Hello all. We're building a home on roughly 2 acres and I'll be needing a decent mower to handle the size. Building has been rough regarding the budget, so I am looking at used to save some money.

Curious the boards thoughts on this model; less than 20 hours of run time logged so far. Asking $1750.
https://www.cubcadet.com/en_US/lawn-and-garden-tractors/xt1-lt46/13APA9CT010.html

If you have any other advice, don't hesitate to share. I know zero turn is the way to go; I just don't think I can drop $3k plus with everything else we need to do. Thanks!

I have a 46" LT Club Cadet and I honestly don't think it is going to last very long and I just mow 2 city lots.

I'd suggest a John Deere.

Thanks for the feedback! What I need.

I have basically that mower. Maybe a slightly different model. I mow between 2.5 and 3 acres. It takes roughly 6 hours.

Yes. 6 hours.

We will be getting a zero turn soon.

It may be worth looking into a company to just mow for you.

Also, there are typically quite a few zero turns listed for around that price used on facebook marketplace, if you are willing to chance used.

Thanks. I've currently got someone mowing for about $75 a month as we build. I may just have him finish up this season and figure things out next spring when grass is growing again. I could probably get a decent used push mower to take care of new Bermuda sod I plant around the house.

Only two brands riding mowers that hold up and reliable John Deere and Husqvarna.

10andBOUNCE said:

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Thanks. I've currently got someone mowing for about $75 a month as we build. I may just have him finish up this season and figure things out next spring when grass is growing again. I could probably get a decent used push mower to take care of new Bermuda sod I plant around the house.

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If he only charges $75 to mow 2 acres just keep paying him for as long as he will do it for that price. That's 20+ mowings to break even not including fuel maintenance or time.

I just bought a Spartan 54 inch zero turn. They're doing 48 months 0% financing right now. Mowed my 2 acres in 30 minutes and that was my first time using it.

54" husquvarna owner here )not zero turn).

Takes me two hours to mow about 1.75 acres. Not bad at all.

we had one similar that mowed 2 acres for about 4 years........just got rid of it b/c we upgraded to a zero turn.

never had any issues other than one of the rotors going out. it was replaced pretty easy and got a 3 pack with blades all for a pretty decent price off amazon.

Here's what you need

It got a Red Max 54" zero turn on 0% interest. $3,800 tax included. Got good reviews online and my small engine repair guy does the warranty work and sells them. Made it an easy choice.

Take a good look at who actually makes the mower you are looking at There are only a few manufacturers in the U.S. A lot of parts are interchangeable between brands. A buddy of mine was bad mouthing MTD mowers and ended up buying a rebranded MTD because it got "good reviews".

I upgraded to a zero turn BadBoy about 6 years ago. Mowed same amount in about 1/3 the time as a tractor type mower. Crazy how few hours I've put on the zero turn in that length of time. Highly recommend zero turn. There's a lot of good ones out there. If you can find one that has an engine out and otherwise in good shape, replace with a brand new engine for around $800-$900, and you're in business fairly cheap. Time saved with a zero turn is money saved in my book, unless you just love to mow, which I don't.

Look for a used hustler fastrak, something like this.

https://houston.craigslist.org/grd/d/baytown-hustler-fastrak-48-ztr-for-sale/7339403568.html

Well built and much cheaper than the SCAG level brands. This is $3800 but I would think you could find a older one cheaper. I bought mine used 10 years ago and mow rough 3 acres. I've only replaced 1 spindle.

OP, we bought that same twin cylinder Cub Cadet 3 years ago and so far it is the best we have had in 30 years. Much better than any previous Craftsman. Our place is rough and the acreage cut is close to 3. Plus my spouse runs over everything that doesn't need to be run over and it is still cutting great.
Easy to change blades/ drop deck. The best part is how high the cutting deck can be raised, unlike the Craftsman mowers we had from the past. There is a place to sit your beer also.
With all the rain this year, we are cutting every 5-6 days.

just because this is the OB and someone one here wants the best of the best. Walker Mowers. These guys invented the zero turn mower. i got to tour their factory in Ft. Collins back in 1998. At the time they were all hand made. Don't know if that is still the case or not. Looks like their low end model for residential use runs about $6700 new.

https://www.walker.com/about/story

Thanks all for the feedback. I'll likely ride out the current growing season and pay my guy and address this again in spring. Time saved with the zero turn is probably worth increasing my budget even if I need to wait 6 months or so.

I live on 2 acres. Started off with a hand me down Cub Cadet 42" rider, it finally gave up the ghost. FIL gave me his 42" Cub Cadet ZTR, which was awesome until the block exploded one day.

I used my 24 horse Kubota with a 5' finish mower for a long, long time. It worked extremely well in the open areas, but was a PITA in corners, around the few trees i have, etc.

Finally broke down and bought a Kubota ZTR (42" since I was limited by the size of the door to my storage shed). I can mow my entire yard in about 2, 2.5 hours depending on how tall the grass is. I had 84 months at 0% interest on it too, and it is tough as nails.

All that to say - suck it up and get a good zero turn. You buy once, you cry once. But you'll be a much, much happier person in the long run if all you are doing is mowing with a ZTR above any other type of equipment.

If you plan on doing other things (gardening, earthwork to some degree, fence building, maintenance, etc.) then get a compact tractor with a mowing deck. Won't be as fast as the ZTR, but will be much more useful for other chores and yardwork. Something in the 25 horsepower range with a front end loader.

This work for you???

Hustler or John Deere 46" to 52".

For the brand, consider the proximity of of a service shop. The zero turn mowers need occasional maintenance, and if you do not plan to do the maintenance yourself, you will want a close by service shop.

For example, I was using a Husqvarna mower until I finally replaced with a Deere. The closest shop in DFW that would service was 25 miles away in Garland.

When I was looking at zero turns last year they all had 60 month zero percent financing. The was no discount for paying cash either.

It was 10 years ago but I bought a mid-'90s Toro off Craigslist for $650 and it didn't need any repairs until this year when the clutch finally wore out and the end of the steering shaft wore to the point the splines rounded off. Otherwise it's been gas, belts this year, and oil.

Where the heck did you find 84 months with 0%?

kaleb_allison said:

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When I was looking at zero turns last year they all had 60 month zero percent financing. The was no discount for paying cash either.

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I cant even find 12 months 0% right now. Hell, I can barely find somewhere that has zero turns in stock. (If any of you are looking and cant find one- Country Life Equipment Co in Franklin had a handful of Toro and Bad Boy in stock (not yet sold) as of Saturday)

bkag9824 said:

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Where the heck did you find 84 months with 0%?

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That was the deal at Kubota financing when I bought my ZTR, they change their financing options all of the time. Right now it looks like it is 48 months at 0% APR, which is still pretty solid.

histag10 said:

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kaleb_allison said:

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When I was looking at zero turns last year they all had 60 month zero percent financing. The was no discount for paying cash either.

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I cant even find 12 months 0% right now. Hell, I can barely find somewhere that has zero turns in stock. (If any of you are looking and cant find one- Country Life Equipment Co in Franklin had a handful of Toro and Bad Boy in stock (not yet sold) as of Saturday)

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The Kubota dealer that I use has several ZTR's in stock. He's a fairly new dealer so his inventory is pretty good. For now.