Looking for a Zero Turn mower that will last

[Ric]

SCAG, Kabota, Exmark, and Snapper are the options. I actually purchased a SCAG Liberty at the beginning of the season. However, it had an electrical issue from the first mow (would lose power during mowing, battery would die, fuses would blow) and could not be repaired after 3 attempts so the Dealership gave me my money back. SCAG however, told me these things happens and that they wouldn't give me a replacement mower or refund my money. So I would prefer not to go back to SCAG since they don't want to support their products when their are obvious issues.

Now, These dealerships also sell Husqvarna and Hustler. However, every time I talk to them about mowers, they keep pushing the $5000+ mower on me. Telling me that the other mowers are cheaper but you get what you pay for. I feel like I am dealing with used car salesman.

Talking to people about going to a Big Box store to get a mower usually always goes down the path of no service, crappy construction of mowers, bad engines, etc....

TBH, buying a mower has been a very unpleasant experience and I have to get a mower very soon. Otherwise my yard will be a jungle.

Yes there are a lot of good mowers out there on the market and what the dealer told you was right, you get what you pay for. Now for me when I look at a mower I want to know what is the most reliable mower I can Buy and didn't find that out on a forum listening to peoples opinions that may or may not know what there talking about. I didn't find it out buy listening to dealers either but looking and talking to the professionals that use the mowers 24/7.

Out of the mowers here that have been mentioned there are good mowers. You can buy a commercial mower from most any company out there, they all have one and people do but they mow a few acres here and there but they're not used commercially 24/7 for a lot of different reasons.

When I see and talked to the Pro's I see there Exmark's, Toro's and Hustlers and some Dixie that get used everyday 24/7 and for thousands of hours and the reason they are used is because they hold up and have company's that stand behind there product whether it's a commercial rig which I'm not suggesting you buy or their residential units it doesn't matter. It only stands to reason that if the company's like Exmark Toro etc have a product that the pros rely on that there residential stuff is going to be made to handle any abuse the homeowner will dish out.

 

[Shughes717]

Yes there are a lot of good mowers out there on the market and what the dealer told you was right, you get what you pay for. Now for me when I look at a mower I want to know what is the most reliable mower I can Buy and didn't find that out on a forum listening to peoples opinions that may or may not know what there talking about. I didn't find it out buy listening to dealers either but looking and talking to the professionals that use the mowers 24/7.

Out of the mowers here that have been mentioned there are so good mowers. You can buy a commercial mower from most any company out there, they all have one and people do but they mow a few acres here and there but they're not used commercially 24/7 for a lot of different reasons.

When I see and talked to the Pro's I see there Exmark's, Toro's and Hustlers and some Dixie that get used everyday 24/7 and for thousands of hours and the reason they are used is because they hold up and have company's that stand behind there product whether it's a commercial rig which I'm not suggesting you buy or their residential units it doesn't matter. It only stands to reason that if the company's like Exmark Toro etc have a product that the pros rely on that there residential stuff is going to be made to handle any abuse the homeowner will dish out.

Commercial lawn companies use different brands in different regions. Around here you see lawn care companies use ferris, john Deere, snapper pro, hustler, kubota, and a few Exmarks. I have not seen one toro mower in used in my area. They are all built with the same engines and hydros, and all durable. The reason those are used around here is dealer support. Exmark is sold by our local john Deere dealer who has 7 dealerships in west tennessee. There are several good dealers for the other brands as well. My problem with exmark is the same problem I see with john Deere. A little over priced. The you get what you pay for comment doesn't hold much water either. Sure, the higher end mowers are going to cost more than a low end mower, but you can get some brands at a much better price than others.

If you know what you are buying you can get a mower with the same specs for a much better price. For instance, you can get a 61" snapper pro s200xt with the big block vanguard and zt5400 hydros for about $8500, or a kubota z700 series with Parker pumps for a similar price. Go price an exmark mower and see what you can get for that price. Maybe a pioneer s series which doesn't have near as good a drive train. The dealer is the one who stands behind the product to the customer. All of the mowers mentioned have warranties.

 

[Hal9000]

I have been looking around more and more and came across the Snapper 300Z ZERO TURN LAWN MOWER. 300Z Zero Turning Mower | ZTR Lawn Mowers | Snapper
Anyone had any experience with these?

 

[Shughes717]

I have been looking around more and more and came across the Snapper 300Z ZERO TURN LAWN MOWER. 300Z Zero Turning Mower | ZTR Lawn Mowers | Snapper
Anyone had any experience with these?

Yes, it is a high end residential ztr mower. Pretty well built, but I would spend $4500 to $4800 and upgrade to a snapper pro s50xt if I were looking at mowers in that range. You get the heavy duty commercial fx series Kawi engine, commercial zt3100 hydros, and the commercial icd deck.

 

[Hal9000]

Yes, it is a high end residential ztr mower. Pretty well built, but I would spend $4500 to $4800 and upgrade to a snapper pro s50xt if I were looking at mowers in that range. You get the heavy duty commercial fx series Kawi engine, commercial zt3100 hydros, and the commercial icd deck.

I found a place that will sell me the 400Z for $3800 and there is a $200 rebate on them. It has the Kawasaki engine. Seems like a decent deal.

 

[Ric]

I have been looking around more and more and came across the Snapper 300Z ZERO TURN LAWN MOWER. 300Z Zero Turning Mower | ZTR Lawn Mowers | Snapper
Anyone had any experience with these?

I look at that snapper and I wonder why would you buy a mower with a 25 hp engine when it would serve you no purpose in what your mowing and the only thing it will do will cost you more money in gas to operate. The problem I have with Snapper and Ferris mowers Is the fact that I have a hard time buying from a company that went under and had to sell out to another to keep there name and keep there product on the market when they couldn't do it themselves.

If you want to know which engine you want on a mower do a little research first and check the small engine forums here. The B&S forum has 43 pages and 1063 threads, I'd go through the Kawasaki forum first, it only has 8 pages and 179 threads.

 

[Shughes717]

I look at that snapper and I wonder why would you buy a mower with a 25 hp engine when it would serve you no purpose in what your mowing and the only thing it will do will cost you more money in gas to operate. The problem I have with Snapper and Ferris mowers Is the fact that I have a hard time buying from a company that went under and had to sell out to another to keep there name and keep there product on the market when they couldn't do it themselves.

If you want to know which engine you want on a mower do a little research first and check the small engine forums here. The B&S forum has 43 pages and 1063 threads, I'd go through the Kawasaki forum first, it only has 8 pages and 179 threads.

Here you go again spouting off about something you know absolutely nothing about. Just because the companies were purchased by B&S doesn't mean they were going under. B&s has owned simplicity, snapper, and ferris since 2003. They are still some of the major brands on the market. The mowers are still manufactured in the same factories they were always manufactured in. How do you know how much more gas it will use? You have never ran one. I have a friend with a s50x that has a 48" deck and a 27 hp B&s els. His mower doesn't use any more fuel than my Kawi. You just get on here and spout about how bad these mowers are without having ever used them. You see very few threads about the commercial turf B&S or vanguard engines. I dont like the low end engines either, but you can't show many threads bashing their high end engine line. One reason there are more threads about b&s is there is a lot more lawn equipment out there with b&s engines than there are kawasaki engines.

You have an unreasonable blind hate for anything that is even associated with b&s with absolutely no experience with some of the products you are bashing. You want to talk about threads about problems with a product. The raptor and raptor sd you are always pushing has more negative threads than just about any other ztr mower on this site.

 

[Shughes717]

I found a place that will sell me the 400Z for $3800 and there is a $200 rebate on them. It has the Kawasaki engine. Seems like a decent deal.

Yes the 400z has the kawasaki engine option, but it's the fr series with is the low end residential version. Not a bad engine, but it's not in the same ball park as the fx series. If you have a max budget of $4k then it will be a fine mower. It would handle your property easily.

 

[bigd40]

got board with the back and forth so i jumped to the end. sory if i missed anything....original question included an xmark pioneer ztr. i have the 60" pioneer. it is pricey and more than u need, but awsome. i have 3 neighbors that own the more affordable quest version. this is more like toro timecutter. all 3 really like theirs. idk if that helps or not.

 

[PVHIII]

I have less than a acre of almost flat land to mow. I have been looking at a Kubota Kommander Z122E-48 and a Exmark Pioneer 48'. They seem to be very identical in specs other than the engines. Kubota has a 22 hp Briggs and Stratton engine and Exmark has a Kohler ZT710. Does anyone have experience with either or both? Right now the Kubota is about $600 less in price.

I think I would consider a Hustler Fast Track..I have a Fast Track SD (2014) 48" cut with a Kawasaki FX 691V 23.5 HP power plant and I honestly don't think I'll ever have to buy another mower and I have about 2 acres of mostly flat lawn to mow.. Research those engines before you pull the trigger... JMO