Ok, I pulled the trigger on a Caroni today, but will have to wait several weeks as I requested a new one, rather than one that has been sitting outside for a few months. The cost was $1,695.95, plus $121 shipping to South Carolina.
I thought I'd post all the info I learned to save people some time. First, I called several of the Agri-Supply stores and the people I spoke to there weren't over knowledgeable about the product, but they did say they only sold 1 or 2 a year (of the 73" at least), and the one they had in stock had been sitting outside for a while. Each of the seven store locations had exactly 1 TM1900BSC in stock, except the VA location which did not have one. Note that they also carry 36", 47", and 59" models (some may also have the A or F rotors, not certain). Here are the locations and telephone numbers (and number in stock as of today of the 73"):
Petersburg, VA - 800-551-0415 (zero)
Lumberton, NC - 800-277-0062 (1)
Florence, SC - 800-342-1294 (1)
Tifton, GA - 800-833-1458 (1)
Stateshouse, GA - 800-354-1989 (1)
Garner, NC 800-662-1873 (1)
Greenville, NC - 800-445-6814 (1)
I called Italy and spoke to Caroni headquarters but since their English is not the greatest and my Italian is non-existent, I simply got referred to the U.S. distributor, which was helpful as I got good help from them. I spoke with John Morris (919-772-9722), who referred me to Matt Fitzgerald (919-614-1914). Matt very helpful and provided the product info I was looking for. He also helped me with estimates on delivery times, although he was a bit uncertain himself as he's never sure exactly when shipments will arive from Italy.
Matt said they had about 28 TM1900BSCs on order and expected them sometime between April 26 and June 15. He referred me to the Sales person (Beverly at 800-345-0169). I spoke to Beverly and ordered a TM1900BSC (Agri-Supply part number you should give them is 30837, if you want the 73" one with B-rotor). They can special order anything you want from the Caroni line, so if you want the A or F rotor, you can get it, but will likely take several months for delivery. Caroni web site, as previously posted, is:
Caroni S.p.a.
As to the products use, many others have weighed in previously, but the distributor did confirm that the A or F rotor versions were more suitable for manicured lawns and that the B version was more suitable for brush and fields (as the Caroni site also states). However, he also confirmed that the B version does an "adequate" job on lawns. Since I have several acres around a farm house that is "rough" lawn, this was perfect for me and avoids spending for both a rotary cutter and a finishing mower.
I have to say I'm pretty excited about trying a flail out and worse case, if I find I'm not happy with the job it does on lawns, is that I have to get a finishing mower and still spent less than what I was going to spend on rotary mower in the first place.
Hope this is helpful,
Dave
