My riding lawnmower (48" LX280 AWS All Wheel Steering) is getting a little long in the tooth so I'm considering getting a new mower and just keeping the old mower configured as a snowblower. The snowblower attachment works fine, but it is a pain in the rear to convert from mow-to-snow and snow-to-mow when the seasons change. Some of the attach points have worn and don't fit quite right, making things difficult. It takes me the better part of a day to do the conversion. Keeping the mower height properly aligned is increasingly problematic. I'm getting too old for this stuff.
I stopped in the John Deere dealer today and told the guy I have about an acre of land to mow and I would like a good mulching mower. My current deck is 48", but I would prefer a 54" for my new mower. He showed me a the ZTrak mowers, a Z535R specifically. The price was $5799 less a $350 rebate. (When I got home I wasn't sure if that price was with the mulching capability or not.) I tried to get him to throw in fixing the belt on my existing mower (I supply the belt) and converting it to a snowblower, but he didn't bite on that. In fact he didn't seem willing to negotiate on anything.
So my questions for the board are:
I stopped in the John Deere dealer today and told the guy I have about an acre of land to mow and I would like a good mulching mower. My current deck is 48", but I would prefer a 54" for my new mower. He showed me a the ZTrak mowers, a Z535R specifically. The price was $5799 less a $350 rebate. (When I got home I wasn't sure if that price was with the mulching capability or not.) I tried to get him to throw in fixing the belt on my existing mower (I supply the belt) and converting it to a snowblower, but he didn't bite on that. In fact he didn't seem willing to negotiate on anything.
So my questions for the board are:
- What are your recommendations for a 1-3/4 acre property with lots of trees and probably about one acre to mow? The property is mostly flat with a ditch that can be mowed when dry. Do you have any favorites?
- What is your experience negotiating a better price on a mower in the $5K to $6K price range? I thought I got a good deal on the last two mowers I bought, one of them being a low-time dealer unit (where an employee uses the mower for one season and turns it back in for a new one). The outfit in Hiawatha (P&K Midwest) seemed to be firm on their price. I had gotten a good deal from the dealer in Keystone many years ago, but he sold the business and it is now operated by P&K. The dealer in nearby Mount Vernon is also P&K.
- For those familiar with the ZTrak line, what do the last letters in the model number (M, E, R) signify?
- Any comments on ZTrak versus a standard lawn tractor? My first rider was a front mower which I just loved, but they quit making it. It could accept a snowblower and had a good turning radius. The ZTrak can't do snow, so that is a disadvantage, but I'd solve that by keeping my old mower configured as a snowblower. And that saves me the seasonal transition work.
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