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Hey everyone. I'm a residential homeowner and I cut about 4 acres of yard. A couple years ago, I bought what I thought would be a mower that would last for many years. I bought a used 2002 model Grasshopper 321d with 850 hours. This will be my third summer with the mower. So far, I've had lots of little problems. First year was electrical problems with the PTO switch and various shorts. Last year it was blown hydro lines that were dry rotted and then more PTO switch problems. This year, it is back to more PTO switch problems. I'm also getting a fuel leak around what I think is the fuel pump on the engine. After mowing, the pump will have weeped fuel all around itself and is covered in gooey dirt/diesel sludge. The engine still runs just fine,but I see this becoming a problem in the future.

The problem is that my Grasshopper dealer is very slow on service so I'm usually out of a mower for about 3 weeks each trip. So that puts me in a bind because I don't like to borrow equipment from friends and family to mow while mine is in the shop and I don't like paying to have it mowed either.

Now I love everything else about the machine. I love the diesel vs gas. Fuel consumption is noticeably less than a gas. The machine is very wide and very heavy and sticks to hillsides like glue. The rear tires are very wide and get great traction. I rarely spin out. When other neighbors are getting stuck, my machine just eases through without any problem. The controls are smooth and not jerky, even when mowing in full throttle. The cut is amazing and makes my yard full of weeds and junk grass look like a golf course.

I'm just trying to decide if at the end of this season if I should let my dealer keep my mower over the winter and have them go over the whole machine with a fine tooth comb and replace anything that is 50% worn or more before it breaks. Have them replace bushing, bearings, etc and then have then completely repaint and re-decal the entire machine. I'm estimating $1500 to $2500 for all of this work. If that's not an accurate estimate, please feel free to correct me.

So should I invest in my old machine in hopes of heading off future problems or should I save up my money and sell my old machine to buy a brand new machine for next summer? My current machine had 975 hours.

Your mower is over 12 years old right now and by the end of the mowing season it will excede 1000 hours. I doubt that your dealer would be able to go over your mower with a fine tooth comb and replace everything that was worn 50% for even close to what your wanting to spend.

From what your saying about just the elect parts would eat up a bunch of money. I think I would get it running and get a new mower. I know a bunch of guys here think getting a used mower even commercial is a good idea but to me your buying someone problems buying used. Of course you have gotten a few good years out of your mower so just cut your losses and try and find a good new mower that you can be happy with YMMV.

jimrs said:

Your mower is over 12 years old right now and by the end of the mowing season it will excede 1000 hours. I doubt that your dealer would be able to go over your mower with a fine tooth comb and replace everything that was worn 50% for even close to what your wanting to spend.

From what your saying about just the elect parts would eat up a bunch of money. I think I would get it running and get a new mower. I know a bunch of guys here think getting a used mower even commercial is a good idea but to me your buying someone problems buying used. Of course you have gotten a few good years out of your mower so just cut your losses and try and find a good new mower that you can be happy with YMMV.

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I agree...it's time to upgrade!!!