2012 Gravley ZT HD 52 ZTR

   / 2012 Gravley ZT HD 52 ZTR #11  
Keep in mind that the pricing in this thread is "2012 prices" and has most likely gone up several hundred dollars for the 2014's. I gave you some details of what I would pay for a 2014 ZT HD 52 in your other thread. You will be VERY happy with a Gravely ZT HD. Good luck!!!

Understood - just thought it was strange to see someone from the small rural area I live in looking at the exact same machine, and is also probably a sports car enthusiast like myself.
Thanks again for all the help, on both forums!
 
   / 2012 Gravley ZT HD 52 ZTR #12  
Understood - just thought it was strange to see someone from the small rural area I live in looking at the exact same machine, and is also probably a sports car enthusiast like myself.
Thanks again for all the help, on both forums!

Hey...talk about coincidences......I am also a "sports cart enthusiast" and owned a 1972 Datsun 240Z(the fastest production sports car I ever had). I also owned 4 different MG Midgets over the years(bought a 1971 off the showroom floor for $1,800....yeah the price is NOT a typo, then bought a 1968 used, then a 1967 used and a 1975...for parts to restore the 1967). I always LOVED the British Leyland cars(Triumph, MG and Jaguar) and "dreamed" about owning one of the "Ultimate Cats"(what they called the Jaguar XKE with the V12:0)

Go figure, thinking I would never be able to afford a Jag, when Ford bought Jaguar from British Leyland and subsequently merged the line into their Ford/Lincoln products I found myself in a position to buy a 2001 Lincoln LS(which was a Jaguar S Sedan with Lincoln detailing) at the Ford employee discount(because of a business partnership my employer had with Fod Motor Co.). Needless to say I purchased it for my wife for Mother's Day 2001 and with only about 120,000 miles on it still own it. Handles like a Jag, the oil filter had "Made In England" stamped on it and averaged 26mpg with a 4.0 liter V-8. Sooooo, dreams do come true and I wouldn't trade my "Ford Jaguar" for any of the newer cars(what a tragedy when Ford sold Jaguar a few years back to a company in India:0(

I bet you like that Ultimate Driving Machine you have(the BMW M5...right?). BMW is another of my favorites!! I miss my MG Midgets from time to time. My father-in-law is into classic cars(he owns a 1971 Chevelle SS396 and a 1958 Ford Fairlane with the "hide-a-top"). Now he tells me.....do you know what that 1967 MG Midget would be worth now(which doesn't make me feel very good about getting rid of it:0( My wife convinced me to sell my '67 and '75 in 1995 and buy a used bass boat(I figured...well I've owned 4 MG's but never had a boat:0) I was truly blessed with a wife that loves to fish more than I do and we upgraded in 1999 to a brand new 18' Sprint Fish & Ski that we still own. Paid for, garage kept, with less than 100 hours on the water(still looks/feels like a brand new boat 15 years later). We both recently retired and we will get our money's worth out of that investment now that we can go fishing whenever we want:0)

It really IS a small world isn't it????
 
   / 2012 Gravley ZT HD 52 ZTR #13  
RE the small world thing: I think those of us that love machinery end up buying these expensive ZTRs to cut our little piece or grass :).

I've always liked something that handled. First car was a 70 Camaro and I lowered it and put wide tires all the way around, back in 1978, when everyone was jacking up these cars. I built a hopped up 327 for that car in my junior year of HS. The car could hold it's own with a buddy's 68 GT500 Shelby in a straight line until about 120mph. But then I got a ride in his friends 280Z with a turbo kit - I was hooked on getting something like that. Then in 1980 I read an article in HotRod mag about the ScarabZ and I knew I'd do that someday. I bought a 240Z (73) in 1981 and finally converted it to a V8 after years of tearing it all the way to it's shell and putting it back the way I wanted it. The result is here: Pete's V8 Datsun 240Z Pages. I used parts and a manual from (get this!) JagsThatRun.com as the basis for the V8 swap. :)
But I do love driving the 00' M5 to work every day. It has lots of low end torque and sticks to the road like crazy (I have 275/35-18s on all 4 corners, Michelin Pilot Sports - very sticky). I will drive it until I can't afford to fix it for a sane amount of money. I do all of my own mechanical work, so that helps.
That LS is sweet - I rented one once and loved it!

Called the dealer for the ZT HD 52" today - waiting for the salesman to return my call... Still waffling between the ZT XL and ZT HD - an extra grand for uber-ruggedness seems a bit extreme and I think I'd probably be o.k. with the XL. The wife points out it's only $20/month extra, so why not. She's incredible in many ways!
 
   / 2012 Gravley ZT HD 52 ZTR #14  
That's a sweet Z car!!! If you EVER consider selling it message me here or on LMF and I'd be glad to take it off your hands:0)

I don't know your age, but it "sounds like" this ZTR purchase may last your retirement too(that's why the ZT HD is worth the extra..taken care of and it'll last you just like your Dad's 1950 Gravely). I hear ya...today(8/4) is our 34th Wedding Anniversary. The wife has gone out to get a massage/manicure/pedicure and we will probably do a movie and eat out tonight. She is a GREAT Finanicial Advisor too and seems to always let me have my way when I really want something:0)
 
   / 2012 Gravley ZT HD 52 ZTR #15  
That's a sweet Z car!!! If you EVER consider selling it message me here or on LMF and I'd be glad to take it off your hands:0)
I'll let you know, but there's a line in front of you ;). My daughter would kill me if I got rid of it too - she helped me with the build. In fact, she helped me blueprint the current V8 engine, with all of the precision measuring tools, etc. She's expecting it as her part of the estate, lol. Anyway, I can't duplicate the fun factor of this thing for even 1/4 of what I could sell it for - so it'll probably stay with me for quite a while.

I don't know your age, but it "sounds like" this ZTR purchase may last your retirement too(that's why the ZT HD is worth the extra..taken care of and it'll last you just like your Dad's 1950 Gravely). I hear ya...today(8/4) is our 34th Wedding Anniversary. The wife has gone out to get a massage/manicure/pedicure and we will probably do a movie and eat out tonight. She is a GREAT Finanicial Advisor too and seems to always let me have my way when I really want something:0)
I'm not retired, 52 y.o. I would hope that the ZT HD would last me for 30 years! Hey, if it needs an engine replacement at some point, I'll probably make it electric at that point as it'll be easy by then. As much as I like the I.C. engine it seems hugely wasteful to burn gas or diesel in all of this lawn equipment, and it pollutes as well (btw, I'm a AGW denier, so that's not in the equation for me). I'd think it 10 years most lawn mowing equipment will be electric, whether it's batteries, mega-capacitors, fuel cell, Mr. Fusion or zero-point sourced :).

Happy Anniversary! This is my second time around, we just celebrated our 3rd year on the 30th.

I'm headed to the county fair tonight. It's only a few miles away and the dealer has a ZT HD 60 on display there. I may just offer something on it and go for the 60, even that's overkill for my 1.5 acres. It'll fit in the shed and all the places I need to mow, so who knows. He has a ZT XL 52 at the dealership, but he's saying that if I want a machine that is going to last a long time, upgrading to the HD makes sense. He's a good 'ol farm boy and seems like a straight shooter. They have the dealership just to stay profitable on their farm, as the tax bill is pretty high in this county.

A question for dj and the readership: How much $$ off would be reasonable if this is a demo? Would the number of Demo hours on it figure into the offer much? At some point it's not "new" anymore, I just don't know how to gauge that. Any help appreciated!
 
   / 2012 Gravley ZT HD 52 ZTR #16  
I saw the ZT HD 60 last night at the fair.

Called and sealed the deal on the ZT HD 60 this morning. Without askiing, HE offered to go down to $5000 (instead of $5199 "discounted" price). Since I'm using the 0% financing and I know they take a hit on that, my offer was going to be $5000. He did mention that's as far down as he could go. Well, I'm not a dealer and I got my price, so no worries I suppose.

I'll probably have it in a couple of days!
 
   / 2012 Gravley ZT HD 52 ZTR #17  
The ZT HD 60 with Kawasaki FR730 engine was delivered Friday from the same dealer that djdicetn found for miatadvr, J. David Mullinix & Sons in Dayton, MD.

I just got done cutting the grass - what used to take almost 2 hours took possibly 40 minutes.

Very nice mower! I think I need to fill in ruts and holes a bit - running this fast over the yard while cutting is pretty jarring. :)

Thanks everyone for their help!
zthd60-frtqtr.jpg
 
 
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