Dilemma on a used mower, please add 2 cents

1843 Views 56 Replies 21 Participants Last post by Devils10acres, 9 d ago

Devils10acres

Discussion Starter · 14 d ago (Edited)

I know this is connected to another thread but this goes in a different direction.

Briefly, my mower is down and dead (Taps playing). I went back to the tractor dealer and they have a 14 year old Z860A - was $5,000 give or take, they didn’t give me a break yet because it had to be run through the shop first.

It was repaired and now they say it’s $6,000! That’s just about half the price of a new one at $12,600 for a 2023 930M with Twheels And a deluxe adjustable seat.

What makes the best sense to you? I’m inclined to go . . . . . .(guess).

Rich

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VintageOkieDriver

· #21 · 14 d ago

As I have stated I love mine (930 bought last summer). If the tweels wear then they wear. I was tired of the recurring front flat on my older Craftsman.

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Devils10acres

Discussion Starter · #22 · 14 d ago

Jeff B said:
What was your appraisal of the condition of the used unit prior to its trip through the shop?
My puzzler don't work as good as it once did but I was under the impression that you were in really good shape financially? Am I wrong or is the path to wealth made by not spending more than required and that is your habit?
I prefer minty new machinery myself but I cannot evaluate the used machine like you can.
Best of luck either way.

I wasn’t given the opportunity to run and cut grass on the mower. The sales manager said it’s now their busiest time with regards to the repair shop and soon as he can have the shop run it through their checklist he’ll have a better idea what he could do for me. I wanted to take it at face value and service it myself for his original idea that it would be $4800 to $5000 depending on what it needed. Dealers across the U.S. wanted an average $3500 to $4000 depending on the hrs used. A week went by and I checked where they were and the manager said he ran it and it just wasn’t right (paraphrasing). Here on GTT I was hoping for a few people that had this same model and tell me what they thought of it. The last thread wasn’t getting much of a response.

As for your thoughts about my financial standing. My blunder for saying anything, my lesson learned, however I thank you for your best wishes.

Richard

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MI_X730

· #23 · 14 d ago

Air Ride Seat and Tweels are the cats meow.

While I agree life if short and farming the work out to someone may be ideal, not everyone can afford that, and even if they can, there is the flip side of the coin on trying to maintain independence as much as possible.

Looking forward to seeing the new set of tweels

Devils10acres

Discussion Starter · #24 · 14 d ago

MI_X730 said:
Air Ride Seat and Tweels are the cats meow.

While I agree life if short and farming the work out to someone may be ideal, not everyone can afford that, and even if they can, there is the flip side of the coin on trying to maintain independence as much as possible.

Looking forward to seeing the new set of tweels

I was quoted 3 years ago for $300 per week as long as the grass doesn’t exceed 4,” It’s funny but I think 3.75” is what I have always set my deck hight at. So a day or so after I cut it’s too long.
Around here it’s tough to find any services willing to take on more accounts. Update: that quote has grown to $450 per week. Its obvious they still have my email address and keep trying.

Reactions: 1

Shawn T. W.

· #25 · 14 d ago

Enjoy your new Z-Trak!

Smaller motor just means at some time you may need to just go slower, but most of the time you probably will not notice it!

To be honest, I can't go full sticks ALL the time ... Even if the grass is only 6" tall ... I cut at 3" ... But I still gotta slow to turn, and I still have about 1200 feet of T-posts to avoid as I tuck the 60" deck under the barbwire fence!

BTW I got my Z960M used this past January ... A five year old machine with 1300 hours on it for $5K ...

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workinonit

· #26 · 14 d ago

Just as a measuring point, I sold my 910A, 52" deck for $4500. Very low hours, much newer and in perfect shape.

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Benz88

· #27 · 14 d ago

Used mower prices are insane. I can sell my 11yr old D170 right now for the same if not more than I paid for it back than. But I cannot get a new one for the same so Im keeping it. Id love a ZTM but I pull a dethatcher, sweeper and a trailer with mine.

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LLS_MCUT_38R

· #28 · 14 d ago

I'm struggling with the same thing right now. I WANT a new top shelf Z9 .. I NEED a Z3 or a 15 year old 5hp Craftsman. I do have 8 acres but only need to mow less than two of it. The 2 acres is also rough to mow for now until I get it smoothed out so I can go full speed on anything I purchase... Unless it's the Craftsman. lol

Right now is a horrible time to buy .. anything. Used is crazy high and new is climbing in price as well. I've looked at used and I'm not finding any value in it right now. I see 5-7k machines with 1000 plus hours that look like they were dropped off from the lawn company and treated like race mowers. I'm not willing to shell out cash for a machine with mostly unknown history that I will possibly have to spend some more cash on it to get it "renewed" to my standards. On the flip side I could finance a new one but my money sense is shreaking that would be a bad idea as well considering the price financed, another monthly payment.

Short story - do what's best for you and be honest with yourself and your needs.

To answer your question the z7 or 8's you were looking at .. I personally "most likely" based on your feedback on them .. would not have gotten either.

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ironpony

· #29 · 14 d ago

If you want to spend 6000 by a brand new bad boy zero turn 60 inch cut and be done. I’ve been running mine since 2009 with zero issues not everything Hass to have green paint.

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Devils10acres

Discussion Starter · #30 · 13 d ago

ironpony said:
“ . . . . . . . . . . .not everything Has to have green paint.

That’s a very good point! I had a couple thoughts that tipped the scale to this ZTM. I just want something that will not nickel and dime me to death for the next 7 or 8 years when I should be selling for a simpler property. At that time, which will be the easiest to sell and/or have the highest resale value? 2000 to 2006 I had a Ferris IS3300 (if I remember correctly), always had wheel motor problems, Hustler Super Z Battery charging, fuel pumps, internal tank lines, seat track rusting til breaking in mid mowing, steering shocks, hour clock blank. This one new is $15,000 now, in fact when you check all the commercial grade mowers they all are within 1 or 2 thousand from Green to Orange, Red to Yellow.

On Monday I called a couple churches to donate the Hustler, they just picked it up 20 minutes ago and someone within their congregation will fix it up.

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Devils10acres

Discussion Starter · #31 · 13 d ago

Shawn T. W. said:
Enjoy your new Z-Trak!

Smaller motor just means at some time you may need to just go slower, but most of the time you probably will not notice it!

To be honest, I can't go full sticks ALL the time ... Even if the grass is only 6" tall ... I cut at 3" ... But I still gotta slow to turn, and I still have about 1200 feet of T-posts to avoid as I tuck the 60" deck under the barbwire fence!

BTW I got my Z960M used this past January ... A five year old machine with 1300 hours on it for $5K ...

I was under the impression the higher hp made for higher blade speed and that in turn made better processing of the cut grass. The 700 series JDZTM is rated for 7/8 mph while the 930M is rated at 10. The Hustler with 28 hp was rated 15 and it was crazy fast. Fast to me means a very bumpy ride when the lawn isn’t perfect.

wally2q

· #32 · 13 d ago

ironpony said:
not everything Hass to have green paint.

Bow your head and pray for forgiveness....

You do realize wht the "G" stands for, in GTT right?...

For comparison - I painted my Honda push mower green - just 'cause.

Lol!!!! JK!!

(But I did actually paint my mower jd green)

Reactions: 3

Devils10acres

Discussion Starter · #33 · 13 d ago

Just out of curiosity, how does the deal I got stack up to other dealers For the same equipment? Not sure if converting to a %off is across the board or if certain items carry their own discount has any accuracy.
On JohnDeere.com “Build your own“ what I bought tallied up to $16,153
The dealer quote was $14,895
The net quote is $12,654 Of which there was a $400 credit for my Platinum II rewards

I’m not complaining, just wondering because some here talk about a few dealers (1 recently closed) have the best prices, so how did this stack up?

Shawn T. W.

· #34 · 13 d ago

Devils10acres said:
I was under the impression the higher hp made for higher blade speed and that in turn made better processing of the cut grass. The 700 series JDZTM is rated for 7/8 mph while the 930M is rated at 10. The Hustler with 28 hp was rated 15 and it was crazy fast. Fast to me means a very bumpy ride when the lawn isn’t perfect.

I believe all the 9 series have the same tip speed in the same deck size/type ...

Here is mine compared to yours ... 31 HP vs 25 HP ... Same tip speed ... Having more HP means two things ... Fuel consumption, and motor won't bog down as easily the more grass you stuff into the deck/blades ...

The E&M's only go 10 MPH, the R goes up to 12 MPH ...

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VintageOkieDriver

· #35 · 13 d ago

dieselshadow said:
How many threads does it take to buy a new Z?

Apparently at least one more.

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Devils10acres

Discussion Starter · #36 · 12 d ago

Shawn T. W. said:
I believe all the 9 series have the same tip speed in the same deck size/type ...

Here is mine compared to yours ... 31 HP vs 25 HP ... Same tip speed ... Having more HP means two things ... Fuel consumption, and motor won't bog down as easily the more grass you stuff into the deck/blades ...

View attachment 903291

The E&M's only go 10 MPH, the R goes up to 12 MPH ...

Observations and impressions of this Z930M.
Kawasaki motor is much louder than the higher hp Kohler on my last mower.
Going back to using a choke after having fuel injection on the last 2 commercial grade mowers. The fuel injection motors were faster starting.
The seat is really bouncy even at the proper weight settings.
This mower sits higher. I haven’t concluded yet if this raised center of gravity is good or bad.
The belt/pulley access plate is difficult to tilt or remove with the plastic cup holder and the storage on the opposite side (don’t need to remove it often so no big deal).
Assembly marks don’t line up where marked (a visual aid that the assembly bolts are tight or have been torqued properly by taking a marker pen and drawing a line across the bolt head to the steel)
Found several loose fasteners.
Cutting observations to come, so far this looks like a hefty machine.

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workinonit

· #37 · 12 d ago

Sounds like you may want to look at something other than a Deere. Quite a few negative observations.

Devils10acres

Discussion Starter · #38 · 12 d ago

workinonit said:
Sounds like you may want to look at something other than a Deere. Quite a few negative observations.

Not negative just different. Reviews can be 5 out of 5 stars but have comparing observations.

Shawn T. W.

· #39 · 12 d ago

I don't think my Kawasaki is loud, but the deck is enough to MAKE me want to wear hearing protection!

The foot plate/floor I only have trouble if the deck is down a bit like I'm cutting, and the foot pedal gets in the way ... I don't lock it up in transport mode ... Previous owner removed the plastic pulley covers, so I blow them out with air after mowing ...

I feel it's a very stable machine, feels like a tank, I have the rear weight on in place of a bumper, and filled my tires with water ... Mine will "wheelie" if I get after it, so I gotta be careful taking off!

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Devils10acres

Discussion Starter · #40 · 12 d ago

Shawn T. W. said:
I don't think my Kawasaki is loud, but the deck is enough to MAKE me want to wear hearing protection!

The foot plate/floor I only have trouble if the deck is down a bit like I'm cutting, and the foot pedal gets in the way ... I don't lock it up in transport mode ... Previous owner removed the plastic pulley covers, so I blow them out with air after mowing ...

I feel it's a very stable machine, feels like a tank, I have the rear weight on in place of a bumper, and filled my tires with water ... Mine will "wheelie" if I get after it, so I gotta be careful taking off!

Agreed. Hefty = Tank. I like the way it feels up and down our huge sand mound. Twheels are difficult to fill, I can’t figure I’ll need it. Getting a LED light kit and the hardware to haul a few things around. I‘d like to know if I can pull some significant weight like a water tank with a hose behind me. I can’t see trying this on a cab tractor. I will have some plants to water far from the house, maybe towing a tank of weed killer sprayer gotta keep my new bridge area looking nice and neat!

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