Looking into getting a riding mower

[96Firebird]

Just bought a house and need to get a mower... I thought I could get away with a push mower, but all my friends and family that have seen the house say I should just get a rider. My parents are giving me $1000 towards a mower for a housewarming gift, so I'm already off to a good start. Someone on Craigslist has listed a John Deere D125 for $1300 (claims 15 hours, 2015 model), but not much else on there right now.

Anyways, educate me on riding mowers.

 

[Blain]

Do you have very many obstacles to mow around?
I've got a little over 1/2 acre, but a rider was more hassle to me than it was worth.
I've got plenty of things to mow around, which made a rider my last choice.
If your yard is basically a big open field, a rider might be the perfect fit.

You might consider a large self-propelled walk behind like a Sarlo 30". These type mowers are simple in design and built like tanks. Sarlo isn't the only manufacturer of high wheel, wide area type mowers.

IMO, A used JD rider is a pile of parts that need replacing, one expensive piece at a time.
JD and other riders are chocked full of parts that break at the worse time. The JD riders are not built with the same quality as the farm tractors.

 

[96Firebird]

Yard is open, no trees since it is a fairly new neighborhood that was flattened to build houses. I know what you mean about obstacles, my parents yard has so many trees that it seems like it would be easier with a push mower...

The JD I'm looking at is barely used - oddly enough my buddy works with the guy selling it (and I guess he makes some decent money from what I've heard). He's gonna get some more info for me, and see what the bottom dollar is.

 

[jaha2000]

IMO. A JD from a big box store is not a JD. It is a pile parts that are waiting to be replaced.

They have different model numbers they sell to real outdoor equipment stores. Things are heavier duty, longer lasting and more expensive. Youll pay more upfront, but you will have something you wont have to monkey with for a long time.

How big of a lot do you have?

 

[NetWareHead]

IMO. A JD from a big box store is not a JD. It is a pile parts that are waiting to be replaced.

They have different model numbers they sell to real outdoor equipment stores. Things are heavier duty, longer lasting and more expensive. Youll pay more upfront, but you will have something you wont have to monkey with for a long time.

How big of a lot do you have?

Agree with this. I never buy outdooor power equipment from a big box store. But I am lucky to have a honda, stihl and husqvarna dealers within 10 minutes drive. Home Depot for instance wants to sell JD tractors and meet a certain price point. The bean counters at JD will make that happen and do so by cheapening the tractor in some way shape or form. You will get the real deal at a dealership.

 

[DrPizza]

This doesn't apply to the OP, but re: trees - seems the guys I worked for in college had this figured out, and it worked very well: send in the college students with regular lawn mowers to do around the trees, and other areas that were hard to get with the riding mower, and then send in the riding mower to hit the bulk of it. By using two tools effectively, it greatly reduced the amount of time for mowing. No one ever said it had to be just one or the other. And sometimes, particularly if you have a lot of trees, it's so easy to go from tree to tree with a push mower, and do a one or two mower width path around the tree, elminating the need to slow down on the riding mower to deal with it.

 

[slag]

Go to craigslist, find a Snapper RER in good shape.

Give it a test drive, hand them $200-$250, and go use the rest on mancave toys.

Seriously, Snapper RER mowers are the best bang for the buck, extremely easy to maintain and are simple to operate. They rarely break, but if they do, parts are plentiful and cheap.

 

[96Firebird]

Here is my yard, a little over 1/3 acre with a hill on the side of the house that goes from a walk out basement in the back to level with the first floor in the front. Red is yard outline, black is near-future fence.

I keep reading don't buy from big box stores, but the local dealers carry the same products as Home Depot or Lowe's... Such as the JD D125, my local JD dealer has D-series as well. What makes it so bad if it is sold at big box stores?

 

[Thump553]

A rider for a 1/3 acre lot is way overkill. Get a regular 26 inch self propelled mower-it could do that whole yard in 20 minutes or less. Costs a few hundred but with decent care can easily last two decades. Heck you could probably even get by easily with an electric mower.

 

[NetWareHead]

Here is my yard, a little over 1/3 acre with a hill on the side of the house that goes from a walk out basement in the back to level with the first floor in the front. Red is yard outline, black is near-future fence.

You are getting a riding mower for a 1/3 acre? Do as you wish but thats overkill. I'd get a nice mower but not a tractor. I mow a 1/3 acre lawn with fair amount of obstacles with a regular mower in less than an hour once a week.

I keep reading don't buy from big box stores, but the local dealers carry the same products as Home Depot or Lowe's... Such as the JD D125, my local JD dealer has D-series as well. What makes it so bad if it is sold at big box stores?

The answer is here in this thread already...

 

[DrPizza]

I keep reading don't buy from big box stores, but the local dealers carry the same products as Home Depot or Lowe's... Such as the JD D125, my local JD dealer has D-series as well. What makes it so bad if it is sold at big box stores?

As pointed out, they meet the price point demanded by the box stores. I had the good fortune of my kids destroying my John Deere. I happened to be shopping at a dealer, and he had just gotten the identical model in on a trade. Dealer: steel steering shaft - box store: plastic steering shaft. (Guess which one snapped in half when one of the kids bumped a stump). The kids destroyed the transmission on the "good one" - nope, couldn't swap out transmissions either. One was quite robust, the other was much smaller & wimpier.

 

[Mandres]

As pointed out, they meet the price point demanded by the box stores. I had the good fortune of my kids destroying my John Deere. I happened to be shopping at a dealer, and he had just gotten the identical model in on a trade. Dealer: steel steering shaft - box store: plastic steering shaft. (Guess which one snapped in half when one of the kids bumped a stump). The kids destroyed the transmission on the "good one" - nope, couldn't swap out transmissions either. One was quite robust, the other was much smaller & wimpier.

That's not true. A D or L series is exactly the same whether you buy it from a dealer or big box. A dealer though will also have the X series, which are much better built (better engines, bearings instead of bushings, better materials, etc.).

 

[jaha2000]

your going to get a 42" rider for 1/3 of an acre? You want to be done in 5 minutes?
seems like a waste IMO. I would get a really nice self propelled push mower and enjoy your 30 min of excercise a week.

 

[ISAslot]

Go to craigslist, find a Snapper RER in good shape.

Give it a test drive, hand them $200-$250, and go use the rest on mancave toys.

Seriously, Snapper RER mowers are the best bang for the buck, extremely easy to maintain and are simple to operate. They rarely break, but if they do, parts are plentiful and cheap.

:thumbsup: love mine

 

[NetWareHead]

Another concern which a dealer explained to me himself. When someone purchases a husqvarna snowblower for example from home depot, he will take it to home depot later down the road for service/maintenance etc... And home depot will have a contract with a local husqvarna dealer where they hand the machine over to get it fixed. The dealer will prioritize his own customers first and make sure his direct customers are taken care of. Id rather cut out the home depot middleman and see husqvarna myself.

 

[Homerboy]

Rider for 1/3 acre? That's going to be more work than it's worth -- not to mention storing the thing.

1/3 acre with self-propelled mulching mower is maybe 30 mins of work.

Unless you have a bad foot/leg/knee/vagina, tell your parents to save their money.

 

[DrPizza]

That's not true. A D or L series is exactly the same whether you buy it from a dealer or big box. A dealer though will also have the X series, which are much better built (better engines, bearings instead of bushings, better materials, etc.).

Hmmm. That seems interesting. Though, there was no "x series" or other designation on the two mowers I had. Standing 5 feet away, they appeared identical. Both were STX38. The build quality between the two was night and day. The dealer STX38 had more metal parts that were plastic in my other one. The dealer STX38 had a larger transmission. Unless my memory is off, the dealer's STX38 mowing deck was heavier than the other one as well. (heavier gauge of steel). But, I cannot recall anywhere that there was any designation that they were a different line. I'll believe you that it's a myth that the quality isn't the same - but in my own experience, and repairing the mowers quite a few times by swapping out parts when possible, the two STX38s were not built to the same level of quality.

 

[Mandres]

Hmmm. That seems interesting. Though, there was no "x series" or other designation on the two mowers I had. Standing 5 feet away, they appeared identical. Both were STX38. The build quality between the two was night and day. The dealer STX38 had more metal parts that were plastic in my other one. The dealer STX38 had a larger transmission. Unless my memory is off, the dealer's STX38 mowing deck was heavier than the other one as well. (heavier gauge of steel). But, I cannot recall anywhere that there was any designation that they were a different line. I'll believe you that it's a myth that the quality isn't the same - but in my own experience, and repairing the mowers quite a few times by swapping out parts when possible, the two STX38s were not built to the same level of quality.

Very well could be - the stx38 went out of production almost 20 years ago and I'm not sure how it worked back then. Nowadays though, the mowers that JD sells at HD/Lowes - the D series and L series - are the same as at a dealer. They're definitely low end, disposable consumer machines either way meant to compete with the AYP/MTD-produced "husqvarnas" "Murrays" and "Cub Cadets"

 

[Subyman]

That yard would take a lot longer than 30 mins to walk off. I'd do the rider. Over the 5-8 years you have the rider it will have saved you hours and hours of prime leisure time. A cheap box store rider will last a long time with a yard that easy. Buy a decent trimmer too and you'll have the whole thing mowed and edged in under a hour.

I have a LT145 for 3.5 acres. Some field, some with heavy trees. Has lasted 8 years of heavy abuse, but its time for me to get something new too this year.

 

[gorcorps]

This doesn't apply to the OP, but re: trees - seems the guys I worked for in college had this figured out, and it worked very well: send in the college students with regular lawn mowers to do around the trees, and other areas that were hard to get with the riding mower, and then send in the riding mower to hit the bulk of it. By using two tools effectively, it greatly reduced the amount of time for mowing. No one ever said it had to be just one or the other. And sometimes, particularly if you have a lot of trees, it's so easy to go from tree to tree with a push mower, and do a one or two mower width path around the tree, elminating the need to slow down on the riding mower to deal with it.

If I had more money when I got my house, I was considering getting a riding mower and a reel mower. The reel mower would be inexpensive, incredibly easy to maintain, and be for the small areas where the riding mower couldn't easily get to. I may still go that route in the future.