My father-in-law passed away in May and my mother-in-law is facing a serious health crisis herself. So taking care of her yard has fallen to me. She wants to buy a new riding mower and asked me to look into getting a good one.

The yard is 1-2 acres out in the country. And aside from the ditch in the front yard the terrain is pretty flat. Most of the consumer models sold at Lowe's, Home Depot, etc... strike me as cheap junk. I'm thinking it needs to be a higher end consumer model or a smaller commercial model. I'm not worried too much about bells/whistles/creature comforts. It needs to be something reliable and not flimsy.

I looked at the Bad Boy mowers and I think they would be great. But that might be a little more than she wants to spend. And I've seen John Deere recommended on here before... But with the caveat that it should be one of their higher end models.

Any advice on models to look at or avoid completely would be appreciated.

Mike

I got a simplicity broadmore. I got 2 dealers within 15 miles of me.

I have a couple of John deere tractor type mowers, one is the big box store type, it has a Kohler engine which is good, but the rest of the mower is really cheap made. The other mower I have is the real deal, much heavier made. You will have to pay about twice as much for commercial grade of most brands, but In the long run it will be worth it.

Exmark, zero turn! JMHO

I have the D105(at least that's what they call them now),the cheapest mower that Deere makes at $1500.We have 5 acres,not all 5 are mowed but probably 3 of it is.I bought it 10 yrs .ago and it runs great,never had it in the shop.Here in northern Michigan we mow from May to around the middle of October,2-3 times a week,then we put it up for the winter.This past spring I took it out of the shed,found I forgot to disconnect the battery in the fall.For $$its and grins I choked it and turned the key and away it went like I drove it off the showroom floor.After 10 yrs. of use I was a little surprised it took off like it did to tell the truth,but like I said it hasn't let me down yet.

Bob-cat zero turn. Should last forever...

I have a JD z445 zero turn. Bought it used 8 years ago have had issues with the deck support u- bracket breaking at the corners, I had a new one made and I welded gussets in the corners and has been good. I mow 2 acres very similar to what you described in 1hr 18 minutes. I would also look at a used Graevely. More commercial made .

I have an X590 JD my recommendation is not one of those its 25 HP and not overpowered 54 inch deck {cheapest I have owned } When not mowing deck only raises a couple maybe 3 inches .Hydro seems noisy and every once in a while the motor will smoke when you start it up for a short time . JD says normal.

Ferris zero turn. Has coil over shocks on all 4 corners for a very smooth ride. Definitely get a zero turn, you will cut mowing time in half. All things considered, make sure you have a dealer fairly close. Stay away from stuff in the big box stores.

I have a troy-bilt that is 13 years old, 52 inch deck and 23 hp kohler moter. I mow about 3 acres at least once a week in the summer. Last year I replaced the starter and have replaced the blades once and I change the oil every year. It sits outside year around with just a cover on it. Most all are made by MTB and are the same unless you go commercial.

X2 I don't have experience with Ferris. But I love z-turn .

I'd like to have a listing of all models made by mtd so I can shop the others.

I bought a Husquarvana 42 inch cut last year with my Beaver Bucks.....1500.00 and pulls my 250 lbs up hills ...no problem.

Look into lawn mowing folks in your area. Its way cheaper often times than you think. She could likely pay someone to mow her lawn for much less money than a good new mower for the rest of her life and you would have more free time. In fact sell your mower and do the same. $.02

i've been running a cub cadet lawn tractor for 6 years with no issues.

its a 54" deck with a 24 hp kohler under the hood - it was more or less, their top of the line consumer model at the time.

Bobcat crz on my 3 acres of mowing. Tough little bugger and the added robustness is helpful for when the neighbors kids get enlisted while I'm off hunting.

What's free time? Lol

Mike

I have a john deere 54" cut mower. Not the box store model. Have had for 10 years now. only thing i have had to do is sharpen blades, grease change fluids and swap out a belt.
It works great.

I think lawnmowing helps some people feel good about themselves. I like lawnmowing. Til I get tired of it.