# Should I buy this used zero turn?



## Hayjosh (Mar 24, 2016)

A guy near me is selling a JD Ztrak 737 commercial zero turn mower with 60" deck. I test drove it and it rides like a dream and mows even better, but it has 1500 hours. Deck is in really great shape, but I'm hung up on the hours. He said he'd let it go for $3200 but based on dollar/hrs on same mowers listed on Tractorhouse, he's still a little high. What do you guys think, is 1500 hours a bit of a risk?

In an embarassing moment for him, he told me to mow with it, so I engaged the PTO and nothing happened, the belt had slipped off. He said it slipped off on him the first time he tried to use it last year when he bought it.

I also have a concern parts for a commercial mower might be a lot more expensive than a residential.

https://battlecreek.craigslist.org/grd/d/john-deere-737-zero-turn-60/6696023140.html


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

That's a bit high at this time of year....What engine does it have?


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

I see the add has been removed now...


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

When the belt starts coming off on engagement it means that it is stretched and needs replacing. I have been told that the 7 series Ztraks are some of the best that JD have made. I have had the same exact model for about 11 years now. Residential mowers are nowhere near the mower that the commercial series are.

Regards, Mike


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## Hayjosh (Mar 24, 2016)

somedevildawg said:


> That's a bit high at this time of year....What engine does it have?


It's a Kawasaki.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

They have a good un'.....rebuild time is probably about 1800-2000. Most have been very good I think....
But you can expect bearings on spindles, wheels and such to start needing attention, but compared to what new ones run......if it'll get the job done


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

Is it a carb or electronic fuel injection engine? I have the electronic fuel injection and do not recommend it. I understand the carb engines are good but I have had problems the throttle body with less than 125 hours and parts were about $1,400.


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

The ad has been deleted Josh, did you buy it?

What type of throttle body issues did you have kat?


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

1500 hours isn't much for a commercial unit. I bought a used Woods at a inventory reduction sale IN 2009, paid $2500. Completely rebuilt it that winter, haven't put much into it since. Mows about 5 acres at least weekly.


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

paoutdoorsman said:


> The ad has been deleted Josh, did you buy it?
> 
> What type of throttle body issues did you have kat?


All I know was the shop said the code(s) it was giving the throttle body was bad at 900 something and there was a capacitor I think that was brought parts up to right at $1,400 in total cost. Shipping and tax in there.

They symptoms I know very well. I thought it was fuel issue for over a year and took it to two dealerships, the one I bought the mower from and then another shop who eventually found the issue and repaired it. It might start find and run fine. Could be cutting grass and it just die or drop to idle. If it died it might start back up right off or might not. Often had to sit a few minutes. I ended up thinking it was bad fuel and used sea foam in it with no improvement and draining fuel tank and replacing fuel filters often. The funny thing was often when it would stop give me say 5 to 10 minutes to replace the fuel filter (change them often enough got real efficient) and it often would crank up and run great for say 20 minutes or even longer. If it dropped to idle you can not bring the rpms back up and would have to cut it off and it might then start back up and run fine for a while or might not. This went on for months with two dealers not finding the problem and letting me think it was fuel issue. I suspect they dealers did not have necessary computer testing or device as got neither recommended the EFI engine. When I bought mine parts guy at that shop told me he did not know if he would buy that engine or not. Did not know him then and had already bought it when he sort of muttered that to me. This I know, have no plans to ever buy another Kawasaki and understand commercial lawn guys like them.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Ya, the problem is with the efi system.....I've had carbureted Kawasaki's and never a problem. That being said, don't like em as much as Kohler I don't think, jury may still be out tho.....my newest mower has a Briggs Stratton Vangaurd engine that seems to be a good 'un....29hp big block


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## Hayjosh (Mar 24, 2016)

I guess he pulled the ad because he thought I might buy it. But I've decided to pass, I'm a little gunshy of the 1500 hours and at $3200 it's not that good of a price, compared to what machines with lower hours are going for on Tractorhouse.

Although I am having second thoughts. I sure felt amazing to mow on...


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

I'm mowing and blowing snow with a Deere X585 that has a fuel injected 25 HP Kawasaki. Bought it new in 2003 and it now has 860 hours on it. It has yet to give me a problem. Fuel and annual fluid/filter changes is all that I've ever done to it. I'd buy another one.


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## woodland (May 23, 2016)

There’s a toro 40 hp diesel here that’s got over 3500 hrs and still goes great. We do a couple of things every year (starter, belts, rebuilding linkages) but compared to a residential they’ll last many times longer. I’d sooner have a used commercial unit than a new residential version. Maybe go back and run it again if you’re having second thoughts. Only question is why he’s getting rid of it after only having it for a year?


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

paoutdoorsman said:


> I'm mowing and blowing snow with a Deere X585 that has a fuel injected 25 HP Kawasaki. Bought it new in 2003 and it now has 860 hours on it. It has yet to give me a problem. Fuel and annual fluid/filter changes is all that I've ever done to it. I'd buy another one.


I blew it on not buying a similar model. Had a chance to buy a clean Deere X748 yanmar diesel 4WD this summer. Had maybe 1100 hours and the 62" deck and it was gone off dealer lot in one day for $5,000. Most guys in MY area want $7,000+ for them.
I have a BX2200 I use around my house that has been through hell and back with 1,200 hours on it and hasn't given me more than a few minutes of trouble. 
I mow one of my farms' lawns and wanted a second mower to leave there instead of hauling my BX2200 up there every time.


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## Hayjosh (Mar 24, 2016)

woodland said:


> There's a toro 40 hp diesel here that's got over 3500 hrs and still goes great. We do a couple of things every year (starter, belts, rebuilding linkages) but compared to a residential they'll last many times longer. I'd sooner have a used commercial unit than a new residential version. Maybe go back and run it again if you're having second thoughts. Only question is why he's getting rid of it after only having it for a year?


He inherited some money from his deceased aunt. Having money to burn, he bought it at an estate auction last year. He hasn't used it much because a guy from his church started mowing his yard. This church helper is 'a little slow' so he's using the seller's older rider and not this nice zero turn. Hence, no purpose for the zero turn after all. Then I learned about this woman he wants to date, and everything else.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Lol, Did you tell him that was TMI......


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## Hayjosh (Mar 24, 2016)

somedevildawg said:


> Lol, Did you tell him that was TMI......


And that was even the filtered version I told you :lol:


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

paoutdoorsman said:


> I'm mowing and blowing snow with a Deere X585 that has a fuel injected 25 HP Kawasaki. Bought it new in 2003 and it now has 860 hours on it. It has yet to give me a problem. Fuel and annual fluid/filter changes is all that I've ever done to it. I'd buy another one.


No way will I say the issue mine had happens to all. Having the failure is not what upset me, it was lack of support by Kawasaki and how two different dealers took best part of year to find it. For the record my engine is 37 hp 99% sure. When running right it does not stall. It also likes gas right well. lol Mine goes to dealership every year for full service also.


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## Hayjosh (Mar 24, 2016)

well I obviously skipped out on this one, and then I missed out on a commercial Husqvarna as well as several Simplicity Citation commercial models, but yesterday I snagged an ExMark Laser Z HP with 56" deck and 600 hr with Kawasaki 23 hp engine for $3k in town.

I'm really glad I ended up with this one. Obviously ExMark is the name of the game, but this mower is in a much smaller package than the other mowers which are so large. I mowed the yard with it at 10 mph yesterday and it took me about 30 min, usually takes me up to 1.5 hr with all the obstacles and mowing at 5 mph on my JD rider. Cut was really great too. Mowing is so fun now, but sad that it's over so quickly and that the season is almost ended. Will get a LOT of time back.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

You'll like it, I have two Exmarks and they've been great.....


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

somedevildawg said:


> You'll like it, I have two Exmarks and they've been great.....


What one for the little woman and the youngest?

Regards, Mike


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

R u kiddin'......I meant to say I have three Exmarks, only one has a bad hydro pump and I'm considering scrapping it out, ain't worth the pump price 
Nope, the little woman has a grasshopper with air ride seat  she ain't crazy about the color tho.....and they ain't nobody left at the house, empty nest for about two years now  so I'm left to the Exmarks, but today I jumped on the grasshopper, it's a Cadillac.......


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

somedevildawg said:


> R u kiddin'......I meant to say I have three Exmarks, only one has a bad hydro pump and I'm considering scrapping it out, ain't worth the pump price
> Nope, the little woman has a grasshopper with air ride seat  she ain't crazy about the color tho.....and they ain't nobody left at the house, empty nest for about two years now  so I'm left to the Exmarks, but today I jumped on the grasshopper, it's a Cadillac.......


What the heck are you mowing to require that kind of arsenal?

Regards, Mike


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

They’re pricey but a Kubota diesel is a grass cutting machine. A 1211 with the 25 horse motor. No emisions. Very nice seat/ride. Pivot front axle. Well built deck with hydraulic up and down. Got the rear discharge deck. Love love it. Just about bout a Gravely.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Vol said:


> What the heck are you mowing to require that kind of arsenal?
> 
> Regards, Mike


Well, I cut my mothers grass....it's five acres. Cut my yard, it's 8 acres. Cut landlords yard 4 acres and 2 acres. And the elderly neighbors yard, 1 acre. 
Went to VA the other day to get the Grasshopper after the oldest Exmark went down....couldn't be down too long. The grasshopper is a well built machine, very smooth, responsive, fast and powerful.....really nice mower.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

somedevildawg said:


> Well, I cut my mothers grass....it's five acres. Cut my yard, it's 8 acres. Cut landlords yard 4 acres and 2 acres. And the elderly neighbors yard, 1 acre.


Wow, makes me think my hay operation is really small.

My smallest hay field is just over 3 acres, and three of your four lawns are bigger than my smallest hay field. That 3 acre hay field takes about 35 minutes to cut, I realize you can probably do it faster with a zero turn. However, I only cut it 3-4 times a year (4 this year).

I do have about 5 acres just west of my house/barns that looks like a lawn, except for some land mines, that are left by my 4 legged bovine mowing machines. 

Man, you must either like mowing or have a lot of time to spend mowing. But then again I thinking about HERE when you have to mow sometimes twice a week to stay ahead of the grass growth.

Larry


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

That's too much mowing for me.....my yard is 1.8 acres and that's too much.....and I mow 2 passes along the fence that runs the highway.

Regards, Mike


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Ya purty much every five to seven days this summer, exceptionally wet this year, but usually every 7-10 days depending on the amount of Bahai infestation...... I also have some pasture that I cut but I have a MX-15 that I mow with.....
I was thinking about that the other day in the drive back from Va.....I've spent my entire life mowing grass. I was the youngest of 6 and we had my mothers house to cut with a push mower dad bought. We sprigged it with hatchets and sprigs by hand, as a consequence, the Bahai is purty thick  dad must of took a smoke break and during that time....we really made some progress on the sprigging  but I remember when we got our first high wheel push mower, they said it made a difference, but at 7 yrs old, I couldn't tell......ill tell you when it made a difference, when my dad bought a repo from Sears, a 16hp Onan powered SS/16 garden tractor with a removable 54" deck.....I was 13 I think. When I was 15, I got a job at the municipal golf course cutting roughs, then fairways then greens/tee boxes, until I was about 18. Since then, I've always cut my own grass......so I guess I've literally spent a lifetime cutting grass on all sorts of mowing contraptions from the Sears Roebuck SS/16 to Yazoo/snapper/hustler/Jacobson and beyond.......I don't think it's a very good commentary on my life 
But sadly, it is the truth.....

And it continues today.....but not for long if the years are as bad as this one, I may take early retirement  not sure how that all works but Ima working on it


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Vol said:


> That's too much mowing for me.....my yard is 1.8 acres and that's too much.....and I mow 2 passes along the fence that runs the highway.
> 
> Regards, Mike


The road frontage is the toughest.....the county likes it tho. I have 1800 ft of county road with a huge ditch. From the edge of the road to my fence is 50', I takes a while with the 72" Exmark.....I sometimes use the MX-15 for that now.....all the neighbors have to blow the horn when I'm on the Exmark.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

When we ain't making hay, we are cutting grass or working on the mowers  starting to slow a bit, thankfully. It's been non-stop this year....


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

somedevildawg said:


> .....all the neighbors have to blow the horn when I'm on the Exmark.


Can you turn and look and see who blew at you yet?

Regards, Mike


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Vol said:


> Can you turn and look and see who blew at you yet?
> 
> Regards, Mike


Lol, ya I'm an old pro on the 0 turns.....but I have to admit, it is fun to blow at others and watch them try to manage......when I was about 18 I let a Yazoo get away, I was dipping Copenhagen at the time for the first time.....had always been a Levi Garrett guy, but I had something to prove I think.....it was hot and I got dizzy, dizzy on a 0 ain't good, in a few minutes you can get really dizzy......still remember that in incident vividly


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

somedevildawg said:


> Lol, ya I'm an old pro on the 0 turns.....but I have to admit, it is fun to blow at others and watch them try to manage......when I was about 18 I let a Yazoo get away, I was dipping Copenhagen at the time for the first time.....had always been a Levi Garrett guy, but I had something to prove I think.....it was hot and I got dizzy, dizzy on a 0 ain't good, in a few minutes you can get really dizzy......still remember that in incident vividly


Boy, that brings back bad memories. I used to chaw RedMan and an occasional dip of Hawkins. Neither was too bad for a young teenage tadpole. Dad had logging done and the main tree-feller chewed Skoal; every morning, he would walk around the woods and scatter Skoal cans around strategically so he would be at the next can when he needed another chew...he put a WHOLE DANG CAN in at once. I headed to the bottoms with the H and a disk to disk what I had earlier plowed. As I was going down the roadway to the bottoms, I spied whiff my wittle eye a can of Skoal under a piece of bark. Being 12-13 years old, I figured I hit the mother lode. I put in a fair sized chaw and went to disking; I hit a furrow, bounced and swallered ½ of it. About another 100 yards and my head was swimmin. I laid down on the cool dirt---face down and slept it off for few hours. I got back to the house and dad asked how I got along and I just replied "had problems" and left it at that. 30+ years later, I STILL can't stand the smell of wintergreen. Copenhagen original gets me through my days now.

Mark


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

somedevildawg said:


> Lol, ya I'm an old pro on the 0 turns.....but I have to admit, it is fun to blow at others and watch them try to manage.


Well that and I was wondering how the recovery was coming also?

Regards, Mike


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

It's coming ok Mike, just super slow......doc says I screwed around and waited until the last minute (I did) and I have some nerve damage that has to grow back. Nerves apparantly don't grow fast......so, if I had to put percentages on my health, I'd say before surgery I was about 10%.... Almost no loco motion at all, today I'm about 40%....the problem is that I don't stop and take time off. I was behind the 8 when I finally had the surgery, and I've been snookered ever since, but it is getting better so that's encouraging...hopefully it continues progressing. 
The air ride seat on the Grasshopper is my excuse for using it, suspension, as you know, is nonexistent on zero's but with low air pressure and air seat, it's tolerable.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

somedevildawg said:


> The air ride seat on the Grasshopper is my excuse for using it, suspension, as you know, is nonexistent on zero's but with low air pressure and air seat, it's tolerable.


That raises an interesting question (for me anyhow), I wondered which 0 had the best (smoothest) ride? I have been consider one and have thought the larger the wheel, possibly the smoother ride.

What is the smoothest riding one, (once you get off the concrete/asphalt, to where the ground moles like to play that is)?

At least in MY area, smooth as a baby's backside doesn't exist where the blacktop ends and grass is a growing.

Larry


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## MrLuggs (Dec 14, 2015)

r82230 said:


> That raises an interesting question (for me anyhow), I wondered which 0 had the best (smoothest) ride? I have been consider one and have thought the larger the wheel, possibly the smoother ride.
> 
> What is the smoothest riding one, (once you get off the concrete/asphalt, to where the ground moles like to play that is)?
> 
> ...


I know some of the dixie chopper ztrs have springer suspension on the front (along with suspension seats)


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I think the best thing is to run as low a pressure as you can in the rears, it increases footprint size and you know how susceptible they are to getting stuck. Idk, having never used one, but I wouldn't think any kind of suspension on the front would make much difference.....when I'm mowing it's fairly obvious that there is very little weight transfer to the front axle except for really uneven ground like ditches and such. So the rears to me hold the key.....and the seat. Without a doubt, based on what I've seen and heard, the Michelin twill tire is the best in the industry for comfort and convenience....hard to beat it, except the price. 
The Grasshopper is without a doubt the best I've operated in terms of ride, handling, speed. I once had a scag that was nice but it was basically like the Exmarks, real beefy but not real comfortable, but would have been much better with Twills and air ride seat. The frame on the grasshopper has a lower cog and that's nice....the controls are really quick and responsive....I had a Kubota that I bought once, but the controls were awful...very stiff and slow. But the kubota had a drive shaft instead of a mule drive belt one of the few to do that, in the end, I couldn't put up with the controls and sold it.....it also wasn't real quick, kinda like the RTV.....
I got a purty good deal on the one I drove half way across the country to get 
61" deck, 29hp big block, air ride, weights for front end, brackets for bagger, 256hrs, 2015 model.......$5k Same one at my dealer (32 hp) was 13.5k
Walker is another good one, but ride quality is not very good, very small rear tires doesn't help.....


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

Todd, is your (wife's) Grasshopper a front or mid mount deck? Friend sells Grasshopper and he thinks there are good mowers. Believe the front mount decks at least some have other implements you can drop deck and use. Dixie Chopper was being sold by a dealer I bought a Bushhog from and when I really looked at one decided it was the ugliest mower I had ever looked at. My opinion is not the same as many who have bought one I know. I agree the longer the wheel base and the larger the tire diameter the smoother the ride. Seat and tire air pressure all matter. I would think air seat would be great on a heavy mower. For myself bought after using not middle line Bushhog z turn a Ferris with full springs and shocks. Without a doubt it rides much much better and higher speeds than does my Bushhog and I think my brothers pro model Bushhog which is same size deck and about same length. My Ferris is heavier mower than his due to much larger engine and the suspension. Still to me the most important way to have smooth ride on ztr is smooth lawn.

Something I am aware of and no idea how to tell you what to watch for but have been told by some front mount deck Grasshopper is bad to throw clippings on you. No experience but know my Ferris is when turning right as you turn into the clippings, so I avoid right hand turns. The discharge on my Ferris is very large and very open.

One way to get better ride on a ztr, wider deck cutting slow. Has nothing to do with the ride but watch which ever you prefer for I found some pro models that have sealed bearings for the blades. Also aluminum spindle housing. One reason I was comfortable with the Bushhog for they were using and assume still are same ones as on the finishing mowers.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

My wife's  is a mid-mount.....that rear end swinging around would spell TROUBLE. Ferris makes a good mower as well, just not a lot of them in this little neck of the woods......no dealer that I know of anywhere close. 
Idk what happened to Dixie Chopper but I don't think they're the same company they were several years ago.....they've always been the ugliest, but fastest mower on the market. Never cut with one, but folks who used to operate them loved them, then I didn't see much of them for a while and they have re-emerged or resurrected, not sure.....I looked at some, they are still ugly as hell, but they don't seem to have the same quality of build that they were known for, but idk for sure. Exmark did the same thing, ownership changed cheapened up some things and kinda lost me as a customer but they still make a good un'. They's a lot of good mowers on the market, gravely...another that ain't the same as they used to be, but makes a purty good mower as well.....and don't leave out Hustler, they've probably been bought and sold, but they've always made great mowers.....and Steiner....damn there is a lot of mower manufactures......


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

Speaking of lots of mower manufacturers, have you ever heard of Walker mowers? I have a friend that tried several different brands and types of mowers over the last few years, and just wasn't finding anything that satisfied him. I talked to him a few weeks ago and he is on a Walker this year. He couldn't stop telling me how spectacular the thing was. I'd never heard of them before.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Ya, I mentioned them in a earlier post, they make a really good mower with a really good cut quality....they don't make a lot of larger mowers however, most are around 48" or so and most that I see have baggers attached. They have really small tires on the rear...but the build quality is very good. No dealer here but despite that, I see quite a few here.....folks that have them, love them.


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