numbers with dealer, but he said used/demo machines should be eligible for new financing prices, as they have not been sold before.

UPDATE: I went yesterday to look at those machines. The Scag was sold. The Snapper Pros looked a bit rough (decks very beat up, not bent up, just lots of paint nocked off, rollers chipped/damaged, probably 6 plugs in each tire, even back of machine was dinged up). I know these are tough machines, but they were definitely not loved. I found out the deal will rent/demo a unit until out of warranty, then sell them off as-is. I could get new financing, but not warranty at all.

I ended up buying an exmark pioneer s-series, kohler confidant engine, 60 inch deck. It is the same deck of the Laser series, I'm told. It looked like a fine machine albeit a class below the used machines. Seems to be light commercial or very heavy consumer grade. $400 rebate put it at $6500. 0% for 48 mo. And one of my biggest reasons for buying a new(er) mower was because I have no time to mess with repairs/maintenance. I'm lucky if I can keep up with just mowing the grass.

I test drove it (in pouring rain) and it walked up/down/around a hill much steeper than I own. I felt it handled at least as well as the bigger snapper pro, maybe better (less weight on wet hill?)

I researched a ton of mowers for the last 2 weeks, except for this one. Probably because it was over my intended $6500 budget (which I still busted with sales tax and a finance fee). I'm feeling some buyers remorse now because it doesn't have greasable spindles and not very sure about the Kohler engine.

I know exmark is a very reputable company, and produces quality equipment, but I guess I'd like to hear from someone else that I didn't make a stupid mistake buying a more expensive, lower class machine

 

[Shughes717]

Re: UPDATE: Pulled trigger on new machine. Re: Buying Zero turn. Advice.

UPDATE: I went yesterday to look at those machines. The Scag was sold. The Snapper Pros looked a bit rough (decks very beat up, not bent up, just lots of paint nocked off, rollers chipped/damaged, probably 6 plugs in each tire, even back of machine was dinged up). I know these are tough machines, but they were definitely not loved. I found out the deal will rent/demo a unit until out of warranty, then sell them off as-is. I could get new financing, but not warranty at all.

I ended up buying an exmark pioneer s-series, kohler confidant engine, 60 inch deck. It is the same deck of the Laser series, I'm told. It looked like a fine machine albeit a class below the used machines. Seems to be light commercial or very heavy consumer grade. $400 rebate put it at $6500. 0% for 48 mo. And one of my biggest reasons for buying a new(er) mower was because I have no time to mess with repairs/maintenance. I'm lucky if I can keep up with just mowing the grass.

I test drove it (in pouring rain) and it walked up/down/around a hill much steeper than I own. I felt it handled at least as well as the bigger snapper pro, maybe better (less weight on wet hill?)

I researched a ton of mowers for the last 2 weeks, except for this one. Probably because it was over my intended $6500 budget (which I still busted with sales tax and a finance fee). I'm feeling some buyers remorse now because it doesn't have greasable spindles and not very sure about the Kohler engine.

I know exmark is a very reputable company, and produces quality equipment, but I guess I'd like to hear from someone else that I didn't make a stupid mistake buying a more expensive, lower class machine

The pioneer is plenty of mower for your lawn. Nothing wrong with exmark. As long as you properly maintain the machine and don't leave it out in the weather you should get years of service out of it. They are priced a little high, but they are well built mowers.