Ferris Mower Vs. Scag Mower

[briandel265]

Hello, I am currently in the market for a new mower. I have been pricing them out and they all tend to be in the 7500-8000 dollars range. I live in CT. This is my first year doing landscaping and it has been awesome so far. I bought an older scag turf tiger for this year and have already thrown 1500 dollars into it. It has been in the shop more than on the lawns. I am going to be selling it and in the market for a new mower. Today I went to the local Ferris dealer and took a look at their IS1500Z and IS2000Z. They both looked like pretty solid machines, and both with a 25 hp kawi. The 1500 was going for $7700 and the 2000 was going for $9000. I am also looking into a scag tiger cub as well, which has a 25 hp kawi as well. They are asking $7600 for the scag. I am looking for someone who might have had experience with both mowers, and recomends one over the other. I like the independent suspension on the Ferris and have had nothing but problems with my scag. They are the same price, same engine...Which one is a better machine?? Any help would be great! Thanks. Brian

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

This is really a great post. It does make you wonder if you would be better off with two used mowers where you could use one as a back up in case another was down. Brian are you pretty handy with mechanics and taking things apart and fixing them or would you rather just have newer equipment? I bought an older scag turf tiger for this year and have already thrown 1500 dollars into it. When you bought it, how many hours were on it? What kind of things did you have to replace to hit the $1,500 mark?

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[briandel265]

I bought the used scag with about 730 hours on it.(now it has 780hrs) At my local dealer they told me that it was built before 1998 because it did not have the Advantage Deck on it. I did not think that 730 hours was alot though. The mower has had problems with the carborator, the gearbox froze up on it, and the driveshaft is being replaced now. I am not too mechanically handy unless I would love to not have to pay the dealer $75 an hour. The reason that I am deciding to go with a new mower is; Financing and having a monthly payment is the only way that I would be able to afford something newer. Although the interest rates are outrageous I hope to pay it off in less than a year; also I am looking forward to having a 2 year warentee just incase anything does to wrong with it I know I wont have to throw money into it. I currently have a 52' Scag walk behind that I use for smaller lawns and while my mowers been in the shop- so thats really been my backup mower. I do have a few large accounts that I have walked behind (while rider was in the shop) which means im working Saturday and Sunday. I just need a reliable rider mower, and this way seems to make the most sence to me.

[Steve]

What kind of interest rates are being offered for the mowers now? What does it work out to in monthly payments?

Also have you considered leasing mowers? Any thoughts on that?

[briandel265]

The Scag is offering financing at about 13% and Ferris is about 7% if I read it correctly. Monthly payments would work out to about $150 for 5 years but you can apply money to principle whenever. I found a dealer in CT that is selling the Ferris IS1500 model for $6400 new. This seems like a really good deal to me. Lowest price by far. What do you think?

What is leasing a mower? Benifits and cons?

[Steve]

This is a real good question.

If you are paying $150.00 per month for 5 years, that totals $9,000.

If I were looking to buy, I would want to know what the cost of the mower was. What interest rate I would get and how long would I have to pay it back.

What would it cost to lease the machine and do they limit the number of hours on it? How much would it cost to lease the mower and over how long of a period of time?

One of our friends, Tim, had this to say on leasing in another post.

If you can afford to purchase equipment then great. Leasing agents are tricky and there arent many for our industry, bobcat sales has a leasing company, scag has a leasing company, i think most do use the same one but these I know have them. IF you have already spent the cash to purchase the plowing equipment, good for you. This is an addition to your Company's Value. When you purchase equipment it become Fixed Assets and adds value to your company.

When to lease or when to buy. This is a tough question because you are the only one that knows how strong your company is in Buying Power. Owning is always better, but if your short on capital cash then with leasing you receive tax benefits on the lease and it will eventually become part of your Fixed Assets.

Factors to consider when Purchasing Equipment;
1. How fast am I getting return on my investment? Basicly how fast is this thing going to pay for itself. 1, 2, 3 seasons?
2. If I use this once or twice a year do I realy need to purchase it?
3. If I purchase this equipment will I still have operating cash if something like a rainy day hits?

These are just some of the things I ask myself when deciding to purchase equipment.

Only lease 3 years IF you don't have the Capital to purchase.
Both ways have their benefits, and only the LCO will know what is best for them and their current Buying Power, anytime you make a major purchase, 5k and over you really need to think and ask yourself many questions weighing out the PRO's and CON's. I would say anything like trucks and New large equipment should be discussed with your Accontant he/she will be able to help with this if you are unsure which is best for your company.

Here are a couple of posts that would be good reading

http://www.gopherforum.com/showthread.php?t=6393
http://www.gopherforum.com/showthread.php?t=6084

Let me know if you find out more of those figures. I think they would be helpful in analyzing this question.

I am fairly new to this industry but I own a Ferris and I have used other brand ride-on z-turns. Let me tell you I will never never own anything but a ferris again. Nothing beats the ride with the independent suspension at all wheels. I dont know about anyone else, but at the end of the day, my back was pretty sore after being jostled around on a no suspension mower and a rough property. NOT ANY MORE!!
Im 42 and have learned to be nice to my body. You cant put a price on body and health...and price for price..the Ferris is a little cheaper and cuts awesome.
Anyway, thats my 2 cents worth...remember you have a long hard life of abusing your body, take care of it

[Steve]

Did you find you paid a premium for that suspension or was the price comparable to other mowers in it's class?

The Ferris 44" commercial 1500 series was on the lower side on the price ranges for other mowers in its class. Im not sure what the industry thinks of the Ferris brand as a whole, but so far mine has been great, it has 205 hrs. on it and never a problem yet that wasnt caused by me being stupid ( bent blades). The 44" ferris commercial grade was $5900.00 but was able to talk down to $5500.00 The john Deere 48" was $6900 and the scag 48" was $7300.00. The only that was the same price that I looked at was Hustler coming in at $5600. Taking all this into account and the fact of suspension my 42 year old back needs, I went with the Ferris and love it.
I would like to know where Ferris stands on the popularity scale among other brand names though.

I own a ferris mower and I cannot say enough about it. The suspension is great I dont have to slow down when i get in a yard that is alittle rough. I bought mine from a local dealer and he has 3 years same as cash on any purchase over $500. I bought the IS500Z with a 52" deck. I paid $4999.99 for it and now after having it this season I wouldnt own anything else.