Need help selecting a mower

[wavinwayne]

OK guys, here's the scoop. In the last two weeks, my wife & I have sold our condominium, and purchased a new house. Long story made short, I now have a yard to mow. It is
I can comfortably spend around $500-750 on a mower, and all I need is a small, dependable rider. I will not be doing any other type of work with the mower, ONLY cutting the grass. With that said, What would you all say are my BEST options, especially this late in the lawn care season? My local Home Despot is sold out of everything except >$1k Cub Cadets, and I don't like the looks of those, nor do I need anything that big.

Will a Wal-of-China-Mart Murray be good enough for a couple of years? Are there any other reliable, relatively cheap options that I should explore?

Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

p.s. I also purchased an Echo weed trimmer. I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but it sure looks sweeeeeet! Also interesting, the Echo's owners manual says to mix 89 octane gas with the 2-stroke oil. That's the first time I've seen 89 octane spec'd for anything lawn-care related.

 

[JTK]

Wal-of-China Mart. That's good! Wayne, I don't think you'll find any new rider for $750. The least expensive riders (new) are typically just under a grand. Murray is no longer. They've been gone a couple of years. The last rider I saw with a Murray label was actually an Electrolux/AYP (Sears) made machine sold at Home Depot. That was a year or two ago. If your goal is under a grand, I'd watch sears or big-box for a closeout, sale item, etc.

Joel

 

[wavinwayne]

Murray is no longer, huh? LOL, shows you how much attention I've paid to the lawn & garden dept.'s lately.

I've lived in condos/townhomes for the better part of the last ten years. I have had no real reason to pay attention to lawn mowers.

I may look at my local Sears this weekend, to see what they've still got. This late in the season, it looks like everybody is pretty much sold out of everything.

My other option is to buy a used unit from a small engine repair shop up the street. He's got a whole fleet of $400 used mowers, that I'm sure would serve the purpose, at least for the rest of this year.

 

[jsharp]

Our local small Wally had a few MTD models in that price range left before they closed a couple of weeks back. I didn't notice any at our new Super Wally.

Your best option might be to find someone to mow it for the remainder of the year. That'll give you time to shop and buy what you think is best for next year's mowing season and beyond.

 

[wavinwayne]

jsharp,

I have access to my in-laws' Murray rider as often as I'll need it for the rest of the year, so technically I won't HAVE TO buy anything right now. I'll probably do what you suggest & wait until next year to buy a new one. I want a John Deere (mostly for the looks), so it will probably be best to wait a while & save up the extra money for the Deere.

 

[obbop]

Wait until summer is over then look for used. Of-season buying can save you money. Perhaps a local yard equipment dealer has used stuff.

Buy new if you have to but I would wonder about quality at the bottom end of the price range.

Here is the best place to go for informed and uninformed opinions:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/tractor/

or here:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/lmower/

Those folks are giddy with glee about mowing as are those weirdos and their shaving forum or those unimaginably brilliant blokes at that place covering lubrication and maintenance and shanties.

 

[wavinwayne]

Thanks for the linkies, O.C.

 

[Bill Kapaun]

Briggs bought Murray. I think Murray was going under and Briggs "acquired" the assets since Murray was in "arrears" to Briggs for engines?
I don't know if they are still producing Murrays, but if I was a mower manufacture and my engine supplier started competing against me, I doubt I would continue to buy their engines. Maybe that's why you're seeing more Honda engines on entry level mowers?
If you're talking under $1000, I think you'll find similar quality levels no matter what brand.
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml04/04103.html

 

[jsharp]

Quote:

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jsharp,

I have access to my in-laws' Murray rider as often as I'll need it for the rest of the year, so technically I won't HAVE TO buy anything right now. I'll probably do what you suggest & wait until next year to buy a new one. I want a John Deere (mostly for the looks), so it will probably be best to wait a while & save up the extra money for the Deere.

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It sounds like you've got your answer and it's a good one. I tried to do the same, buy in the off season, but my old mower didn't make it long enough.

I figured mower dealers would be very inclined to deal in the middle of an Illinois winter.

 

[yeehaw1960]

Beware the used riders. The only place I would buy a used rider is from a John Deere dealer because the used rider they start out with is a solid mower. Anything you buy from "Fred" down the street who works on stuff, may be a huge headache. Sears had their bottom of the line rider on sale for $999 not long ago. One acre, no thrashing or pulling wheelies, it will probably do the job.

 

[obbop]

Jumping up, enraptured with my own brilliance, yet moarnful for not thinking of this earlier.....

Cost-benefit analysis!!!!!!!!!!

Buy a real expensive machine and hope it lasts forever with minimal to no repair resulting in a low cost-per-year as the decades slither by and your body and mind withers into a pale dessicated semblance of your glory years.

Or, buy super cheap and perhaps need to repair or replace more often but actually costing less per year in comparison to the expensive unit.

Of course, will have to use guesstimate numbers in your factoring.

Then, another possibility. Looking at above results seek the lowest bid for an outsider to mow your lawn. Factor im time savings to you, if it matters. Also consider the possibility that you doing the mowing results in injury some day. Wrench back moving mower may mean lost income from work. What if you lop off a foot? What if your machine throws a rock, striking neighbor kid in head? Lawsuit costs.

Many variables. May be cheaper to hire another to mow!!!!

Imagine, sitting in your lawn chair, under the umbrella, sipping on lemonade as some ruffian mows your lawn. Laugh at sweating neigbors cutting their own lawns!!!

 

[benjamming]

Is that what lawnBOY does?

 

[pp_rp]

Quote:

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Wal-of-China Mart. That's good! Wayne, I don't think you'll find any new rider for $750. The least expensive riders (new) are typically just under a grand. Murray is no longer. They've been gone a couple of years. The last rider I saw with a Murray label was actually an Electrolux/AYP (Sears) made machine sold at Home Depot. That was a year or two ago. If your goal is under a grand, I'd watch sears or big-box for a closeout, sale item, etc.

Joel

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Wal-of- China-Mart - lol

 

[benjamming]

Quote:

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p.s. I also purchased an Echo weed trimmer. I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but it sure looks sweeeeeet! Also interesting, the Echo's owners manual says to mix 89 octane gas with the 2-stroke oil. That's the first time I've seen 89 octane spec'd for anything lawn-care related.

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My Stihl trimmer says the same thing.

 

[Dr_No]

WavinWayne, I don't know if you have a HomeDepot where you live, but they have the biggest selection of lawn mowers of every type I have seen.
Ebay also sells nice riding mowers if you can find a seller in your area.

 

[HM12460]

wayne, do yourself a favor, a really big favor. you deserve it. buy an older used cub cadet or a john deere with a single cylinder cast iron kohler. find one thats been well maintained and stored inside. it'll outlast anything new made today in the price range you're talking about.

 

[leftlane]

If you buy something new then buy it from a place that can do the warranty work there quickly instead of home depot like I did because they ship all the tractors out of town and it takes a month or more to get it back, and I'll add that when they brought mine back it was filthy with mud all over it. If I'd known it was that way with home depot I'd paid $100 more that the local lawn shop wanted for the same model. That way the work couldve been done there and completed much faster to where I didnt have to use an old tempermental mower for a month waiting on the new one to get sent back to home depot.

 

[wavinwayne]

Well, I finally pulled the trigger & purchased a mower. I up'd my budget & got a John Deere LA110 from Lowes. It has a 19.5 HP B&S engine & an automatic transmission. It has everything I'll need for as long as I own the house I'm in now.

Seeing as how a John Deere riding mower won't fit in the back of a VW GTI, I'll have to wait until Thursday to pick it up with my FIL's pickup. With my new Echo weed trimmer & this new mower, I can't wait to get back to doing yard work again. Well, not really, but at least I'll be doing it with some nice equipment!

 

[JTK]

Good deal. Of the
Joel

 

[wavinwayne]

Pics of the new mower: http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...;vc=#Post973334