Done with used, ick!

[afpettijohns]

Bad experience. I picked up a McLain rotory mower from a local lawn shop for $275 that was sharpened properly, looked pretty good and sounded powerful. Duh! The second lawn I mowed with it (nice mow by the way) the belt shield fell off, not a nut loose, it broke from what looks to be rust. Okay, but the throttle wouldn't shut it off, had to choke it off. Okay, but the drive lever wouldn't stay down to move it. Okay, but the clutch had to be snapped to get it to disengage. Ahhhh hahaha. The wheels didn't fall off! Yay! Needless to say, I brought it back and they wanted to fix it. I was done with that piece of garbage. I didn't expect them to refund my money but I got them to give me credit which I bought my new toy that I will show off in another part of the forum. Though, I am going to miss that beautiful cut for fine Bermuda grasses. That was sweet and I can't afford a new one yet. Be very weary of used equipment, especially if it has new paint on it.

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Has this changed the way you inspect equipment before you buy it? Were there any signs on the equipment before you bought it that you might have problems with it or no?

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[afpettijohns]

Originally Posted by Steve

Has this changed the way you inspect equipment before you buy it? Were there any signs on the equipment before you bought it that you might have problems with it or no?

"Eat less, pay more", wise words... wish I were a mechanic, oh, I am. To be honest my new philosophy is to by it with a two year warranty or do with what I've got. A couple of my clients where really happy with the job the reel mower did but at what price to me?

Luckily I bought it from a mower shop that prized my business or I would have been out a grip of cash. Though, looking back, I should have yanked and pulled and tugged at every lever trying to break it before I bought it. Seriously, If it can't handle an hour of abuse, don't buy it. If the seller looks worried that you want to pull everything a hundred times? don't buy it. Your hoping to run that piece of equipment for all it's worth, maybe they already did and know it.

Look at the face of the seller as you put it in and out of gear a hundred times. Other than that? Eat less, pay more!

Jaded I guess, but sound advice!

[Steve]

I guess the whole point to keep in mind is that as you scale up your lawn care service more, you want to spend less time working on equipment that needs repair because it takes away from the time you can be spending to make money.