Funny, my 14 year old started a mowing biz this summer. How many yards is he doing? Two pieces of advice:
1) GET INSURANCE FOR HIM! See my thread on this forum.... He broke a car window today, and it's gonna cost us a pretty penny.
2) Buy once cry once. My boy has saved his entire life and was able to buy his own mowers, and I helped him with a blower, trimmer and edger, and lawn cart. He first bought a nice used JD 54" residential mower for $2800 this spring, and as he added 16 larger open properties, he found out he needed a commercial mower, after his ZT broke a valve and needed a new motor. He fixed that one, and sold it just yesterday (at a loss), and since picked up a more pricey, but nice used commercial ZT.
Now, this machine advice may not apply to your boy, if he's only mowing a few small yards, and a cheap, decent quality walk behind might be a good fit for him, if he's mowing close to home. Just sharing my son's experience.
But, I really recommend getting insurance, regardless though, after my experience today. Good luck to your son, that's awesome he has a work ethic!
