Looked at an F today.

[Barnbuilder]

It was this one

http://www.tractorhouse.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=9679051

Said I could have it for $12,100. He would service it. Put a new canopy on it, rear rollers on the deck and two new rear tires. The wife drove it around and of course fell in love with it. Big jump over the Husky Rider 155. She ran over something with it the other day and tore the blades up again.

 

[Sigarms]

I had stopped there a couple of time prior to picking up F myself, but they never had one.

If that's a one owner machine and they have all the service records, I'd probably jump on that myself if I were still looking.

I only mention "one owner" machine with service records because I came across a 36hp F up in Tennessee when I was looking online. After researching the "two owner" used machine, found out a lawn care company owned it first, and it not only had the tranny changed out (which was mentioned in the sales ad), but also the hydro. If a homeowner doesn't own it (mower) and a business does, sometimes the paid employees like to have fun because it's not their money if the machine gets damaged. That same machine went from Tennessee to Pennsylvania to be sold for a extra 2.5 grand without anything being mentioned about motor work being done.

I have the exact same machine with same size rear discharge deck, and absolutely LOVE it.

I have found though that with all the numerous trees around the house, I still kept my smaller z turn to get under the trees (joystick model so I can steer with one hand and move any limbs out of the way LOL). The only thing I don't like about the F is even though the deck is in the front, it sits so high that if you have long, low hanging limbs with a lot of trees, it does take time to maneuver around them without getting poked in the face.

 

[Barnbuilder]

The young guy that came out to show it to us said it came off a golf course. The owner of the place said it was owned by a farmer and he did the maintenance on it in his shop. While we were testing it we could not get it out of 4wd. Which he said they would fix. The wheels on the front of the deck had a little play but nothing that seemed excessive. One of the tires on the deck must have been replaced because one had a lot more wear on it. There was a weld on the deck out at the front left where the lift frame attaches to the deck. I opened the air filter box and it had some of grass in it. The filter needed to be changed obviously. One dent in the hood where the latch comes through. Blades looked rough. Underside of deck was caked with grass. The lower part of seat was starting to crack so it will need to be replaced in a few years.

He also had a 60" side discharge deck that he said if I didn't want it he would sell to the golf course.

 

[Barnbuilder]

Does Kubota have a trailer hitch to go on a F?

 

[Pete6114]

Does Kubota have a trailer hitch to go on a F?

The only ones i ever seen are home made ones. I rigged one up as soon as i got my F, since i depend on it to haul my Trailers from the shed up to my driveway and back, which is near impossible to do with my Truck.
I just happened to have a junk of 4x4 angle iron laying around and used it.

As far as the one you're looking at: 910 hours is substantial, especially if it hasn't been maintained very well. It could be a good mower and it could turn into a nightmare. Any service records available for that machine?

 

[Barnbuilder]

I doubt it as he said it belonged to a farmer and he did the maintenance.

 

[Sigarms]

I doubt it as he said it belonged to a farmer and he did the maintenance.

Just me, but I'm wondering why a farmer would own the F mower and "it come off a golf course"? Was the farmer mowing the course himself or was he charging for the use of the mower?

Honestly, at that point, it could be a roll of the dice. Seems like a good deal, but if it wasn't maintained properly, in a year or two it could be easy to sink a couple of grand into fixing it if you get problems.

I could be wrong as I'm no expert, but it seems the first 500 hours and how the machine is treated and serviced is imperative for longer use.

The only reason why I bought my F used was because it came from John Thomas here on the forum and only had 100 hrs on it. It's kind of rare that you can trust the seller of a machine for big bucks IMO.

When I was looking, there was a place off the Harmony exit (901) off I-77 that carried Grasshoppers. That was what I was torn between, a Kubota or Grasshopper. They use a Kubota engine and the deck is pretty neat with the self rising feature. I only mention that because when I was looking at the time, the same place that has that Kubota you're looking at sold Grasshoppers as well, but that place in Harmoney seemed to have better deals. You may have no interest in that brand, just thought worth mentioning.

Worst case, for that kind of money for a used machine, I'd ask for the farmers phone number so you could talk to him about the history of the mower and what he had to do with it per service. Could give you a much better idea of what you're getting into.

 

[Barnbuilder]

Called the dealership yesterday and said it was owned by the owner of Mack Brown Chevrolet. They gave me the number to the guy that maintains the equipment but haven't been able to get in touch with him and he has returned my call.

 

[Sigarms]

Called the dealership yesterday and said it was owned by the owner of Mack Brown Chevrolet. They gave me the number to the guy that maintains the equipment but haven't been able to get in touch with him and he has returned my call.

I'd do some more digging, story doesn't seem to be adding up (how does a farmer and golf course fit in with the owner of Mack Brown) .

Just thinking aloud and a opinion, and we all know what opinions are like

 

[Barnbuilder]

Well the kid that said good course may not of known what he was talking about.