Rider under $2k

[shurguywutt]

I have a 1/3 acre and I am looking for a quality rider for under $2k. Not serious about buying yet but just want to get an idea what the options are. I really like Snapper rear engine riders.

I also have really thick grass that is hard to mow. Any recommendations on mowers, I would appreciate. Thanks!

 

[Shughes717]

I have a 1/3 acre and I am looking for a quality rider for under $2k. Not serious about buying yet but just want to get an idea what the options are. I really like Snapper rear engine riders.

I also have really thick grass that is hard to mow. Any recommendations on mowers, I would appreciate. Thanks!

You may not find a new rer snapper for that price ( unless you go with a 28"), but if you do it would suit your needs perfectly. It would be my top choice for a lawn your size. Any rider you get should be able to handle 1/3 of an acre easily. Your not going to find many members on this site who are fans of any mowers priced under $2k. I am of the opinion that any mower will last as long as it's maintained properly. I have given this advice on another thread, but I will give the same advice to you. I would look at every mower in that price range available in your area. Compare deck build (thickness and # of gauge wheels/ location of gauge wheels), and drive train. Those are the most important components of a mower. There are other things you should consider, such as extra features (cup holders/ lights/ etc), and quality dealer support (very important as well). When making your decision the extra features should be less important than drive train, deck build, and dealer support. Go for the one that you feel gives you the best combination of those criteria. You will get many opinions from different members on this site about what mowers to stay away from, but remember they are opinions. People tend to be brand loyal and will give advice about mowers they may not have experience with. Do some research on the mowers you are looking at so you can form your own informed opinion. Let us know what you decided to go with, and good luck.

 

[Ric]

You may not find a new rer snapper for that price ( unless you go with a 28"), but if you do it would suit your needs perfectly. It would be my top choice for a lawn your size. Any rider you get should be able to handle 1/3 of an acre easily. Your not going to find many members on this site who are fans of any mowers priced under $2k. I am of the opinion that any mower will last as long as it's maintained properly. I have given this advice on another thread, but I will give the same advice to you. I would look at every mower in that price range available in your area. Compare deck build (thickness and # of gauge wheels/ location of gauge wheels), and drive train. Those are the most important components of a mower. There are other things you should consider, such as extra features (cup holders/ lights/ etc), and quality dealer support (very important as well). When making your decision the extra features should be less important than drive train, deck build, and dealer support. Go for the one that you feel gives you the best combination of those criteria. You will get many opinions from different members on this site about what mowers to stay away from, but remember they are opinions. People tend to be brand loyal and will give advice about mowers they may not have experience with. Do some research on the mowers you are looking at so you can form your own informed opinion. Let us know what you decided to go with, and good luck.

Now don't get me wrong, It's not that I'm not a fan of the 2k and under mower, it's just that the 2k and quality in the same sentence just doesn't fit. Comparing deck build (thickness and # of gauge on decks and frame rails, wheels/ location of gauge wheels), and drive train isn't a good idea but on 2K mowers they're all basically going to be the same. As the old saying goes you get what you pay for. If I were him and wanted to spend 2k I'd start shopping Craigslist and pick up a used high end residential of some type. The deals are there if your willing to keep track of the list.

 

[Shughes717]

Now don't get me wrong, It's not that I'm not a fan of the 2k and under mower, it's just that the 2k and quality in the same sentence just doesn't fit. Comparing deck build (thickness and # of gauge on decks and frame rails, wheels/ location of gauge wheels), and drive train isn't a good idea but on 2K mowers they're all basically going to be the same. As the old saying goes you get what you pay for. If I were him and wanted to spend 2k I'd start shopping Craigslist and pick up a used high end residential of some type. The deals are there if your willing to keep track of the list.

The op really doesn't need a high end mower for 2/3 of an acre. A $2k mower would last him for years if he takes care of it. May take a little over an hour to mow each time. Looking at maybe 20 to 30 hours a season.

 

[Ric]

The op really doesn't need a high end mower for 2/3 of an acre. A $2k mower would last him for years if he takes care of it. May take a little over an hour to mow each time. Looking at maybe 20 to 30 hours a season.

It's not the fact that he doesn't need a high end residential but if I had my choice between a snapper rider for 2k and say a 48' ztr with a fab deck and 22hp commercial grade engine with 700 hrs and 2800 drives for 1K guess what I'd be buying. The deals are there you just have to keep watch. I mean why spend more money and settle for less.

 

[Shughes717]

It's not the fact that he doesn't need a high end residential but if I had my choice between a snapper rider for 2k and say a 48' ztr with a fab deck and 22hp commercial grade engine with 700 hrs and 2800 drives for 1K guess what I'd be buying. The deals are there you just have to keep watch. I mean why spend more money and settle for less.

Will be hard to find one with a commercial engine for $1k unless there is something wrong with it. You may get one with a residential engine and zt2800 hydros for close to that range. Residential models will work fine for home owners with less than an acre. Not everyone needs a commercial mower. Why pay $1k for a mower with 700 hours or more unless you have the skills to make repairs yourself? A mower like that will have been used commercially and will have had a hard 700 hours on it. Even if the op only gets 250 hours out of the residential model that's more than ten years use. I know I have mentioned this numerous times, but I purchased a 42" Scott's mower from Home Depot with a 17.5 hp kohler engine in 2002. I maintained it, kept it out of the weather, and sold it in 2012. It's still going strong. I did have to weld the deck once, replace the belt, and replace a pulley, but the repairs were minor and inexpensive. Not bad for a thirteen year old mower that is basically a low end john Deere.

 

[gfp55]

I'm with Ric on this one. $2000 will not get you much of a mower. A nice used high end one is the way to go. Be patient and you will find one that fits your needs and you will not be fixing it all the time.

 

[bertsmobile1]

There is precious little under 2K that will be a quality ride on mower .
At that price most are the cheapest possible thing the factories can toss together.
Lowest quality engine, thinnest possible metal in the pressings & frame , least possible manufacturing time so virtually nothing adjustable when anything wears it will have to be replaced.
There is just no profit in making a ride on at those prices.


For 2K you will get a good Self Propelled which on a residential block will most likely serve you well.
Just have a bit of a think about it for a minute, then top end self propelled go in the $ 1500 to $ 3000 range and there s a lot more work involved in making a ride on so you will not get much for that price new.

You might like to consider a used ride on and as previously stated the 24" to 32" decks should suit you well.
If you see a Husky Pro-rider ( articulated rear engine ) in that price range, go for it.
They are excellent mowers and while getting a bit long in the tooth they will just about run forever, have a zero turn type cutting and are quite cheap to run.
The Bio clip mulching deck is about the best and by far the quietest deck I have ever seen and being low slung and out front pushes blade killing branches out of the way.

Any of the Toro Recycler mowers would suit you well also and in particular the single blade decks which cut very close to the left edge so minimumize the trimming

 

[Ric]

Will be hard to find one with a commercial engine for $1k unless there is something wrong with it. You may get one with a residential engine and zt2800 hydros for close to that range. Residential models will work fine for home owners with less than an acre. Not everyone needs a commercial mower. Why pay $1k for a mower with 700 hours or more unless you have the skills to make repairs yourself? A mower like that will have been used commercially and will have had a hard 700 hours on it. Even if the op only gets 250 hours out of the residential model that's more than ten years use. I know I have mentioned this numerous times, but I purchased a 42" Scott's mower from Home Depot with a 17.5 hp kohler engine in 2002. I maintained it, kept it out of the weather, and sold it in 2012. It's still going strong. I did have to weld the deck once, replace the belt, and replace a pulley, but the repairs were minor and inexpensive. Not bad for a thirteen year old mower that is basically a low end john Deere.

A mower that has a good commercial grade engine with 700 hrs is just about getting broke in good and if it's used commercially with that many hrs it was probably well taken care of. I personally would prefer to buy from a commercial operator because I believe that the commercial operators that run residential or commercial mowers either one are far more likely to maintain there mowers and keep them in good shape.
It's funny you should talk about a 2012 model because that's what year mower I was talking about. A 2012 Cub Cadet Z force 48" ZTR with a fab deck a Commercial grade Kohler 22hp and 2800 drives the mower was in great condition and the oil was change every 50 hrs w/filter and I sold it for a 1k and the guy uses it to mow a church and it's still mows as well for him as it did for me. Did the Same with a 44" ZF with the same set up, it had 652 hrs I turn it over for 1K so yes the deals are there if you find the right people to buy from, you just have to have patience and you can end up with a far better mower than one from Walmart.

309hrs with an 18hp Kohler $2400 this morning and I'd bet you can get it for less than 2K

 

[Cubby_Cadet007]

The original poster wants to spend under $2K. He says he is not serious YET about buying. He doesn't indicate if he wants this new or used.

He mentions two things that appear to be outside of a $2K buying budget: Quality and rear-engined rider ;-)

He's got thick grass.

He has to indicate if he is looking for a New item purchase or a Used item purchase before too many posters put anymore time into this thread ;-)