BUYING NEW EQUIPMENT help?

[polarisrider4life]

hey everyone. im gonna be quick and short and not bore you to death. I am gonna be 17 soon and already have my own lawn care business. I have all professional equipment and cut 6 good sized lots that keep a respectable amount of money flowing in. The last few years my commercial dixie chopper has had some big problems. It burns a little oil (can cut for 5 hours and still be in safe level zone on stick), sometimes backfires and just got out of the shop last month for it's second headgasket repair in 3 years. I bought it 2nd hand in 2005 and it was built in 2000 so im guessing it has around 4,000 hours on it max. Both times it's been in the shop both headgaskets have had to be replaced and in fear of a 3rd visit to the dealer next year i wanna try and get rid of it and get a new zero turn. Im looking at the same 60in. deck i got now and am looking at an Exmark lazer Z 60in deck as a possibility but the prices are crazy. Im wondering what a good year would be to get that is used but has at least 3 more year in it and not huge $400 repair bills every season. What is a good year for a solid machine, what is the max hours that should be on a machine if i wanna keep it for 3-4 years without huge problems like gaskets and what is a fair/good price to pay for one? thanks!

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

What is a good year for a solid machine, what is the max hours that should be on a machine if i wanna keep it for 3-4 years without huge problems like gaskets I guess this would depend on how many hours a year you put on your mowers. Do you know?

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[polarisrider4life]

last year i put on about 180 for the year. starting NEXT cutting season, i plan to expand my customer base of 7 to at least 15 hopefully and that would put me at about 540 hours a year then.

Originally Posted by polarisrider4life

hey everyone. im gonna be quick and short and not bore you to death. I am gonna be 17 soon and already have my own lawn care business. I have all professional equipment and cut 6 good sized lots that keep a respectable amount of money flowing in. The last few years my commercial dixie chopper has had some big problems. It burns a little oil (can cut for 5 hours and still be in safe level zone on stick), sometimes backfires and just got out of the shop last month for it's second headgasket repair in 3 years. I bought it 2nd hand in 2005 and it was built in 2000 so im guessing it has around 4,000 hours on it max. Both times it's been in the shop both headgaskets have had to be replaced and in fear of a 3rd visit to the dealer next year i wanna try and get rid of it and get a new zero turn. Im looking at the same 60in. deck i got now and am looking at an Exmark lazer Z 60in deck as a possibility but the prices are crazy. Im wondering what a good year would be to get that is used but has at least 3 more year in it and not huge $400 repair bills every season. What is a good year for a solid machine, what is the max hours that should be on a machine if i wanna keep it for 3-4 years without huge problems like gaskets and what is a fair/good price to pay for one? thanks!

Sorry for taking so long answering your question. Here is my perspective on this.

It is not necessarily about what year the mower is, but more, how many hours it has and, just as importantly, how was it maintained by the previous owner?

Anytime you are buying a used mower you never know if you are getting a treasure or just someone else's problems. This is especially true if you are looking to buy a mower from the previous owner. I would suggest not buying from another landscaper since you already know it was used commercially (and you know how them landscapers are!!! j/k). Exceptions would be if you can tell the mower was babied or if you know that it was just barely used commercially.

Otherwise, there is not much to do in the way of giving advice other than to watch what you buy. Don't take it at face value. Look at it. Ask questions. Just like buying a car or truck.

Good luck,
Eli

[justin_time]

Maybe i should ship you my current tractor. It just hit 400 hrs yesterday and I bought it in May 2006 haha