36" or 48" lawn mower

[nick11380]

I bought the 3 year old 48" Exmark (trade in) for $2300. After looking at the "new" 48" Exmark hydro for $3100 it was a no brainer.

The 3 year old 48" Exmark (trade in) looks and runs like a new machine.

The "new" 48" Exmark hydro is a "new" 8 year old mower that they haven't been able to sell. The dealer was working on getting it running when I got there. It didn't start as good as the 3 year old Exmark. It's rusty and runs like crap. The controls moved like they were a bit rusty and it felt like an old machine that I would have problems with. The dealer also said that it has a 1 year warrenty and we would probably be able to get all the bugs out of it before the warrenty expired. But the 3 year old Exmark (trade in) was a better mower and he recommended that one.

After buying and using the 3 year old Exmark (trade in) for a couple weeks I'm happy with my purchase and feel like I made the right choice. Plus the $300 grass catcher that I bought for my Yazoo-Kees fits perfectly on my Exmark with no modifications.

Thanks for all your advice.

[EGLC]

Get a 21" for gated & small yards & the 48" for everything else. Be sure to get hydro though, you'll regret it if you don't.

[Kimber Landscapes]

I was just going to start a new thread when I saw this one. Now that Nick got his mower I would like to hijack this thread.
Nick the thing with a hydro is that the do not slip like belt drives. On hills and in the rain you keep on going. THat is real important here in florida were you have to mow in the rain at least once a week.
Now for my question.
I have a 36 Scag on each route. Almost every house has a gate that the mower just fits through. The back of most yards are big. Is it worth having 2 mowers to move around the trailer and put on and off at each stop? Would a 36ztr save any time? They are very expensive.

[buster57]

This has been a battle for a while but what would the forum recommend-a 48" Exmark or Scag?