turning tips for a 36"

[FourSeasons]

One of my friends has a toro proline 36" that he's letting me borrow for a job I'm doing next week. I might buy it from him if I like it. Its about 3 years old but he barely ever uses it. I was thinking about trading for my street bike that way I don't have to put out any cash.
I have two questions.
My first one is can some one give me an idea of how much these are worth. Its barely been used in the 3 years he's had it. I think he said he paid about 3400 for it. Is there some kind of blue book pricing for lawn equipment?

My second question is that I've never cut a lawn with one of these before. I was praticing on my own lawn tonight. Its been raining off and on here for the last month and a half so the ground is soft. Every time I turn around it tears up the grass because the ground is so wet. Well I think thats why. I tried turning wider but the tires were still doing it. Any tips on how i can turn around to make another pass without tearing the grass up.

If I get this it will significantly cut some of my mowing time down. I just mowed a part of my yard that takes about 20 minutes in 10.

[S.P.Martin Lawn Care]

Had the same issue learning how to best operate my zero turn. The trick is to keep the wheels turning at all times, forward/backward, so that one doesn't pivot and dig up the turf. A 3 pt. turn seems to work best under soft turf conditions.

[clarklandscaping]

I never owned a Toro so I will ask if it is a belt drive or a hydro? 3400. seems to me it would be a belt drive. IMO belt drive seems to do much better on turf but tend to wear the operator out. Hydro drives tend to be tricky and vary from machine to machine. My Great Dane never tears the turf up no matter what I do but the bradley I had would eat up grass if you werent careful. You just need to practice a little longer to get used to the machine.

[StartALawnCareBusiness]

I have never liked their weight distribution. They are too heavy over the drive wheels. This causes deck bounce and turf tear during turning.

Check with your dealer about hanging weights from the front deck frame. Although additional weight is rarely a good thing, it helps with deck bounce and it may help you change the weight distribution enough to reduce the turf damage you are experiencing.

Before you go through all that trouble though, make sure your tires are properly inflated and that the controls are properly adjusted. If your controls are improperly adjusted your inner wheel will stop rolling and skid during a 180 degree turn. A slight bit of forward roll will make your turning radius larger but it will also reduce skidding.