Lawn Mowers

[PrincesCJM]

My fiance and I will be closing on our first house in 3 weeks!! One of the first major purchases we will need to make is a lawn mower. Although the house is on 2.5 acres of land, a riding mower is not needed since most of the land is woods. It is fairly flat land. We are not looking to spend $500+, more like $250-350. I am looking for suggestions for the upcoming lawn mower purchase - What do you use? Do you like it? About how much was it? Where did you get it? etc

Thanks!

 

[CowboyCO]

Personally, I'd rcommend looking on Craigslist for a used one before you drop $250 on a new one. You could probably get a nice one for less than $75 and you could save the money for other expenses you'll have in owning your first home -- and there will be plenty! Congrats!!!

 

[jedijill]

I actually found one at Lowe's that was used a couple of times and returned. It was practically brand new (had been reconditioned and cleaned up) and ran like a champ. I ended up saving over 50% off of a brand new mower and it still had the Lowe's warranty.

HTH

Jill in CO

 

[PinkRhombus]

Sears does the discounted used ones, too. We bought our last one from there.

Sam's had a couple of new ones in that range.

I would suggest going with a self-propelled anyway because if your grass is thick or gets tall, it is a PAIN without a self-propelled.

 

[Kies99]

Don't go too cheap or in a few years you might be buying another one.

I have a Honda mower. I was using it when I was in High School back in the 80's and my dad gave it to me about 7 years ago when I bought my house. I graduated in 1989 so the lawn mower is at least 20 years old.

It is the best thing I've ever owned. I've only had to have a spark plug replaced and now there's one wheel that the tread is going so I'll need to replace that. The blade has also only had to be sharpened one time (though I probably should do that again).

This sits in outside storage over the winter and I do not drain the oil (just the gas). It starts on the first pull EVERY time! I've never had to pull more than once.

I highly recommend Honda. They are going to be more expensive, but in the long run they more than pay for themselves.

 

[PrincesCJM]

bumping . . . anyone else have some advice/suggestions for me

 

[richmo]

Used isn't a bad idea if you can find a good one. We're also getting into the part of the year where there won't be a lot of new lawn mower sales, so you may start seeing discounts.

For most things that I hope to buy once and last a long time, I try to buy quality rather than cheap. I'll ditto the earlier comment on Honda. Their engines are excellent and last a long time. I've had a Honda lawn tractor for 15 years that has given me zero problems, while neighbors with lesser brands are on their 2nd or even 3rd unit. Same goes with the push mowers.

I would recommend going for a self-propelled unit. Some have variable speeds, some don't. Some are front wheel drive; some are rear. You may also want to get one that can either mulch or bag. Mulching is nice, but sometimes if you have a lot to cut, the mulcher can get overwhelmed and the bag comes in handy.

 

[Frantasmic]

I have a Sears one with a mulcher and a self-propelled. It's about 8 years old and I love it.