Hustler Fastrak SD, Kubota 200 series or Kubota 700 series.

[Elendil]

I believe their cheapest Pioneer 'E' was $6,000. I contacted them to see what it had to offer and what the differences were between the 'E' and 'S' models; I was told to look online for a brochure and let them know if I wanted to buy one. I was really surprised by the way they were acting, they have been a local business since I was a kid. I guess times change.

I agree. This kind of attitude drives me nuts. They think they are doing you a favor by "allowing" you to purchase their product. Guess that is what comes from having too much success.

The dealer that I purchased my Z723 from offered to drive out any and all models I was interested in to let me run them on my property at my convenience when I first made contact after I started looking for a new unit. He deals in several quality brands (Kubota, Hustler, Toro, Exmark,Gravely). Because of his accommodating attitude, I immediately narrowed my list to the brands he sold and made every effort to make sure he was the dealer that I purchased from.

 

[TigerFanatic1]

I agree. This kind of attitude drives me nuts. They think they are doing you a favor by "allowing" you to purchase their product. Guess that is what comes from having too much success.

The dealer that I purchased my Z723 from offered to drive out any and all models I was interested in to let me run them on my property at my convenience when I first made contact after I started looking for a new unit. He deals in several quality brands (Kubota, Hustler, Toro, Exmark,Gravely). Because of his accommodating attitude, I immediately narrowed my list to the brands he sold and made every effort to make sure he was the dealer that I purchased from.

I'm with you Elendil, the Exmark dealer pretty well pushed me away. With that type of attitude toward selling, I can only imagine trying to get them to honor a warranty. My local Kubota dealer only sells Kubota, he is a friend of the family and an overall good guy. I'm not crazy about the Kommander's Briggs or Kohler Courage engines, but not sure I want to spend $7k + on the z700s. :confused2: I'm starting to see that in the $5k range, I will probably do just fine, but each models cuts back a little something that I don't like. With that said, if I want the best of all the components, I will have to pay for it.

 

[Elendil]

I'm with you Elendil, the Exmark dealer pretty well pushed me away. With that type of attitude toward selling, I can only imagine trying to get them to honor a warranty. My local Kubota dealer only sells Kubota, he is a friend of the family and an overall good guy. I'm not crazy about the Kommander's Briggs or Kohler Courage engines, but not sure I want to spend $7k + on the z700s. :confused2: I'm starting to see that in the $5k range, I will probably do just fine, but each models cuts back a little something that I don't like. With that said, if I want the best of all the components, I will have to pay for it.

Yep, it is a tough choice. Our situations are a bit different since I mow about twice the area that you do. I too started looking at residential units in the 5k range. Certainly there are no shortage of quality residential units out there. My search went off the rails when I put what are quality residential units right next to commercial units.(even lower priced ones). It gave me a serious case of "unit envy". Considering the attractive finance rates and rebates offered on many commercial units it only worked out to be $1400 more to move to a commercial unit.

Without those incentives, I certainly would have stuck with the 5k residential units, many of which would have fit the bill very well. Good luck to you. I'm sure you'll end up with a unit that does well for you.

 

[Shughes717]

Yep, it is a tough choice. Our situations are a bit different since I mow about twice the area that you do. I too started looking at residential units in the 5k range. Certainly there are no shortage of quality residential units out there. My search went off the rails when I put what are quality residential units right next to commercial units.(even lower priced ones). It gave me a serious case of "unit envy". Considering the attractive finance rates and rebates offered on many commercial units it only worked out to be $1400 more to move to a commercial unit.

Without those incentives, I certainly would have stuck with the 5k residential units, many of which would have fit the bill very well. Good luck to you. I'm sure you'll end up with a unit that does well for you.

Even with the incentives $1400 is a lot of extra money for 1.2 acres. No matter which way you go you will be getting a good mower. The kommander could handle a much larger lawn for many years, but if you have the extra money and want a mower that can handle 25 1 acre lawns a week then the z700 series is a good choice.

 

[Elendil]

Even with the incentives $1400 is a lot of extra money for 1.2 acres. No matter which way you go you will be getting a good mower. The kommander could handle a much larger lawn for many years, but if you have the extra money and want a mower that can handle 25 1 acre lawns a week then the z700 series is a good choice.

I never suggested that the $1400 would be appropriate for the OP to spend for his 1.2 acres. I used it to illustrate that it was worth it for me and my 2.5 acres (soon to be 3.25). However, since we are fast approaching the end of the season, there could be some great deals to be had as dealers try to move out the last of this year's models.

Also do not overlook the some late model used equipment. The dealer where I got my Z723 had a 2 year old ZD326 with 310 hours for $5950 asking price. I suspect it could have been had for a bit less. I was darned close to pulling the trigger on that, but with the incentives on the new stuff I decided against it.

 

[Shughes717]

I'm with you Elendil, the Exmark dealer pretty well pushed me away. With that type of attitude toward selling, I can only imagine trying to get them to honor a warranty. My local Kubota dealer only sells Kubota, he is a friend of the family and an overall good guy. I'm not crazy about the Kommander's Briggs or Kohler Courage engines, but not sure I want to spend $7k + on the z700s. :confused2: I'm starting to see that in the $5k range, I will probably do just fine, but each models cuts back a little something that I don't like. With that said, if I want the best of all the components, I will have to pay for it.

You can get a semi commercial mower in the 5k range, but the z700 series will be a better mower than any 5k mower out there. I got lucky when I purchased mine in 2012. Got a 48" snapper pro s150xt with the commercial fx series Kawi engine and zt5400 hydros for about $5300. Mower would cost around 6k now. Your local exmark dealer must not be very interested in selling mowers with customer service like that. There are other options out there in the 5k range that will offer everything you are looking for. Some of those 6k mowers will drop to the 5k range in a month or so.