Should I OR SHOULD'NT I?

[RAlawncare]

hello Gental Mans, Today i went down to the local sears store that is closing and took at look at what they had on sale, everything was but not quite as low as i antipated, any who i stumbled across a walk behind mower, Starting price, $1450, sale price was some here around 1000 but i think i could bring them down to 900. i was wondering if it is worth getting a residental mower? Currentaly i have 10 yards and some are larger and i relize i dont need this right now but i think bussiness will take off anyday now and this deal is hard to pass up. what do you guys think? here is the link to the mower http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...G5#reviewsWrap

[willshome]

Lawn care business tips

I think this is the mower that you can get a bagger but the bagger gets really poor reviews "very slow hook up every time"

__________________
Brockton Lawn Care
Easton Lawn Care
Fall Cleanup Brockton

[RAlawncare]

i would not bag with this, i would mulch because bagging is a waste of time. ;D

[Hedgemaster]

If you mow any hills, I'd say "no". I'll explain later.

I was just looking into these exact mowers a few months ago. I wanted a used commercial walk behind, but didn't have cash on hand to buy used, so I started looking into the homeowner walk behinds, as they run around $1,200.

Cub Cadet, and a few others are the exact same mower as the Sears unit, with a few minor exceptions - the Sears mower has slightly higher horsepower and it has a light - that's it.

For flat lawns, I would have considered it, but I have sloped lawns and many with hillsides. These mowers do not have independent steering - meaning both wheels turn, and you have to manhandle them around turns. This is a bad thing for hills because as you are mowing across, the front wants to roll downhill, and you can't correct for it by working one wheel over the other to keep it straight - you must muscle it. That was a deal breaker for me.

Note that Sears prices their version much higher than the other brands with twins of this mower. The Sears SALE price is in line with the other's regular price, so if they are offering it "on clearance" for $900, it's only $300 less than a comparable Cub Cadet.

I ended up buying a Ferris commercial 36" mower for just under 5 grand instead. I'm doing this to earn a living and decided to make the investment. 0% interest for 3 years made it possible.

I won't harp on the differences between homeowner grade and commercial, but it really is night and day. Do what you have to do, but know what you are buying.

[willshome]

Originally Posted by RAlawncare

i would not bag with this, i would mulch because bagging is a waste of time. ;D

What if the customer is willing to pay extra for bagging?
What about fall cleanup?

[HAMPTON ROADS LAWN CARE]

Originally Posted by RAlawncare

hello Gental Mans,
Today i went down to the local sears store that is closing and took at look at what they had on sale, everything was but not quite as low as i antipated, any who i stumbled across a walk behind mower, Starting price, $1450, sale price was some here around 1000 but i think i could bring them down to 900. i was wondering if it is worth getting a residental mower? Currentaly i have 10 yards and some are larger and i relize i dont need this right now but i think bussiness will take off anyday now and this deal is hard to pass up. what do you guys think? here is the link to the mower http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...G5#reviewsWrap

Well I will chime in on this being that I own one!!!

I bought this mower (Cub Cadet) about 2 months ago I have a little over 20 accounts already and I will tell you DOOOOOO NOOOOOT waste your $$$$$!

I am getting ready to buy a 48 SCAG stand-on unit because I wanted to save the $ and go the cheap route!!!

I have already had to replace 1 spindle for hitting a small piece of bark!!!

This is what it says homeowner model!!!

Trust me save your $$$ and go commercial you will be glad you did!!!!

[Hedgemaster]

Originally Posted by HAMPTON ROADS LAWN CARE

Well I will chime in on this being that I own one!!!

I bought this mower (Cub Cadet) about 2 months ago I have a little over 20 accounts already and I will tell you DOOOOOO NOOOOOT waste your $$$$$!

I am getting ready to buy a 48 SCAG stand-on unit because I wanted to save the $ and go the cheap route!!!

I have already had to replace 1 spindle for hitting a small piece of bark!!!

This is what it says homeowner model!!!

Trust me save your $$$ and go commercial you will be glad you did!!!!

Actually it says "Professional" right on the front.


BWAAA-HHAAAA-HAAA-HA!!!


It is what it is. I'm happy I spent the extra money on something that's built like a tank.

[RAlawncare]

Originally Posted by willshome

What if the customer is willing to pay extra for bagging?
What about fall cleanup?

I would give the cousin we what they want, and as far as leaves I am not sure what I would do.

[wandfsmall]

what you have to remember is a consumer mower is not designed to hold up to commercial use, it will break and break often. Now do some people do it yes, but is it as profitable NO. That is why most of my customers are homeowners wanting to get rid of the consumer junk that is not holding up for them on their own yards let alone lasting for a commercial guy. I know one guy that buys a new craftsman every year, if he just thought about what he is paying he could get a top of the line zero and save money....

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

shouldnt, I have a 91 toro proline walk behind still running. I thought of replacing but why? In 3 years of use I replaced a pto switch and a fuel line. I have a homeowner friend with a cub cadet and he spent about $1000 in repairs since he bought it new 4 years ago. I think he has around 200 hours on it.