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i have posted this as i posted on my own thead but in the hope of making everyone that helps on here feel worthy and people understand its nice to come back after help even if the problem they was asking after did or did not get resolved to get feed back and say thankyou

when doing the work on mowers i dont take work from local repairs places in fact i say togo to a local one(that i use for parts) i will do if asked if its a family member or next doors but most of what i do is work on my own bought or scrap or tip mowers and think every one on the fourms some people like me but from reading some posts there are some if not quite a few professionals on here giving there help for no more than a thanks so can i say a clap and thanks to all that give help for very little in return and in the hope i can do the same for someone else when my small amout of knowhow is able to help

i hope this is allowed but think we should all just comment a thanks please feel free to post a thanks that is for every one

Well , angel-lone wolf..Nicely said and echoing my sentiments too. The advice given here is very good and those pros and private citizens who contribute have all reached that higher calling with very little reward except the good deed itself. All are latent teachers at heart and find good in little things. There is little thanks given to such people, and more would be appropriate. If the advice could be distilled it would be a world best seller for the mower operators.:thumbsup:

I'll drink to that and hoist a pint on St. Patricks day to boot!

All is well with what you and hundreds of others do provided you pay attention to 1 cardinal rule.
Do the job properly as if it was your mother's mower.
There are way too many ratbags who pick up mowers from the rubbish , bodge them up so they almost work, tart them up so they look pretty, then flog them off to the unsuspecting public.
Too many times a unit with a failing ignition module gets tossed out because the module is an expensive part to replace.
Fred the fixer finds it, pops a new spark plug in it finds it runs great the gives it a polish puts a high price tag on it and floggs it off.
Joe public buys said same "restored" mower, it works for a month then fails. He takes it to a shop who tell him it will cost 3 times what he paid for it to repair it ( because they want to sell him a new mower )
They tell Joe Public that all the back yard mower men are sharks & thieves, just one lower than a scrap yard owner and all second hand mowers are trash.
This then makes life very hard for honest repairers who do the job properly.

We get way too much Amercian politics down here but one thing I did notice is every candidate made disparaging remarks about used mowers and used mower sales men.
Even worse was the clapping and cheering that followed which says a lot about the general attitude to used mowers and those who repair them.
The tragic bit is from what I have seen, it is pretty well deserved.

Bert, take your remarks and attitude about dealers and find a south bound end of a north bound wallaby to put them in. That's all they are worth. Lumping all dealers together is just like lumping all independent mechanics as being the same. They each have 5% who only put $$$$ ahead of what is right. I have been working in this industry for over forty years and I don't need independents like you coming into my business. You expect me to serve and treat you with respect, even though you will stab me in the back any chance you get. Maybe that's the reason you prices on parts are so high, we American manufacturers, distributors and dealers only want your $$$$.

bertsmobile1 said:

All is well with what you and hundreds of others do provided you pay attention to 1 cardinal rule.
Do the job properly as if it was your mother's mower.
There are way too many ratbags who pick up mowers from the rubbish , bodge them up so they almost work, tart them up so they look pretty, then flog them off to the unsuspecting public.
Too many times a unit with a failing ignition module gets tossed out because the module is an expensive part to replace.
Fred the fixer finds it, pops a new spark plug in it finds it runs great the gives it a polish puts a high price tag on it and floggs it off.
Joe public buys said same "restored" mower, it works for a month then fails. He takes it to a shop who tell him it will cost 3 times what he paid for it to repair it ( because they want to sell him a new mower )
They tell Joe Public that all the back yard mower men are sharks & thieves, just one lower than a scrap yard owner and all second hand mowers are trash.
This then makes life very hard for honest repairers who do the job properly.

We get way too much Amercian politics down here but one thing I did notice is every candidate made disparaging remarks about used mowers and used mower sales men.
Even worse was the clapping and cheering that followed which says a lot about the general attitude to used mowers and those who repair them.
The tragic bit is from what I have seen, it is pretty well deserved.

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I completely agree. I fix and sell mowers myself, and all my mowers have to look new and run like new before they go up for sale. I stand behind the machines I sell.

Sorry Riv,

Not particularly well written and not intended to offend.

It was written in the hope the OP would have a little think about what he dose as a side line .

There are dealers who run proper repair shops, I travel 60 km to buy most JD parts & urgently needed Briggs parts from one of them.
A family business been in the same family for 4 generations.
However better than 90% of the mower shops down here are what I call glass fronts & run by accountants or the decendants of a real mower man.
They are franchise business with the sole purpose of flogging as much new gear as possible and the workshop is there to carry out warrantee services.
Most are forbidden to sell used mowers and workshop repair quotes generally are done on a greatest cost basis and list every part that is not in "new" condition.
Customers who can not afford a new mower right now bring in these mowers to me and John up the road ( independant mower dealer ) and get shocked when we fix them for 20% to 50% of the quote.
There is a big difference between replacing what needs to be replaced to make the mower function and what can be replaced to make the mower run like new.
The tradegy of it is whe they do buy a new mower, most will go & buy it from the glass front because they are $ 10 cheaper than John.

And yes, parts and in fact new mower prices down here are high for the very same reason, exclusive franchise distribution arangements sucking too much money out of too small a turnover.
To give you an idea, John Deere parts are 1/2 to 2/3 the price of any other brand mower parts and about the same cost to me as the Stens & Rotary & Oregon aftermarket parts so I do another 120 km trip & fit genuine JD parts where possible.
In december Ariens exited Australia placing the distribution of Gravely & Ariens mower and Stens parts in the hands of one such franchise agent., Allpower.
Since that date not 1 single order has been shipped complete and I am still waiting for mispicked blades to be replaced. Had a chat to some other independants and the story is the same from them. Unless you are selling high profit whole good they don't want to know you.

Hmmm, must be a powder keg of angst out there among those making a living in the trade. I believe this post started out as a benign, "thank you" for all diligent contributors, but this post has turned on its head. Is it possible for mower people of all walks to take satisfaction in lone-wolf's "thank you?" Some of us need some time on a couch to relax a little. BTW , Berts, you are not watching US politics very closely or you would know that mower related insults are not "in" just now. Instead it is bathroom humor and potty jokes, including menstrual related jibes. Come to think of it this forum is a class act in comparison.

thanks for replys i was hoping just to start this thread just as a thank you for every one on here that helps every one and i thank bertsmobile1 for the help with my mower witch is one of the people that is the reason i posted this threadand

i agree that when doing a job it should be done properly i allways do this and when doing all my jobs around the house being it an onsuite i put in our bedroom or the shed i put up witch has a base that you could park a car on in doing so most of my jobs take a fair more time than should but it is done to a high standard

all of my mowers that i do are cheaked to the best of my know how and i only do a few i would say 10 or so in a year(i only play with mowers as a hobbie and for relaxation) i dont tart them up the only thing i do is pressure wash them to get the crud and grass out i do not paint any thing up (not that this is wrong as long as the engine and other parts match the way they look) blades sharpened and torx up filter cleaned carb clean primer bulb cheaked new oil cheak handle and wheels tight and most inportant cheak the mower cuts out when lever is released and then make sure it starts and runs as it should i all ways cut my grass a few time before selling them just to cheak they start as should after being left for a few days/week and then put up for sale most of the time i have people waiting for one to come up or sell on local paper when sold most of the time when you take in to the price of the sale of the mower fetch about £35 start first with the cost of mower add fuel oil carb cleaner filters service parts when needed and add to that mowers bought that cant be or not worth fixing for what ever reason i belive i make about £10 out of each one sold price of a pack of beers and helping a few friend out with a working mower

the only mowers i have sold that are not working as should (any not working well are just striped for bits) are the mowers that cost to me to repair out weigh the resale cost as i only do mostly standard 4 strokes as there mostly bullet proof and not much to go wrong and rather than a good rare or especially differant mower i hope they go to a good home eg someone that needs it for some reason or with good luck a collector than can spend the time an more so money to get working as should BUT IF SOLD LIKE THIS I AM HONEST AND SAY WHAT NEEDS DOING in the hope it gets another lease of life

hope this helps any confusion in my post

motoman said:

Hmmm, must be a powder keg of angst out there among those making a living in the trade. I believe this post started out as a benign, "thank you" for all diligent contributors, but this post has turned on its head. Is it possible for mower people of all walks to take satisfaction in lone-wolf's "thank you?" Some of us need some time on a couch to relax a little. BTW , Berts, you are not watching US politics very closely or you would know that mower related insults are not "in" just now. Instead it is bathroom humor and potty jokes, including menstrual related jibes. Come to think of it this forum is a class act in comparison.

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I was wondering how a thank you to members thread went so far off the rails.:confused2:

Blame me, it got off track because I took exception to a post I felt disrespected dealers. Ata boys, pats on the back and thanks are nice, but I could care less. It would be better for me and many others if we knew if a problem was solved and what the solution was. That way we could all continue to learn from others who may have offered a solution which we didn't expect or even know about. Believe it or not, but all good dealers and techs are trying to learn more and constantly welcome new solutions. If we wanted to rip someone off, we wouldn't give out FREE help and info. I've now got a bullseye on my back so I'll turn around so you can see where to aim your knives.

Rivets, as I have said before, your contributions are very good. If we could just convince you to see the "good teacher" you are and relax. None of us has a cure for humanity. But people can separate the good intentions from bad . I am sure your reputation is well established. Peace.

In the hope of putting the the thread back on track any help or even joking comments make this forum a good bit of fun I got the bug of playing with small mowers just prob like some of you by chance and love the time out for me some people like sports football running bike repaires I like the play time with my mowers and when they start (some times with the help of people on the forum )the sence of achievement is my reward if I can sell it off and make someone's life a bit easyer by having a working mower and make a beer out of it great and if I save a rare mower in my time that's better see my new post as just got 2 more mowers

Anything that gets people back sides off the lounge and away from the telly is a good thing
Just remember what you do with the public will affect the publics persecption of every other back yard small engine repairer.
keeping older stuff running is the best thing for the planet ( thus humanity in general ) one can do .