A Lawn Mower That Lasts?

[Ralo]

Dilemma: I mow my own lawn, I live on 1/3 of an acre, I have been through 3 lawnmowers in 6 years. They always seem to kick the bucket after the warranty expires. This does not even consider the number of times I have to replace my blade, or the time I got my transmission repaired (under warranty) on my Poulan, etc.

I want a riding lawn mower such as a John Deere from Home Depot but the customer reviews state that those residential grade riding lawn mowers are rather fragile and accessories are too pricey.

If I was willing to pay a good sum (up to $800 or $900) for a self propelled commercial grade lawn mower such as a Snapper - where would I go? Could I find this at Lowes? Home Depot? Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance.

[sheeats]

Ditch the mower and the lawn. Xeriscape your yard. Way of the future, man.

[TexasVines]

Dilemma: I mow my own lawn, I live on 1/3 of an acre, I have been through 3 lawnmowers in 6 years. They always seem to kick the bucket after the warranty expires. This does not even consider the number of times I have to replace my blade, or the time I got my transmission repaired (under warranty) on my Poulan, etc.

I want a riding lawn mower such as a John Deere from Home Depot but the customer reviews state that those residential grade riding lawn mowers are rather fragile and accessories are too pricey.

If I was willing to pay a good sum (up to $800 or $900) for a self propelled commercial grade lawn mower such as a Snapper - where would I go? Could I find this at Lowes? Home Depot? Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance.

you will find nothing commercial grade for that price new unless you find a 22" self propelled walk behind on special........you will probably find nothing commercial grade for twice that price in a rider or 3 times that price new

you need to look used at the end of the season for that price and it will probably be something used heavily

there are really no "commercial" conventional riding mowers that I know of now especially at that price.....they will all be zero turn mowers now that are really commercial grade

1/3 of an acre you could use a 36" walk behind and be just fine

otherwise be prepared to pay more, buy used, or keep replacing......PS you get about the same price at the Deere Dealer and they will stand behind something Deere better than anyone else....you are really buying dealers and dealer service with a product like this until you get into the higher end.......they are all Briggs, Kohler, Honda, or Kawasaki, engines for the most part and a lot of the hydros ect are the same companies

[ricco67]

Dilemma: I mow my own lawn, I live on 1/3 of an acre, I have been through 3 lawnmowers in 6 years. They always seem to kick the bucket after the warranty expires. This does not even consider the number of times I have to replace my blade, or the time I got my transmission repaired (under warranty) on my Poulan, etc.

I want a riding lawn mower such as a John Deere from Home Depot but the customer reviews state that those residential grade riding lawn mowers are rather fragile and accessories are too pricey.

If I was willing to pay a good sum (up to $800 or $900) for a self propelled commercial grade lawn mower such as a Snapper - where would I go? Could I find this at Lowes? Home Depot? Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance.

[jm1fd]

In my experience, John Deere mowers are overly complicated, need frequent repairs, and are chock full of expensive parts.

I suggest you find you a decent used rear engine Snapper with a Briggs & Stratton engine. The more metal on it, and fewer plastic covers and do-hickeys the better. Something like this. They're simple, reliable, the parts are cheap, and they're easy to work on. Excellent balance between cost and reliability.

If you just absolutely don't want to or can't work on a mower, you need to spend some money.....I've heard that Cub Cadets are dead reliable, but they're horrendously expensive.

[Ralo]

thanks to TV and JM1 for the great comments and for humorous ones too.

[20thStDad]

What do you people do to lawnmowers? I used the same one to cut my family's grass, both my grandparents, and a few neighbors yards for years, before I even knew what an oil change was. Then again, my mom has broken (or they just broke) at least 3 mowers that I know of. The old simple snapper was my favorite. Then we got a craftsman that was supposedly self propelled, but I worked twice as hard to move that thing than I did the non-propelled snapper.

[travelguy_73]

I grew up with a Honda mower (metal deck), and have one now (plastic deck). Those things are built to last, and ours has never received anything but a yearly tune-up and oil change. Going through so many mowers in such a short period of time...I have to wonder what type of abuse they get! Are you mowing something else besides lawn?

[Mark F. Barnes]

My preference is the Poulan Pro 48" Zero radius mower. I mow about 5 acres with it weekly. I have had it for 3 years and just put my first set of blades on it. It has an anti-scalp deck, three blades and cuts beautifully. The blades are easily removed to sharpen, which I do once a month. Just bought my first new set, $21.00 (3 blade set) at my local dealer. I have never had a problem out of this mower, and it gets heavy use. Cleans up easily and has a 5 gallon fuel tank. Good luck in your search.....my two pennies

[houwest]

When I used to have to mow 2 1/2 acre each yards, I bought a used Sarlo mower. It's a self propelled walkbehind with a 11 or 12 HP Briggs and Straton. Very easy to use and start. The best feature, and this may be common to most commercial mowers, is that the blade is belt driven rather than driven straight off the crank shaft like most home type mowers. If you hit something like a root, you don't total out the engine.

They have a web site. Warning: make sure you are sitting down when you see the price of a new one.

[Mr. Chenevert]

I used the same '68 Cub Cadet riding mower for 20 years until I finally upgraded to a new one. Sure it needed a repair or two each season, but it cut 2 acres of grass each week...

[Ross]

Brookside Equipment is a good John Deere dealer. My Dad bought his JD walk behind from them and ran it without incident for 11 years. Make sure you get the more expensive motor. A friend has used the same Honda riding mower for 13 years - very reliable.

[UpperEastSideNewbie]

Ditch the mower and the lawn. Xeriscape your yard. Way of the future, man.

We are in the process of xeriscape the yard and so far we have some Agave plants growing.

However, it has been difficult to find stones and gravel at an affordable price in Houston.

Are they places in East End that offer stones/gravel at good prices?

[20thStDad]

Don't know of any on the east end, but San Jacinto Stone on Yale isn't too far from downtown and I have always had good experiences there. Lots of selection.