How much per hour. . .

[jinman]

. . . have you spent on your JD lawn tractor/mower?

Yesterday as I shut off my LA145, I glanced down at the hour meter and noticed it was 128 hours. Last week when I put new blades on it, I noticed one spindle is starting to loosen up. It's still working fine, but just indicates that I will have to install my 2nd new spindle from my stocked parts by the end of this year's mowing season. With all the other repair parts I've put on this mower (battery, spindles, idlers, broken clutch retainer strap, carburetor repair kit, etc) I now have approximately $2660 in this mower not counting my own time. That got me to thinking about how much per hour this mower has cost me and how much longer I'll need to use it before taking it to the metal scrapper.

Right now, it has cost me $20.77 per operating hour. I'm pretty sure at that price, I could have hired my lawn cut. Sure, this mower will last another 100 hours or so with heavy maintenance, but I'll be lucky to ever break the $10 per hour cost. Ideally, I'd like to have $5 per hour or less, but maybe that's a pipe dream. True enough, If I sell the mower today and get half of what I paid for it. That would put me at $10.40 per hour; still expensive when fuel/oil is not in my equation. I bought this mower at my local JD dealer and the salesman was extremely low-pressure during the sale. He recommended the X3xx series, but said for mowing only I should be okay with the LA145. I'm thinking that a cheaper mower that fails early in its life or is high maintenance is not really a bargain. My MTBF is so low on this mower that I've renamed it "Mean Time Between Frustration." I don't think my patience level will ever let me keep this mower to the point of calling it a good return on my investment.

How about some of you other JD owners with X3xx or X5xx machines? The problem with any of these machines is that they are so new that actual long-term numbers may not exist. I just wonder how many X3xx or X5xx owners are out there that have had a mower over three years and spent $500 to $600 in repair parts. To me, that's a very telling statistic about these mowers. I also know that a single PTO clutch and a couple of belts could put me up near to $1000 in repair/maintence costs. If you hear me complaining in these forums, it's because I wish John Deere would walk away from a market where they can't compete. If I had it to do over, I'd spend over twice as much on a quality machine with longer MTBF and better ROI.

 

[kansas john deere]

. . . have you spent on your JD lawn tractor/mower?

Yesterday as I shut off my LA145, I glanced down at the hour meter and noticed it was 128 hours. Last week when I put new blades on it, I noticed one spindle is starting to loosen up. It's still working fine, but just indicates that I will have to install my 2nd new spindle from my stocked parts by the end of this year's mowing season. With all the other repair parts I've put on this mower (battery, spindles, idlers, broken clutch retainer strap, carburetor repair kit, etc) I now have approximately $2660 in this mower not counting my own time. That got me to thinking about how much per hour this mower has cost me and how much longer I'll need to use it before taking it to the metal scrapper.

Right now, it has cost me $20.77 per operating hour. I'm pretty sure at that price, I could have hired my lawn cut. Sure, this mower will last another 100 hours or so with heavy maintenance, but I'll be lucky to ever break the $10 per hour cost. Ideally, I'd like to have $5 per hour or less, but maybe that's a pipe dream. True enough, If I sell the mower today and get half of what I paid for it. That would put me at $10.40 per hour; still expensive when fuel/oil is not in my equation. I bought this mower at my local JD dealer and the salesman was extremely low-pressure during the sale. He recommended the X3xx series, but said for mowing only I should be okay with the LA145. I'm thinking that a cheaper mower that fails early in its life or is high maintenance is not really a bargain. My MTBF is so low on this mower that I've renamed it "Mean Time Between Frustration." I don't think my patience level will ever let me keep this mower to the point of calling it a good return on my investment.

How about some of you other JD owners with X3xx or X5xx machines? The problem with any of these machines is that they are so new that actual long-term numbers may not exist. I just wonder how many X3xx or X5xx owners are out there that have had a mower over three years and spent $500 to $600 in repair parts. To me, that's a very telling statistic about these mowers. I also know that a single PTO clutch and a couple of belts could put me up near to $1000 in repair/maintence costs. If you hear me complaining in these forums, it's because I wish John Deere would walk away from a market where they can't compete. If I had it to do over, I'd spend over twice as much on a quality machine with longer MTBF and better ROI.

I can't speak for the newer ones but I had a 1977 John Deere 300. just sold it to a young couple down the street and from the time I bought it to selling it to them it cost me a grand total of 987.00 in 30 plus years of owning it. Now thats does not count the general things like oil changes and such. But it does include new belts and a complete over haul in 2004. The spindles are still the original one on the deck also. Now this tractor cost me close to 5 grand when I bought it new I guess the old saying holds true "You get what you pay for." Now if this new to me 318 will hold up like my ole 300 did I wont be complaining at all.

 

[chrisdvorak]

I have a john deere x500 that is about 3.5 years old and now has around 420 hours on it, and I would guess 400 of that is just mowing with a 54 inch deck. the only things I have done to the machine is scheduled service, oil filter, fuel filter, ect. I have not had to do any other work to this machine or change any parts. I use it every week and it starts, runs and mows perfectly.

 

[Verticaltrx]

I can't speak for the new mowers, but my 265 has a little over 600hrs on it. In that time I've replaced the PTO switch, two belts, and regular filters and fluids.

Not sure what that equals out to as cost per hour, but pretty low I'd guess. MTBF is generally several years. :thumbsup:

 

[Bird]

I just looked back at some old records and figure the Toro SR4 (top of the line walk behind homeowner lawnmower) that I used for 4 years cost me about $4.15 an hour. I'm pretty sure that would have come down a bit if I hadn't bought it new and traded it in after only 4 years. But I don't guess I'll be too surprised if the current ZTR costs me $20 an hour.

 

[sandman2234]

Leave the key on while attached to a battery charger and your price per hour will go down as the hour meter reading goes up, thereby making you feel better about your purchase, and not as guilty when you find some sucker willing to purchase it...
David from jax

 

[jenkinsph]

On my L130 (2005) with 252 hours I have had to do several things.

On my third battery this spring, I am not going to screw around with a charger.

Had a loose connection on the fuel shut off valve, finally found it and also installed an electric fuel pump. The electric fuel pump made a big difference in dependable fast starts.

Replaced the elec pto clutch and switch around 100 hrs, learned to be judicious about over working it and use it sparingly.

New front tires this year, the old ones were cracking and wouldn't hold air.

On my third set of blades mostly because in prior years my lawns were rough and rocky. Everything is smooth and rock free now.

No deck repairs, checked everything out this morning and waiting for the grass to dry enough to mow.

With lof's it has cost me about $500 or $2 bucks per hour for maintenance. The larger issue is the tranny is slipping and won't last much longer without a rebuild. I can see that for parts alone this could easily take me to $3 bucks /hr for maintenance.

 

[glc24]

Yesterday as I shut off my LA145, I glanced down at the hour meter and noticed it was 128 hours. Last week when I put new blades on it, I noticed one spindle is starting to loosen up. It's still working fine, but just indicates that I will have to install my 2nd new spindle from my stocked parts by the end of this year's mowing season.

This is the exact reason I decided on an older model that needed some TLC, rather than new.

Sure, this mower will last another 100 hours or so with heavy maintenance,

This is what really amazes me about the older mowers,100 hours is nothing when it comes to their longevity. When I got my 1987 316 with 970 hours that hadn't been mechanically touched for its entire life for $700.00, unbelieveably,it was still decent.:thumbsup: Sure,it had leaks everywhere,and all the bearings were shot,but it was 24 years old!!! So after about $1,200.00 in parts,she's just about new again,and hopefully I shouldn't have to worry about anything for around another 500 hours.

Greg

 

[JJT]

300+ hours on my 5 year old ZD21. Other than normal PM, zero maintenance cost, I'm even still using the original blades and original battery.

 

[jinman]

Thank you all for your responses. You are just validating what I've already found out. Quality is worth every penny you pay for it. Others may have better luck with the inexpensive lines of mowers from JD, but my-oh-my, I've taken good care of this mower and it has taken a toll on my wallet. More responses are welcome.:thumbsup:

 

[om21braz]

300+ hours on my 5 year old ZD21. Other than normal PM, zero maintenance cost, I'm even still using the original blades and original battery.

+ 1 Almost identical results here - 500+ hrs., 6 yrs. old, org. battery, 1 extra set of blades and 1 deck caster.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

I have a JD LX277, aprox. 10 years old, cost around 4K. Once a year I change the , oil, plug, and fuel filter. Never had to do anything else to it except pump a tire up every now and then. I can't remember how many hours on it. But it has been an excellent mower.

David

 

[sandman2234]

If we want to talk about lonegivity versus maintance costs, I can throw in another view. Steiner 525 purchased new in 1996 for $23,000.00, and purchased by me in '05 for $503.00. Maintance on it has been a couple of hoses and belts, filters and such. Getting close to needing a little more work as an axle seal is leaking and I tore the muffler off on a tree limb. Parts aren't cheap for it, but they do last. Hour meter last time I looked was aproaching 3800 hours, but might have passed that. I also replaced the battery and electric fuel pump last year (generic pump with inline filter) and the tires.
Normally homeowners won't pay this kind of money for new, but for large yard owners, rather than buying a mower every few years, might do well to consider a quality mower that costs more than my first house.
David from jax

 

[pennwalk]

I have read that you can save money by buying one of the less expensive models and trading it yearly but I have never seen the actual numbers on this system.

Chris

 

[sandman2234]

I have read that you can save money by buying one of the less expensive models and trading it yearly but I have never seen the actual numbers on this system.

Chris

Trading it yearly to who? The guy selling them has to make a profit to stay in business and there are only so many fools (though there is one born every minute) willing to pay you too much for a used mower. Most people looking at used mowers are looking for a deal, not a cheap used one at close to new price. If it is anything like automobiles, you will be deep in the red before too many years have passed. This might not be true if you are paying someone to do all the maintaince and repairs to the unit and they are charging you for every step they take.
Just my two cents worth...
David from jax

 

[jhonb]

LA120 here. I am in my 5th season, a bit under 100 hours.
Oil, filters, grease, gas, spark plugs, two sets of different types of blades and two brand new and still unused belts is all I'm into it for. (Not including all the JD crap I buy)
It still runs like a deere

So other than normal maintenance and toys... zero dollars an hour.

 

[McKay]

2001 LX279.....525 hours. Other than maintence only one pully/bearing on the deck. Still on the factory battery. Only put the battery tender on it in the winter. Still on original belts and all.

 

[jinman]

So other than normal maintenance and toys... zero dollars an hour.

I think that is excellent service on your LA120. I also think that you made a wise choice to get it because it has a 2-blade 42" deck instead of the 3-blade 48" deck. That smaller deck and the manual PTO are two things that will make your mower last longer. However, your initial price for that mower was probably around $1700, so your cost so far is not zero. It would be at least $17 per hour plus maintenance items. Every year you use it, the cost-per-hour will go down as you put more hours onto it. When you sell it and buy another mower, then that sales price comes off the equation and raises your ROI. If you were to get to 500 hours, you'd be in really rare territory with cost based on purchase price only being $3.20 per hour. We are all a long ways from that, but many of the sturdier JDs have 500 to 1000 hours with only routine maintenance.

Thanks for posting. It's great to see you are getting good value so far and I hope your LA120 makes that 500 hour mark.:thumbsup:

 

[High Compression]

I have 1300 hrs on my ZD21. Routine maint. some anti-scalp rollers, a deck belt and tires are all that I have had to do to mine.

 

[jhonb]

I think that is excellent service on your LA120. I also think that you made a wise choice to get it because it has a 2-blade 42" deck instead of the 3-blade 48" deck. That smaller deck and the manual PTO are two things that will make your mower last longer. However, your initial price for that mower was probably around $1700, so your cost so far is not zero. It would be at least $17 per hour plus maintenance items. Every year you use it, the cost-per-hour will go down as you put more hours onto it. When you sell it and buy another mower, then that sales price comes off the equation and raises your ROI. If you were to get to 500 hours, you'd be in really rare territory with cost based on purchase price only being $3.20 per hour. We are all a long ways from that, but many of the sturdier JDs have 500 to 1000 hours with only routine maintenance.

Thanks for posting. It's great to see you are getting good value so far and I hope your LA120 makes that 500 hour mark.:thumbsup:

All I will probably need is 1/2 of the 500 mark. I got the 42" because the 48" would not fit through my gates. I knew absolutely nothing about tractors when I got mine. I was originally going to buy a Sears, but my father in law basically said he would disown me if I didn't buy a John Deere. And if I had read on this forum about the 100 series, I never would have purchased it. I need to get 4 more years out of it, as I have already purchased my retirement home in Fla. and will be moving there in early 2015. Bary's Lawns is cutting the Fla home for me now, and will probably continue to cut it when I move down there. The lot is much smaller. I think I will either sell the Deere or throw it in with the sale of my house. But maybe, if it still runs and looks nice, I will take it with me. Yes, I paid about 1700, and with bagger system and with tax it right around $2,000.00. I did not get mine from a box store, but rather John Deere dealer, only because they were right around the corner from my house. I could have driven it home. It was a few bucks more than Lowes, but I would have had to pay for delivery so it was a wash.
The funny this is, I subscribe to consumers reports and over the years, the Deere 100 series has been top rated.