Riding lawn mowers

Im going to invest my money I will be getting in May into a riding lawn mower. I have never had any experience with these little things, any word of advice?
Should I go new or try to go used?

Our first rider, we bought used and regretted it. We bought a new one (Troy Bilt) 2 years ago... it's great.

I was just about to put an ad in the classified section.

hey I need that one, but after my surgery, I m sure I couldnt ride that for quite some time!! FUNNY though!!!

Which brand did you go with Suzyr?

suzyr wrote:

We bought a new one (Troy Bilt) 2 years ago... it's great.

We bought a trailer for it, too. It's going to get a lot of use this spring, with all the twigs that are still falling out of the trees.

yeah Im thinking of getting a sweeper as well!

Isn't that what kids are for?

you need to come and see my yard Nitro, its HUGE!! and my older kiddos will be out of town this summer(maybe)

jessks75 wrote:

Im going to invest my money I will be getting in May into a riding lawn mower. I have never had any experience with these little things, any word of advice?
Should I go new or try to go used?

Go new that way you have a warranty. I purchased a Sears brand four years ago and the engine started using oil last year, ( was told it was common on that model) I ended spending over $1000 this year to have a new engine installed.

did you buy new from Sears plowboy?

nitromaxx98 wrote:

Isn't that what kids are for?

The kids still do it... without the benefit of the rider and trailer/cart.

plowboy wrote:

jessks75 wrote:

Im going to invest my money I will be getting in May into a riding lawn mower. I have never had any experience with these little things, any word of advice?
Should I go new or try to go used?

Go new that way you have a warranty. I purchased a Sears brand four years ago and the engine started using oil last year, ( was told it was common on that model) I ended spending over $1000 this year to have a new engine installed.

It's a mower. Drive it till it drops. You can pick up a good new Briggs engine for way less. A little elbow grease and tools, BAM...Like new.

It cost alot more but buy a John Deere

slickjay12 wrote:

It cost alot more but buy a John Deere

There goes your whole rebate.


Shop around online and compare features, decide what you must have (engine h.p., cutting swath, etc.) go from there.

I know aready that I wont be buying me a John Deere, i do wish though, some are NICE

I have a Deere and am quite happy with it. It did cost a little more but I am happy with it

LukeTHr wrote:

I have a Deere and am quite happy with it. It did cost a little more but I am happy with it

You should have just bought a bullwhip. Apply teenagers hands to push mower handle and apply whip to rump until yard is done.

jessks75 wrote:

did you buy new from Sears plowboy?

Yes I did, and because it was out of warranty I had to make a choice of either spending another $2500 on a new mower or having a new engine with a two year warranty installed in this one. Someone made the comment of purchasing a new engine for little money but you must compare apples to apples and this is a 26hp extended life series engine which I purchased.

nitromaxx98 wrote:

plowboy wrote:

jessks75 wrote:

Im going to invest my money I will be getting in May into a riding lawn mower. I have never had any experience with these little things, any word of advice?
Should I go new or try to go used?

Go new that way you have a warranty. I purchased a Sears brand four years ago and the engine started using oil last year, ( was told it was common on that model) I ended spending over $1000 this year to have a new engine installed.

It's a mower. Drive it till it drops. You can pick up a good new Briggs engine for way less. A little elbow grease and tools, BAM...Like new.

I sure wish I would have known about you before I spent my grand.

Does anyone have a Sweeper that goes behind the riding lawnmower? Ive been thinking of but a sweeper as well??

jessks75 wrote:

Does anyone have a Sweeper that goes behind the riding lawnmower? Ive been thinking of but a sweeper as well??

What will you do with all the clippings and leaves the sweeper collects?

Ellis has a poly cart we can rent for a dollar a month, I will just dump the crap in there!, Right?

You could compost it. Screw some pallets together to make a 3-sided box and put chicken wire on the 4th side in a way that you can remove it, to turn the clippings. Cheap and easy.

Good Idea, I think I will do that!!!

Works for us.

youre so smart SuzyR

I'm frugal.

I always just piled the cuttings and leaves on the ground by the garden. You can toss a plastic sheet over them weighted with bricks to promote rotting if you want compost and to keep them from blowing around. And if it gets windy enough to blow them away they'll be the last thing you need to worry about.

that's a good idea as well!!!! we could do that until I get pallets!!!

The easiest compost holder I ever saw was to get some wire fencing and tie the ends together to form it in a circle.

jessks75 wrote:

Ellis has a poly cart we can rent for a dollar a month, I will just dump the crap in there!, Right?

1 dollar a month as compared to managing your own compost pile ? Sounds like a bargain to me.

you have been talking about getting a sweeper for it if you buy one. Just get a rear bagging system for it and if you are wanting to use it to pickup leaves in the fall, a bagger would be a better option. It will chop it up and make for less bulk and pick it up in the process.

In regards to buying a rider Deere is the best way to go if you want it to last for a long time, however, be carful....there are lower priced Deeres that are not really made by Deere, they just have the paint. These lower priced units will last as long as anything you buy at walmart. I have one that was made in 1984, in 2003, 19 years later I finally had to rebuild the engine. Its been a great mower. But now every thing else has worn out so last year I had to buy another one. I bought a zero- turn from the Depot and this one is a Cub- Cadet. John Deere didnt have the one I wanted and needed a mower like right now!..Its not a bad mower, but is not really all that comfortable. It seems to be built well, and has a good engine, in fact one of the same engins that Deere runs on some of there better mowers.
As far as a sears mower, I had talked to a few different people who have owned a sears mower in the past and they tell me to not buy one. All sorts of different problems, and it is hard to get parts sometimes for them.

MTD actually makes and owns many different brands of mowers you find out there. And there all cheaply built, will last only a couple of years, and are hard to get parts for. Unfortanualy if you want a good quality mower you will have to spend a little more money. But if you do a lot of mowing and have a big yard the extra investment is well worth it.
In my case.. as soon as I get this Cub-Cadet paid for I will go back to a John Deere.
To help you decide you could look at consumer reports and get there ideas on which brands to look at or stay away from.
Hope this helps some.

Thanks for your advice Jim Beam