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I'm moving to a new property before spring with about 7-8 acres of smooth, gently sloped lawn and another 7-8 acres of slightly rougher, but mowable property. Some detail close-in mowing around landscaping, driveways and patios. I've never had a zero-turn and dont know what I need. Would like to stay under $5,000. Any ideas? Please??

Make sure you buy a commercial model. With that much to mow a cheaper homeowners mower won't last. I run toros . Built like a tank and handle hills fine and do a great job mowing. However they are a bit more than your looking to spend. I have a 2008 z master with well over 3k hours. My theory is buy the best now and run the dog crap out of it. Some buy cheap then a couple years buy new ones.

jmichaelgilliam said:

I'm moving to a new property before spring with about 7-8 acres of smooth, gently sloped lawn and another 7-8 acres of slightly rougher, but mowable property. Some detail close-in mowing around landscaping, driveways and patios. I've never had a zero-turn and dont know what I need. Would like to stay under $5,000. Any ideas? Please??

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When you're dealing in that amount of money , I'm sure any reasonable dealer would afford you a test ride on a demo machine...
or even a used machine dealer might allow that ... I sure as hell would'nt put out that kind of money without feeling comfortable in and about the machine I'm going to have to live with ... I don't give a damn what anybody says ..... once you sign the dotted line and take the machine, you better hope ... you dont need a jar of " vaseline " ......... Let the buyer BEWARE !!! Above all else, if you do not perform your own maintenance ... be sure the dealer you choose is able to do the required work ( you can usually find out about dealers and their service by asking SEVERAL lawn service outfits in your area ) or sit in the parking lot of your intended dealer then contact the
customers , remember too, a dealer will almost always put the lawn-service folks ahead of your repairs because , of the money spent there aspect of it ! ..:2cents: ..... Boobala

jmichaelgilliam said:

I'm moving to a new property before spring with about 7-8 acres of smooth, gently sloped lawn and another 7-8 acres of slightly rougher, but mowable property. Some detail close-in mowing around landscaping, driveways and patios. I've never had a zero-turn and dont know what I need. Would like to stay under $5,000. Any ideas? Please??

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I have done a lot of research on the zero turns. I am looking for one also but I only have 2 acres to cut. I think in your case commercial is the best choice. I would look for a scag, toro, ferris, gravely etc. When looking at a zero turn its good to consider the transmission. Lets face it, the trans goes through a lot during a cut. You could probably get a good used right now since some may be getting rid of theirs. Hoped this helped. There is a site I looked at the other day that had a pretting good break down. http://www.lawncaremadeeasy.com

Hope this helps!

If you have that much grass to cut go ahead and spend the money and buy a Scag. You can get a Tiger Cat and it will be the last mower you have to buy.

jmichaelgilliam said:

I'm moving to a new property before spring with about 7-8 acres of smooth, gently sloped lawn and another 7-8 acres of slightly rougher, but mowable property. Some detail close-in mowing around landscaping, driveways and patios. I've never had a zero-turn and dont know what I need. Would like to stay under $5,000. Any ideas? Please??

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With 7 to 8 acres to mow I would be looking to buy commercial, as others have suggested the cheaper homeowners mower won't hold up long. The problem you'll have in buying commercial is that a $5000 budget wont get the job done unless you want to buy used off CraigsList. The Toro Z Master mowers, the 2000 series ZM started at somewhere over 7K and isn't being made any longer, they start with the 3000 series and it is now $9888. The stand-on mowers like the Toro Grandstands 36 inch starts at around 9K. Exmark mowers would be my second choice then Hustler. The Hustler Fastrak commercial series I believe starts at somewhere just over 6K. If you want to stay under 5k I'd look for a good low hour commercial on Craiglist. You can general look at a price tag of between $3500 to $5000 for a really good commercial with between 400 to 600 hundred hours.

I have to go along with the school of thought with that many acres you'll most certainly need a good commercial mower even if you buy pre-owned to get it close to your price range. A clean rig in the 300 to 500 hour range would fit the bill. Personally I would be leaning towards a diesel but I have had many gas rigs that held up ok.

"Enjoy the chase"

jmichaelgilliam said:

I'm moving to a new property before spring with about 7-8 acres of smooth, gently sloped lawn and another 7-8 acres of slightly rougher, but mowable property. Some detail close-in mowing around landscaping, driveways and patios. I've never had a zero-turn and dont know what I need. Would like to stay under $5,000. Any ideas? Please??

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In that case, the entry-level commercial mower is better equipped to handle such job-profile; Mower with cutting deck size 54 inches or above of it works fine, multi-deck is better. ZTR Mowers are perfect for stress-free working; you only require to grip on their different functionality, ones you master they are fun to use no matter how much work you have. for better understanding, Initial demo-session is must Any model in the range of $5k or above upto $10k are best.

fOR details regarding buyer's guide and recommendations, consider visiting -http://thetagtech.com/best-zero-turn-mower-reviews/

stephan said:

In that case, the entry-level commercial mower is better equipped to handle such job-profile; Mower with cutting deck size 54 inches or above of it works fine, multi-deck is better. ZTR Mowers are perfect for stress-free working; you only require to grip on their different functionality, ones you master they are fun to use no matter how much work you have. for better understanding, Initial demo-session is must Any model in the range of $5k or above upto $10k are best.

fOR details regarding buyer's guide and recommendations, consider visiting -http://thetagtech.com/best-zero-turn-mower-reviews/

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Your buyers guide compares low end residential mowers that you can get at places like Home Depot. If I was wanting a residential mower that would have a chance of holding up for any length of time for 7 to 8 acres I'd opt for the Toro 52" Titan HD 2500 series mower, it has the 3400 drives with the 22hp FX kawasaki engine. The 2500 series Titan, from my understanding is it's a down graded Z Master 2000 which IMO would make it a better than the average high end residential. The problem is your looking at right at 9K for a residential mower. For that kind of money you can buy commercial.