For many years I've been mowing with my hydrostatic Ford 1220 with a 60" 914 mid-mount deck, and I'm now looking to speed up my mowing time by procuring a zero turn, which I have absolutely no experience operating. So I'm looking for buying advice.
Where I come from, at least 4 out of every 5 zero turns I see on lawn care company trailers are Lazers, so I've been looking most closely at Exmarks. In my rural location, there are very few commercial zero turn dealers; the closest reputable Exmark dealer being an hour's drive away. I probably only mow 3-4 acres on a weekly basis, but must mow 15+ acres at least a few times a year to keep it from getting away from me. Much of that acreage is/was a Christmas tree farm, so the manueverablility of a ZT will come in handy, and the hazards of old stumps and irregular terrain cause me to lean toward the commercial ZT category moreso than the residential.
I can't afford the $10K for a new Lazer (or comparable competitor) so the dealer has recommended the Pioneer S-series as an affordable alternative that he believes will be robust enough for my application. I test-drove both briefly at the dealer, but novice ZT pilot that I am, I didn't feel competent enough to really put them through their paces. The Pioneer certainly felt adequate for my needs, but the Lazer was obviously a beefier machine. For example, although both models had cooling fans on their pumps, the Lazer's pumps dwarfed the Pioneer's. So I'm wondering if I should look for a used Lazer instead, the dilemma being how many hours are too many hours and how does one really know how hard those hours are? The dealer says never ever buy used from a lawn care company because they are renown for abusing their equipment, but I haven't had any luck finding a privately owned Lazer (or comparable competitor like Ferris or Scag) with less than 1000 hours that wasn't used commercially. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Where I come from, at least 4 out of every 5 zero turns I see on lawn care company trailers are Lazers, so I've been looking most closely at Exmarks. In my rural location, there are very few commercial zero turn dealers; the closest reputable Exmark dealer being an hour's drive away. I probably only mow 3-4 acres on a weekly basis, but must mow 15+ acres at least a few times a year to keep it from getting away from me. Much of that acreage is/was a Christmas tree farm, so the manueverablility of a ZT will come in handy, and the hazards of old stumps and irregular terrain cause me to lean toward the commercial ZT category moreso than the residential.
I can't afford the $10K for a new Lazer (or comparable competitor) so the dealer has recommended the Pioneer S-series as an affordable alternative that he believes will be robust enough for my application. I test-drove both briefly at the dealer, but novice ZT pilot that I am, I didn't feel competent enough to really put them through their paces. The Pioneer certainly felt adequate for my needs, but the Lazer was obviously a beefier machine. For example, although both models had cooling fans on their pumps, the Lazer's pumps dwarfed the Pioneer's. So I'm wondering if I should look for a used Lazer instead, the dilemma being how many hours are too many hours and how does one really know how hard those hours are? The dealer says never ever buy used from a lawn care company because they are renown for abusing their equipment, but I haven't had any luck finding a privately owned Lazer (or comparable competitor like Ferris or Scag) with less than 1000 hours that wasn't used commercially. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.