Hi - I am a new owner of a larger yard (.82 acres) that I have found to be quite a beating to mow with my self propelled walk behind mower. I have a Troy Bilt with a Honda engine that I got for an outright steal of $100 from Lowes years ago.
I have had to mow the lawn once so far, and the neighbor had pity on me and zoomed over on his Dixie Chopper and finished it up for me. Got to talking to him and of course he only recommends going with a commercial zero turn due to quality of parts, serviceability, etc. That was really the first time I had seen one up close. Since then I have been researching them online and calling around to dealers for prices.
Unfortunately I have a budget of about $2800 (whole shebang, taxes, delivery, etc) which will not get me up into the high end machines, but I do have a 10% off movers coupon to Lowes (I figured I have about $2860 to spend at lowes and about $2600 anywhere else). This is a huge purchase for me so I am hoping to get some guidance as to making the correct choice, even though I am limited to the low end of things due to all of my other moving expenses.
Currently the front runners seem to be:
Troy Bilt Mustang 42 XP from Lowes for $2299 - I am used to the brand and have had luck with them, consumer reports #1 mower, but have yet to see one in person
Toro TimeCutter SS4235 from HD/local dealer for $2599 (ish)- Sat one one of these at Home Depot, was impressed by the comfort, build quality, smoothness and evenness of the lap bar movements, etc
Others I have looked at (online at least):
Cub Cadet RZT 42 - unit did not seem as solidly put together as the Toro, arm bar movement felt cheap and uneven, etc
John Deere models - looked at these but just seem overpriced and the same build quality as the Cub Cadet
Craftsman 250001 - Looks good, but it is Craftsman so I am sure it is just good enough to get by - yet I am sure they sell tons of these. I am hoping for more than passable quality
Ariens Zoom 42 / Gravely ZT 42 - Ariens unit fits the price range and Home Depot offers white glove delivery from a local dealer. Seems this is probably the same unit repainted as the Gravely ZT 42 (except the kawawsaki engine?) that seemed more interesting to me just due to the Gravely name Have read you have to buy a heat shield so it wont burn your grass while sitting still. Seems like a flawed design out of the box. Gravely unit is slightly out of budget.
Hustler Raptor 42 - just slightly outside of my price range but at first was drawn by the fabricated deck and kawasaki engine. Then after looking at the reviews I wasn't sure the build quality of this was going to be much higher than anything else in the list.
I have not found anywhere that even sells used equipment yet - but I am in the middle/tail end of summer so not sure if I could expect anything good to be available.
What do you think the best choice is here? Is there something that would be worth stretching the budget for (Hustler Raptor 42, Gravely ZT 42 with heat shield)? Other than a few hundred there isn't much more available. If nothing else, Consumer Reports rates the Troy Bilt Mustang 42 XP as the number one zero turn so I could take a chance with that and hopefully get a ton of years out of it or at least get by until I can upgrade further.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!
I have had to mow the lawn once so far, and the neighbor had pity on me and zoomed over on his Dixie Chopper and finished it up for me. Got to talking to him and of course he only recommends going with a commercial zero turn due to quality of parts, serviceability, etc. That was really the first time I had seen one up close. Since then I have been researching them online and calling around to dealers for prices.
Unfortunately I have a budget of about $2800 (whole shebang, taxes, delivery, etc) which will not get me up into the high end machines, but I do have a 10% off movers coupon to Lowes (I figured I have about $2860 to spend at lowes and about $2600 anywhere else). This is a huge purchase for me so I am hoping to get some guidance as to making the correct choice, even though I am limited to the low end of things due to all of my other moving expenses.
Currently the front runners seem to be:
Troy Bilt Mustang 42 XP from Lowes for $2299 - I am used to the brand and have had luck with them, consumer reports #1 mower, but have yet to see one in person
Toro TimeCutter SS4235 from HD/local dealer for $2599 (ish)- Sat one one of these at Home Depot, was impressed by the comfort, build quality, smoothness and evenness of the lap bar movements, etc
Others I have looked at (online at least):
Cub Cadet RZT 42 - unit did not seem as solidly put together as the Toro, arm bar movement felt cheap and uneven, etc
John Deere models - looked at these but just seem overpriced and the same build quality as the Cub Cadet
Craftsman 250001 - Looks good, but it is Craftsman so I am sure it is just good enough to get by - yet I am sure they sell tons of these. I am hoping for more than passable quality
Ariens Zoom 42 / Gravely ZT 42 - Ariens unit fits the price range and Home Depot offers white glove delivery from a local dealer. Seems this is probably the same unit repainted as the Gravely ZT 42 (except the kawawsaki engine?) that seemed more interesting to me just due to the Gravely name Have read you have to buy a heat shield so it wont burn your grass while sitting still. Seems like a flawed design out of the box. Gravely unit is slightly out of budget.
Hustler Raptor 42 - just slightly outside of my price range but at first was drawn by the fabricated deck and kawasaki engine. Then after looking at the reviews I wasn't sure the build quality of this was going to be much higher than anything else in the list.
I have not found anywhere that even sells used equipment yet - but I am in the middle/tail end of summer so not sure if I could expect anything good to be available.
What do you think the best choice is here? Is there something that would be worth stretching the budget for (Hustler Raptor 42, Gravely ZT 42 with heat shield)? Other than a few hundred there isn't much more available. If nothing else, Consumer Reports rates the Troy Bilt Mustang 42 XP as the number one zero turn so I could take a chance with that and hopefully get a ton of years out of it or at least get by until I can upgrade further.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!
