Buying Advice Sick and tired of low quality riding lawnmowers

[ETD66SS]

Well said.. The only issue is, a big box store mower will not cut wet grass long before the deck clogs with grass and then we have an elderly person that can't clean it out..

I had the same issue with my mom a couple of years ago.. I called a land scaping guy and he mows if twice a month with commercial equipment for $35.00 a pop.. Problem solved..

In my situation my Mom needs things for my Dad to do, otherwise he drives her crazy.

I'm looking at Simplicity mowers online now, they all have Briggs & Stratton EFM engines. How do those rate?

 

[Carl_NH]

In my situation my Mom needs things for my Dad to do, otherwise he drives her crazy.

I'm looking at Simplicity mowers online now, they all have Briggs & Stratton EFM engines. How do those rate?

Simplicity is a B&S owned co and they make Ferris Zero Turns, and the line of lawn tractors in Upstate NY factory near Utica (Mullins NY?). The closest dealer to you is in Lockport Outdoor Equipment - not far from Newfane. The Regent line is OK but I would step up to the Broadmoor 25/48 with the Fab deck and better seat, and it has the K57 transmission vs the K46 which is the entry level tranny.

As far as the B&S engines - the professional series is a decent engine - like anything change oil and air filters, and they all last a long time.

Carl

 

[atsah]

Some folks just need to be active and useful.

Trust me I understand that, I mow my lawn, stack firewood, drive a car, a tractor, a dozer all without the use of my legs. I have had to adapt most of my equipment (expect my dozer, it was all hand controlled from the factory).. So I get it.. I will no doudt be paying people to do things in another 15 years..

 

[ETD66SS]

Simplicity is a B&S owned co and they make Ferris Zero Turns, and the line of lawn tractors in Upstate NY factory near Utica (Mullins NY?). The closest dealer to you is in Lockport Outdoor Equipment - not far from Newfane. The Regent line is OK but I would step up to the Broadmoor 25/48 with the Fab deck and better seat, and it has the K57 transmission vs the K46 which is the entry level tranny.

As far as the B&S engines - the professional series is a decent engine - like anything change oil and air filters, and they all last a long time.

Carl

Yeah, I frequent that Lockport Outdoor Equipment place for my Stihl chainsaw. They generally don't stock anything, so it's tough for me to buy sight unseen from a catalog and wait for them to order it. The research I have done so far is, Simplicity, Cub Cadet, Husqvarna etc either use Kohler or B&S engines and Tuff-Torq transmissions. Seems like they are all about the same tractor it terms of the important components...

 

[Grumpycat]

My father wants me to help him buy a "good" riding mower, Made in USA, and he can spend like $3500. I'm not sure those things go together these days... He spent around $3700 on this Husqvarna mower and I can't believe what he got for $3700, it's a throw away machine. Two years after he bought it both coils failed, and it turns out it was a design flaw and the coils were redesigned, iirc he spent like $300 on new coils. Now this starter shaft issue, I see that Kholer redesigned the starter to have 9 teeth instead of 10 so they could make the weak shaft larger in diameter... This is BS for something he paid $3700 for IMO.

He's 86, recovering from a stroke and I don't think he can lean how to use a zero turn in his current state. So, wondering where to start researching for a new riding, HST, ~54" cut lawnmower? I'd love to buy an older machine on CL and fix it up for him but I simply do not have the time, so need to find a unit to buy that isn't junk.

Country Clipper Avenue 42" retails for $3800 but is made in USA, is not box-store junk, has standard Kawasaki engine, Kohler option. It is not twin-stick control, uses a single joystick. Most who are not used to twin-stick ZTR find the single joystick much easier to drive.

Avenue - Country Clipper Zero-Turn Mowers

 

[ETD66SS]

I am not seeing any Husqvarna's with Kawasaki engines, they no longer available? In fact, what riding mowers use Kawasaki these days?

 

[arnoldziffel]

May I suggest you look for a nice used Toro Wheel Horse 522xi garden tractor.

They are built like a tank, have power steering and excellent Kohler engines.

I live near Syracuse and used to "collect" this model tractor. In fact I made two trips to your town, (Newfane), to buy nice used machines.

Watch CL and I bet you'll come across something decent for $1,500 to $2,500. ( Probably about 450 - 550 hours)

Good luck!

 

[ETD66SS]

May I suggest you look for a nice used Toro Wheel Horse 522xi garden tractor.

They are built like a tank, have power steering and excellent Kohler engines.

I live near Syracuse and used to "collect" this model tractor. In fact I made two trips to your town, (Newfane), to buy nice used machines.

Watch CL and I bet you'll come across something decent for $1,500 to $2,500. ( Probably about 450 - 550 hours)

Good luck!

I came across this one the other day: Wheel horse tractor - farm & garden - by owner - sale

I was curious about the diesel engine in it.

 

[arnoldziffel]

That may be a good candidate.

I collected every Version of the Toro 5xi tractors EXCEPT the diesel.
I understand the engine to be a Briggs & Stratton sourced engine.

I'd check it out if I were you.

There were a couple of good Toro Wheel Horse dealers in your immediate area. One might be Niagara Equipment.
I'd get their opinion on this unit.

 

[arnoldziffel]

Daihatsu Diesel engine by Briggs & Stratton I believe.