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Hello all - first post here, but been reading a lot here and elsewhere as we've just purchsed a 1 acre property (~4300m2) with a lot of lawn to mow. It's mostly flat, with no slopes of note, but a few trees (see pics below - it's number 63 & 65).

The lawn is pretty nicely manicured at present, and I'm keen to keep it that way, but am also keen to take on the mowing jobs myself (good exercise + good for the soul). A section of it consists of a grass tennis court and a small area is enclosed as a swimming pool, so more than one mower is likely needed whatever the strategy.

My current 18" mower (350AL - Series 450 | Masport New Zealand) is on its last legs and it's time to replace / upgrade in line with the new house. It would probably take me 4 hours to mow with it, as the throttle is bad, the engine weak, and the catcher flap held on by a bungy cord!

I had been considering a ride on lawn tractor but:

1) I'm not yet sure of the exact layout of the property in terms of gaps and obstacles
2) I've gotten keen on a ZTR, but would want to buy a good one i.e. Hustler/Grasshopper/Toro but need to save some coins up, plus need time to evaluate the property and see what the local dealers will support. Here in NZ the markups are - to put it politely - "aggressive" compared to what you lucky USA people pay.
3) Given the tennis court, I may need to get a reel mower if I'm keen on playing tennis on it. Not yet sure about this.

In the interim to deciding the above, I've pretty much decided on a Timemaster 30", which looks like it should keep the lawn under control & me fit. Was planning to mulch rather than bag 1 acre's worth of grass.

Another option I am thinking would be to keep the current professional on & observe what works for him/her before pulling any triggers.

As always, your esteemed opinions (both enabling and cautionary) much appreciated!

Personally I'd keep the current professional on & observe what works for him/her before pulling any triggers. The 30" Timemaster would do the job depending on how much time you have to devote to the upkeep of the property but one of smaller Ztr's maybe the Hustler Raptor or a Toro Titan would be my choice.

Nice piece of turf you got yourself there.

Good advice from Ric but a few things you are going to think very seriously about.

If you are thinking about playing tennis on that grass court you are taking on a full time job.
It will need to be mown with a barrel mower as you thought, doing it with a rotary causes really funny & unpredictiable bouncing.
It will also need to be rolled, aerated & mowed every couple of days and watered daily as grass need to be about 1/2 long.
Alternatively raise the net & pay badminton.

Think about putting in some grass level edging around things like the garden, retaining walls , hedges & steps.
You can then mow directly over the top of them with a hover mower ( like flymo ) which will be a lot quicker than using a line trimmer and I can see better than 1 hours worth of trimming before you start.
If you are going to mulch remember to trim the hedges first then blow the hedge trimmings on to the lawn before you mow, saves a lot of work.
Would I be right in assuming you are looking at a Toro from a Grey importer same as we get over the Tasman for about 1/2 the RRP ?
If so have a think about a bit bigger deck, You will find the John Deere 42" ZTR about the same price . Oddly enough the garden equipment line is quite reasonably priced and the parts are quite moderate comparred to most mowers.
The Time cutter is an excellent machine I am now servicing a lot of them, due to the discount grey imports, but probably a bit of overkill for a single residential property at around 100 hrs/yr .

Regardless of which mower you get remember if you use the wash out fitting on the deck , after you have finished with the water drive it over a hard stand area and let it spin for a good 10 min or you will be paying a lot for deck & spindle repairs. I have done spindles on 4 mowers that were less than 1 year old and they were all full of water from using the washout.

If I were to buy the Toro Timecutter it would be the Timecutter MX with the high end residential 2800 drives. I'd have nothing less, they would last you forever with area your mowing, the EZT drives IMO aren't worth having.

Thanks for the input & suggestions.

I think I'll keep the current pro on for a while until I get a sense of the property's mowing characteristics and decide about how enthusiastic I'll get over maintaining the court as playable for tennis (a major job, and one for a pro I think) versus nice lawn (a lesser job which I am happy to do).

Sadly, I can't find any grey Toro importers here. Ride-ons of all brands and stripes are rigorously marked up here in good ol' NZ.

Will update you all in due course.

kiwi_guy said:

Thanks for the input & suggestions.

I think I'll keep the current pro on for a while until I get a sense of the property's mowing characteristics and decide about how enthusiastic I'll get over maintaining the court as playable for tennis (a major job, and one for a pro I think) versus nice lawn (a lesser job which I am happy to do).

Sadly, I can't find any grey Toro importers here. Ride-ons of all brands and stripes are rigorously marked up here in good ol' NZ.

Will update you all in due course.

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Yes I know how you feel.
Some of the Americans on this list have no idea of prices outside the USA.
And while the product information is good it has to be weighed up against the fact that many mowers are 3 times the USA price in Aust & NZ and when it comes to parts, with the sole exception of JD & Honda I can buy parts full retail,in the USA, pay excessive currency fees plus astronomical freight to Australia and they still end up being about 75% of my wholesale price in Aust and that is before I add my 35 %.
You are in the same boat as us which is why I suggested the JD.
you will be paying abut 3 time the USA price which on the toro would equate to around $ 900/yr over the 10 year efficient running life and it will rust away well before you wear it out.
Where as the JD is around 1/2 that price at $ 5000 and again it will most likely rust out before it wears out.
Unlike all the other brands they have a large distribution network based principally around real tractors so the mark ups are quite reasonable and I quite like the JD's I work on.
Well designed for easy home maintenance , the height adjustment with a pin & hole set up is a bit old fashioned , but that same pin is a 13 mm socket which fits every chassis bolt on the entire machine
Where they are a PIA to fit JD put a speedy nut as a retainer on all the chassis bolts which is a lot easier than growing a third arm.
I have just welded the deck lift arm on one that had been used commercially for 4 years and was amazed at how quick & easy the job was where as to refit the similar deck mounting rod on a Time Cuter was a 4 hour job.
mind you how they managed to spring an 1.25" rod out of the pillow blocks in the first place is well & truely beyond me.
The Time Cutters are excellent machines built strong enough to go to war in, thick steel plate and plenty of it but for what you are doing it would be bordering on cracking walnuts with a 100lb jack hammer.
particularly when you will get hit $ 40 each for the Toro blades and $ 19 each fr the JD blades , which are thinner so will need to be replaced more often than the Toros, but not that more often

I am aware of the price of life in NZ. I kow a couple that moved from Canada to NZ. It is ridiculous.

An important thing would be to see which machine has the best warranty and dealer support. That is a big plus.

Also, is there an irrigation system on that tennis court? It seems very dry.

bertsmobile1 said:

Yes I know how you feel.
Some of the Americans on this list have no idea of prices outside the USA.
And while the product information is good it has to be weighed up against the fact that many mowers are 3 times the USA price in Aust & NZ and when it comes to parts, with the sole exception of JD & Honda I can buy parts full retail,in the USA, pay excessive currency fees plus astronomical freight to Australia and they still end up being about 75% of my wholesale price in Aust and that is before I add my 35 %.
You are in the same boat as us which is why I suggested the JD.
you will be paying abut 3 time the USA price which on the toro would equate to around $ 900/yr over the 10 year efficient running life and it will rust away well before you wear it out.
Where as the JD is around 1/2 that price at $ 5000 and again it will most likely rust out before it wears out.
Unlike all the other brands they have a large distribution network based principally around real tractors so the mark ups are quite reasonable and I quite like the JD's I work on.
Well designed for easy home maintenance , the height adjustment with a pin & hole set up is a bit old fashioned , but that same pin is a 13 mm socket which fits every chassis bolt on the entire machine
Where they are a PIA to fit JD put a speedy nut as a retainer on all the chassis bolts which is a lot easier than growing a third arm.
I have just welded the deck lift arm on one that had been used commercially for 4 years and was amazed at how quick & easy the job was where as to refit the similar deck mounting rod on a Time Cuter was a 4 hour job.
mind you how they managed to spring an 1.25" rod out of the pillow blocks in the first place is well & truely beyond me.
The Time Cutters are excellent machines built strong enough to go to war in, thick steel plate and plenty of it but for what you are doing it would be bordering on cracking walnuts with a 100lb jack hammer.
particularly when you will get hit $ 40 each for the Toro blades and $ 19 each fr the JD blades , which are thinner so will need to be replaced more often than the Toros, but not that more often

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You act like your prices the ones you're complaining about are our fault or something. I've purchased a couple of items from NZ and Australia and had them shipped here so I know about your prices and shipping fees, duty fees. It works both ways in and out. Things I can get here for one price cost me double and triple to buy from down under.

Nah - we all recognise it's the importers and dealers who all clip the ticket on the way through which adds up to exorbitant Australasian prices. Sad, but as true as it is inevitable, I'm afraid. That said, we get some advantages for this price uptick - our consumer laws are quite strong. If anything goes wrong within the reasonable life of the mower, the vendor is pretty much required to put it right. In the case of a multi-thousand dollar mower in a cared-for residential setting, I would expect that one could reasonably expect this period to be 5-10 years.

The pictures of the tennis court above are at least a couple of years old. It looks nicely green and cared for now, although it's presently cut far too long for tennis.

Thanks to the advice above, I'm considering a Deere Z235 (around $4800 NZD), a Deere Z425 (around $7600) or a Toro ZS4200T (around $5700). Each appears to have pros and cons in terms of serviceability, ruggedness of construction, transmissions, engines etc. I can maintain my own machines and look after 'em. I like to buy something as decent as possible up front, including commercial gear, and aren't averse to finding a good deal second hand either.

I'm not in a rush - as stated above I'm keen to get to know the property a bit, and see how the current groundcare is practised.

kiwi_guy said:

Nah - we all recognise it's the importers and dealers who all clip the ticket on the way through which adds up to exorbitant Australasian prices. Sad, but as true as it is inevitable, I'm afraid. That said, we get some advantages for this price uptick - our consumer laws are quite strong. If anything goes wrong within the reasonable life of the mower, the vendor is pretty much required to put it right. In the case of a multi-thousand dollar mower in a cared-for residential setting, I would expect that one could reasonably expect this period to be 5-10 years.

The pictures of the tennis court above are at least a couple of years old. It looks nicely green and cared for now, although it's presently cut far too long for tennis.

Thanks to the advice above, I'm considering a Deere Z235 (around $4800 NZD), a Deere Z425 (around $7600) or a Toro ZS4200T (around $5700). Each appears to have pros and cons in terms of serviceability, ruggedness of construction, transmissions, engines etc. I can maintain my own machines and look after 'em. I like to buy something as decent as possible up front, including commercial gear, and aren't averse to finding a good deal second hand either.

I'm not in a rush - as stated above I'm keen to get to know the property a bit, and see how the current groundcare is practised.

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Yep.
You got it in one.
Way too many people trying to make way too much money from way too small a turnover.
means way too high mark ups.
Then they squeal like stuck pigs when some one brings in a container full of Toro's and then sells them at 1/2 the Aust RRP. Which has dropped about 30% in the past couple of years. (wonder why? )
I won't arge with Nick about the Toro being a better built more robust machine but IMHO it is too expensive a piece of overkill for residential use and the parts prices will make it a lot worse comparred to the JD's over its service life and doing your yard alone you should be looking more at a 15 to 20 year life span particularly as you won't be cashing it in & out of a trailer 12 times a day.
The 42" deck will be more than big enough for 1 acre and with the layout of your yard all you will be doing with a bigger deck is a lot of double & tripple cutting

Apprent less desirables with the Z425 though - stamped deck (even at that price) and Briggs rather than Kawasaki engine. It does have the zt2800 tranny though.

The NZ dealers only import the Toro ZS4200T though, not the SZ4200TF - the 'F' designating a fabricated deck. This being the only difference, on a clean 1 acre homeowner lot, other than longevity in rough environments and bragging rights - would there be any major advantage to a fab deck? Even if it gets wrecked, I presume one can purchase replacement decks?

They do sell the Toro Titan series, but it's over 9k - and even then the smallest deck size is 50", which is too big for me (want 42").

*mumble, mumble...land at the end of the earth...mumble...too far from mass markets...limited model ranges....mumble*

EDIT: Cancel that last comment, I found a dealer that sells the ZS4200TF @ $6595.

Questions now are, is that stamped deck worth the extra $800? Is the Deere's zt2800 transmission worth the extra over the Toro's ezt2200? Is the Toro 30" Turfmaster with Kawasaki worth paying $2500 for, ahead of $1800 for the Timemaster 30". Remember USA cousins, these are New Zealand dollars, not George Washingtons

kiwi_guy said:

Apprent less desirables with the Z425 though - stamped deck (even at that price) and Briggs rather than Kawasaki engine. It does have the zt2800 tranny though.

The NZ dealers only import the Toro ZS4200T though, not the SZ4200TF - the 'F' designating a fabricated deck. This being the only difference, on a clean 1 acre homeowner lot, other than longevity in rough environments and bragging rights - would there be any major advantage to a fab deck? Even if it gets wrecked, I presume one can purchase replacement decks?

They do sell the Toro Titan series, but it's over 9k - and even then the smallest deck size is 50", which is too big for me (want 42").

*mumble, mumble...land at the end of the earth...mumble...too far from mass markets...limited model ranges....mumble*

EDIT: Cancel that last comment, I found a dealer that sells the ZS4200TF @ $6595.

Questions now are, is that stamped deck worth the extra $800? Is the Deere's zt2800 transmission worth the extra over the Toro's ezt2200? Is the Toro 30" Turfmaster with Kawasaki worth paying $2500 for, ahead of $1800 for the Timemaster 30". Remember USA cousins, these are New Zealand dollars, not George Washingtons

Click to expand...

Any answers you get to your questions are going to be nothing more than someones opinion or some sales person trying too sell you on there mowers. The Fab decks are going to hold up better, last longer than the stamped decks and will have a somewhat better cut than the stamped, I've run both and had great cuts from each.

As far as the drives go the 2800 are naturally better than the EZT but it depends on how much use and under what conditions your going to be using the machine as to how well and how long they will work. I ran the 2800 drives on the CC Z Force ZTR doing 70 plus lawns a week for a few years and never had any issues. Personally I wouldn't buy a mower with drives that are not serviceable.

As far as the Turfmaster vs the Timemaster there's no comparison. The Turfmaster is twice the mower and is well worth the difference in price for the Kawasaki engine. The FJ 180 KAI will run rings around the B&S. I've also been running the Turfmaster for a couple of years and have had great success, has a great cut, mulch's well and bags great. Like I said though it's all opinion but if your looking for longevity in a mower, Toro will give you that.

The Briggs branded as JD are nothing like the standard Briggs engine you are familiar with on your old Masport mower
Small engines are made in several grades by most USA factories but they tend to hide this from the end user . As the vertical shaft engine is almost exclusively in mowers and as the mower market is extremely price sensitive vertical shafts are in general the cheapest possible engine to make as most of the domestics will do around 50 hrs / year for 10 years.
The almost identical specification horizontal shaft engine is totally different as these go into things like pumps, air compressors & a lot of small trucks & earth moving equipment.
These are designed to run 50 hrs/ week for the same 10 years are much better made, far more robust better materials and significantly more expensive.
Honda , Kawakasi et al, do no bother making a significantly down graded engine in order to win the race to the bottom thus Honda / Kawakasi /Mitsubishi powered equipment will be significantly more expensive and for the intended purpose are oft over engineered.

Now with the JD branded B & S engines , they are made to the horizontal shaft specs so are a lot better than the standard B & S found in most domestic ride ons.
From what I have seen it appears that the Toro branded B & S engines are also built to a higher spec.
All the other house branded B & S engines appear to be just the std engine with a different cowl & some minor modificatins to suit the mower they are being fitted to.
As such do not heavily discount the B & S fitted to the JD's.
It is not as good as the Kawaka but more than up to the task of mowing your 1 acre for the next 15 - 20 years.
You don't need a Rolls Royce to drive down the road & buy your bottle of milk. however if you really want to there is nothing to stop you.
Used domestically even the bottom end engines will most times out live the mower they are fitted into so long as the idiots at the controls remember to check the bloody oil & stop tampering with the governors.
Used commercially as a lot of the posters here do, things are different. They push their mower a lot longer & harder that you ever will and their mowers are making them money while yours is costing you money so spending the extra to them is easily justified. Your mower will rust out long before it wears out and commercial or domestic they both need the same maintenance.
The next consideration is prices of consumables in NZ the B & S / JD items will be about 1/2 the price of the Kawaka / Toro ones .
Ring a couple of dealers in a different city and ask for price & availability of blades, belts, filters & PTO clutch .
Filters & oil will be a yearly cost ( x 10 to 20 ) blades should go 2 to 3 years, a little longer if you bother to sharpen & rebalance them and belts around 5 years and the PTO clutch will suffer badly from not being used so expect to replace at least one regardless of which mower you decide upon.

As for the hydraulics, you should never need to touch them save an occasional squirt of corrosion inhibitor on the out put shafts before you bed the mower down for winter.
As for repairing the hydraulics , down here it is not economic. I stopped doing this a long while ago as the cost of parts is so high when you add my labour charge, ( which is 60 % of shop rate) it is always significantly cheaper to replace the units. I don't even keep the old units but encourage the owners to put them on evilbay to recoup some of the expense.

Thanks again for all of your esteemed opinions and advice. I think I have enough info to consider now, and will mull it all over in the next few weeks & let you know what I decide in the end!