Buying Advice Newbie buying as a gift...HELP!

SareBear0728 · Apr 14, 2011

Hi All!

So glad I found this site-so much great info on here, and I need all the advice I can get.

My husband and I just bought our dream home, a little farm house on 5 acres of green green grass! His birthday is around the corner and I would really love to surprise him with a lawn tractor or zero turn. Formally city folks, we are currently using a regular teeny push mower and a 28" riding Snapper that is older than dirt (and borrowed). Because we are limited by these two, we are only able to mow small areas.

Soooooooooooo...I would love to hear ANY advice you might have. Our yard is 5 acres, many different fenced areas (6), some slight hills and trees and we are planning to open a dog boarding facility on the property in the next few months.

~Based on this info, do you recommend a lawn tractor or zero turn?
~Any particular brands? He tried a Bad Boy at TSC and loved it, but it was the primo in their shop and cost top dollar...a bit out of our budget.
~We are on a fairly tight budget (the house already came with it's share of projects!) so I have to take that into consideration.

Thanks everyone for any advice you can send my way-we are newbies in this department.

Sarah

CompactTractorFan · Apr 14, 2011

Well...first off, welcome to TBN.

You must be a nice wife to buy him a new toy.

If you have a lot of trees and obstacles I would go with a ZTR if you don't want to preform other tasks other than mowing (blowing snow, towing trailer, etc...). About what is your budget?

SareBear0728 · Apr 14, 2011

Thanks for the welcome!

Birthday boys and their toys-I can't wait to see the look on his face when he gets a new mower. HA!

I would like to stick to under 3k-possibly even looking at used. If I could get something that would get us through a few seasons, I'm sure we could "upgrade" down the road.

Thanks~
Sarah

Ford tractor · Apr 14, 2011

Go to sears or the box hardware store and buy a lawn mower. For 3K you can get a decent one with a 48" deck. 48" would be my minimum cutting width. If you want a zero turn, you will have to spend more - a lot more for a real good one. My neighbor has a one and loves it.

Cutting 5 acres of lawn isn't that hard, but I doubt that your hubby will want to cut it all.

A "real" tractor with all sorts of attachments and stuff will cost a whole lot more, but will do a whole lot more. Kubota BX series is a good starting point to use in comparison against others.

Going used on a lawn mower can be a crap shoot. Very possible to get a good one and even more possible to get one that will eat all your money and make you pull out all your hair.

groundcover · Apr 14, 2011

I would go right by Sears , head to a mower dealer and look at their entry level zero turns. I picked up a Skag freedom Z demo and couldn't be happier!

Welcome to TBN and good luck !

jenkinsph · Apr 14, 2011

SareBear,
I suggest you either find a used mower or upgrade a notch rather than buy a $2k to $3k mower. The low end riding mowers don't hold up to cutting large areas near as well as the slightly more expensive models. I would recommend something along the lines of a John Deere X340 mower. Deere has low rate financing on these mowers (4.9% @48 months) so half down payment and $50 a month would get you in a mower good for many years. I think this would be far cheaper than getting a low priced model that you get 3 to 6 years out of.

Kyle241 · Apr 15, 2011

Welcome to TBN! Back when we first moved to the country and we had about 3 acres of our 10 to cut, I went to Sears and bought a 20hp riding mower. It lasted for 10 years and did a great job IMHO. Yes, there were more expensive and better quality Kubota diesel riding mowers but back then they were $5-7k which was way beyond my price. I paid $1800 or around there and had no troubles other than replacing the battery. So that is my two cents, you can go to small engine dealers as well, their prices will likely be higher as they will carry a name brand and they are nice as well.

If in the future, you are looking to upgrade (which you will especially if you stay on this forum :laughing

to a utility tractor, those dollars are a lot more. Personally I would go with a new mower just so you have a warranty and you DH will love you even more!

DAY · Apr 15, 2011

If you are mowing GRASS (as in, a "lawn") then an inexpensive riding mower will do fine. If the terrane is more like a horse pasture than a golf course, the bumps, lumps, and weeds will put a good bit of stress on a riding mower. Manolo Blahniks are perfect for a cocktail party, not so much for frizbee in the park. . .

That said, down the road you are going to find many chores for a small CUT, with a FEL (Have you figured out our lingo yet?) You are opening a business, and the machine will be a depreciable business expense. Don't forget you have to keep the snow plowed so your customers can deliver Fido to the kennel. Are you buying bedding in bulk- and hauling the droppings off to a compost pile? You will find lots of jobs for a small utility tractor. All of the tractor companies are offering very attractive financing (as in Zero percent!), so visit a few, talk, pick up the brochures. And then wrap them up for the birthday boy- when he opens the package, tell him "we NEED one of those!" If he is anything like the other men here, his joy will be obvious.

Gary Fowler · Apr 15, 2011

For mowing 5 acres a ZTR mower is the only way to go, however, for even a box store MTD manufacturered mower which is bottom of the line mower, you are going to lay out $3000 minimum and it will only mow grass (maybe pull a small garden utility trailer). If it were me and I had just bought a mini farm with 5 acres of pasture and expecting to open a kennel, I would search for a used Kubota B or BX series with a finish mower for mowing and an Front end loader (FEL) for lifting chores and clean up chores.
Go to Tractorhouse.com and look at what they have to offer to get an idea of size and capability and of course price. DO not be afraid to buy used tractors, they are designed to last many many years and several thousand hours. THey can usually be bought for 60% of new price with 500-700 hours on them and if serviced right, they are just getting broke in at that point. New models will have some attractive financing offers on them and might be less initial outlay of $$$ than buying used. If you can swing new, then by all means go for it, but look at the small SCUT tractors in the less than 20 HP versions. Also dont be fooled by the horsepower rating on tractors compared to lawnmowers. Usually a 20 HP SCUT tractor will have more power and lots more traction than a 25 or 30 HP lawnmower and you can use 3 point hitch implements and PTO driven equipment like tillers also so you can raise that garden that I know you want.

SareBear0728 · Apr 18, 2011

Thanks for all the advice! I have a lot to research.

He definitely wants a ZTR...I swear that's all he talks about. And after looking up some different models, I agree that going with a local dealer is the best bet. They do have some great financing options so I *guess* I would be willing to spend around $5k for the DH...:confused2: HA!

I have found a few from JD, Kubota, Toro, Cub and Bad Boy in that price range. Any more thoughts to steer me in the right direction? Going to go to a few of the dealers in the area in the next week or so.

Thanks again for all the info-it's a lot to digest.

Sarah