Replace or Repair ?

[bertsmobile1]

I repair a lot of HRC215's because they do not have the blade brake, are lighter and have optional heavy duty blades that the replacement HRC216's don't.
The 216 eat clutch springs because of the modified handle bars to accomodate the blade brake which also makes the bars unacceptably thick with the clutch lever pressed onto the brake lever pressed onto the bars.
And of course all the professionals have the blade brake taped/ glued/ bolted to the handlebars
the last big rebuild job on one was $ 1400 as I can no longer get the 2 speed gearbox so I had to rebuild it , rebuild the engine, rebore and do a dozen or more welds to the chassis.
Trade proce on the new mower is $ 1400
Costumer left with a big grin on his dial and dropped the No 3 mower for its make over the next week.

 

[Alison_Di]

I'll choose the devil I know, if my lawnmower can be repaired, why shoud I buy a new one?

 

[rickpaulos]

I haven't seen a $200 mower that I would want to own. I'll keep fixing my 20 year old mower thank you.

Some one GAVE me a $200 mower. A wallyworld special. No choke, no primer bulb. "Guaranteed to start or we fix it free". It kept throwing the drive belt. It would take 10 or 20 hard pulls to get it to start. Sheesh. I sold it for $35 and was happy to see it go away. The $35 covered all the parts I put on it.

 

[KrashnKraka]

Maybe philosophical but I believe a mower reflects the owners
personality, and more so than vehicles which can be dual purpose
and shared (ownership).

I reckon I am worth spending more than 200 enchladas on :tongue:

KK

 

[BoomerFT]

All depends on what that $200 repair is for

My old HOP mower with a Honda engine... every time I'm working on it, my wife says "Just go buy a new one!" I've looked at the new ones - and until something major breaks, I'll just keep fixing it. She doesn't get that that new mower is going to suffer the same wear & tear as this one. This is the first I've had that didn't rust through the deck, break axle bolts, etc. Only had to put in the shop once when I hit a root & thought the shaft was bent. Dealer told me then I was lucky it was a Honda engine. So I replace worn out cables, do the preventive maintenance, etc - keep on mowing!

 

[Themplealke]

Don't know much about the devil but I do get attached to things

 

[Scrubcadet10]

I'd buy the new one, fix up the old one, and sell the new one for 500 +

 

[cruzenmike]

Or like me you get sucked into the hole of fixing and fixing before you realize that you either spent more money in repairs than on the cost of the mower or a new one altogether. I once spent $1,100 on what I thought was a good used machine and by the time I put another $800 into it I was over it. I could have just bought a brand new one for the $1,900 and potentially had zero issues for years after.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Your mower is just like your car, washing machine , air conditioner or any other consumer durable item.
Every year they get more features and less service life.
Every year they get fewer service replaceable items.

So it is a simple matter of a proper evaluation to make an informed decision.

The down side is few people have the technical capacity to be able to make the evaluation.
Most dealers are solely focused on quick high profits from selling new mowers so give you a list of problems that is 10' long in the hope you will buy a new one.

The classic example is a customer had their mower serviced and got an $ 950 quote for a deck rebuild and new engine pulley.
I subsequently replaced 6 spindle bearings $ 120 replaced 1 idler pulley $ 45 and fitted a 1.5" shorter belt $ 75 to compensate for wear in the pulleys and deck lifts & fitted 3 new blades $ 75 + $ 120 for a full service.
So for $ 570 the customer was back mowing.
That was 3 years ago and it has just gotten another new belt which should go another 3 years or so.
By that time the engine will be getting a bit long in the tooth ( 1995 Yard Man ) and there is a better than average chance the owner will be beyond mowing as he is an 80 year old pensioner.

People have a funny idea about mowers and fail to realise what is a routine service replacement item so consider the replacement of these as an extra cost item and not a running cost item.

 

[Darryl G]

People have a funny idea about mowers and fail to realise what is a routine service replacement item so consider the replacement of these as an extra cost item and not a running cost item.

:thumbsup: