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I am tired of my 10 yr old tractor style mower needing repair and have decided it is time for another mower. I mow about half an acre with some banks. Most people would probly not consider that I have many obstacles. In spite of my small yard, i am drawn to a zero turn as I have arthritis between shoulder blades. My mower speed is likely to be slower than many people as my lot is only 100 ft wide. I am drawn to 42 inch deck as it will fit in my truck bed. Is it worth me worrying about stamped vs fabricated deck? Should I worry much about buying from dealer vs box store when the closest dealer is 45 miles? I am not particularly mechanical—I change the oil, check and change a spark plug, battery, fuel filter, but that is about my limit. I would prefer to keep the price below $3000-3300. Any recommendations on specific models?

Not at that price level.
Pick the colour you like best most are as bad as each other.
The 4Wd articulated Husqvarnas are just about perfect for what you are doing but around double your budget .
Deck size is fine and unless you are confident that you can pick a good one from the big box stores and not the Monday morning hang over special plus are proficient with mower repair then pay the few dollars more & buy from a dealer ( note I am not a dealer )

Eastern ky buyer said:

I am tired of my 10 yr old tractor style mower needing repair and have decided it is time for another mower. I mow about half an acre with some banks. Most people would probly not consider that I have many obstacles. In spite of my small yard, i am drawn to a zero turn as I have arthritis between shoulder blades. My mower speed is likely to be slower than many people as my lot is only 100 ft wide. I am drawn to 42 inch deck as it will fit in my truck bed. Is it worth me worrying about stamped vs fabricated deck? Should I worry much about buying from dealer vs box store when the closest dealer is 45 miles? I am not particularly mechanical—I change the oil, check and change a spark plug, battery, fuel filter, but that is about my limit. I would prefer to keep the price below $3000-3300. Any recommendations on specific models?

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Toro zero turn, I got the twin cylinder, a dealer I am certain will match the box store, plus if a veteran, they will figure in a 10% discount, just like the box store, it is more than worth the time to go with a dealer. I have the 42 inch, works good , I love to mulch the grass and leaves, but when grass it growing exceptionally fast, I just let it blow out, you can get it for less than $3,000. I clean out the underside each time, then put on the washout port for 5 minutes, then run it for 5 more minutes to dry. I grease the front wheels and sharpen the blade plus the other things that you do, otherwise the dealer will take better care of you, if residential, you have a 3year warranty, if you go box store, they do not repair anything, they send you to a dealer, if you buy from dealer, I am certain they will fix anything faster for you than if you buy at box store and then go to dealer.

good luck

An Ariens IKON-XD is $3673, which is pretty close to your budget, has a serviceable transmission, and from what I can tell reasonably well built. It comes with a Kawasaki FR600. I think it’s kind of where the more robust mowers start. Once you go much below that, it’s not that they won’t work, or even give you decent service for a while, but they are hard to repair, lighter weight, and not built to last as well.

Kennyray said:

An Ariens IKON-XD is $3673, which is pretty close to your budget, has a serviceable transmission, and from what I can tell reasonably well built. It comes with a Kawasaki FR600. I think it’s kind of where the more robust mowers start. Once you go much below that, it’s not that they won’t work, or even give you decent service for a while, but they are hard to repair, lighter weight, and not built to last as well.

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My bad. Even at this level, though you can service the transmission, it’s not designed to do so, nor is it Easy.

if you care about that sort of thing (the transmissions are so expensive to replace basically you end up throwing the machine away if you have a transmission issue), look for a tractor that has at least a ZT-2200 transmission. At that level you can fix stuff.
If you got to 0turn.com they let you compare by price so you can see when the various parts start kicking in as the price goes up.

Kennyray said:

My bad. Even at this level, though you can service the transmission, it’s not designed to do so, nor is it Easy.

if you care about that sort of thing (the transmissions are so expensive to replace basically you end up throwing the machine away if you have a transmission issue), look for a tractor that has at least a ZT-2200 transmission. At that level you can fix stuff.
If you got to 0turn.com they let you compare by price so you can see when the various parts start kicking in as the price goes up.

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Here you go! The Gravely ZT X is about $3500 and has a ZT-2200 transmission. So, pretty close to your price and serviceable. There may be others, but Gravely appears to be one of the better manufacturers.

Snapper 33" rear engine rider. Costs about 8 bucks for a fresh rubber driven disk. Compare that with a hydro 0-turn transmission repair. It takes some fluid in the chain and diff. That costs around $5.50 a quart for 00 grade grease at Tractor Supply. Single blade that cuts like a laser beam. Best bagging machine on Earth. Will mulch with any other and leave no clippings behind. Will last 5 times longer than any 0-turn easily. Best part is you can find a clean one for around $500 used. Much easier to load in a truck than those 1,000 plus pound 0-turns.

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