Anyone with any recommendations on a good deal for lawn mowers. I need something around 150cc or above. Self propelling would be a bonus as my land is quite sloped. I can't justify some of the $1000 price tags for some mowers out there.
Lawnmowers
middleground on 19/02/2019 - 16:46
Comments
And yes a bigger engine is stronger, but if you a regular with cutting this this wont matter.
Also could be worth paying and getting one that can Mulch too, but this is a waste of time if the grass is a little too long and/or damp
Ego self propelled ~$1000 with the cost makes lawn mowing so easy
I have come to the same conclusion as rkl - I now buy cheapo lawnmowers that easily last two or three years, then sell on TradeMe, and buy a new one.
Even if you just throw them out after three years, the cost is the same or less than buying a decent mower that lasts, say, ten or fifteen years, over the same period, and lower risk (the decent mower might not last after all), plus you don't really need to get it serviced at all (if you don't do it yourself), so the cost is definitely lower.
Last mower I sold on TradeMe was three years old, and I sold it for about 50% of the price of the new one I'd just bought, which makes it much cheaper than buying a decent one over total lifetime. I sold it saying the pull-cord handle was broken (easy fix - I'd tied a piece of plastic to it), it wouldn't start (not true, but stops any complaints coming back), and it probably needed a new spark plug (possibly true after three years - not sure, but explains why it might not start). It sold within a day - I should have asked more!
What used to make sense thirty or fifty years ago is definitely not frugal anymore!
Alan.
I was tempted to buy those $199 petrol mowers from Bunnings, or Warehouse (!). Will they last the 3 years? Well maybe not the Warehouse one, because I don't see them selling it anymore lol.
The next to last I got one on special from Bunnings for, I think, $189. Petrol, something like 130cc (can't recall exactly).
It lasted me three years, and I sold it as I posted above, for $99 on TradeMe.
Worked fine, except the pull cord broke, but that's easy to fix if you are at all handy (or the person buying it will think so!)
Not sure what the guarantee would be - probably twelve months.
However, if it broke down, and you wanted, you could probably go back to the store within, say, two years and say it was not fit for purpose under the CGA. No idea how that would go, nor if you would have to show that you'd serviced it as per the manual, but worth considering.
Alan.
Thanks for the info. Lawnmowers are definitely covered for 3 years under CGA, as you are not expected to 'change' your mower annually.
Yes - I would agree that three years is totally reasonable.
Alan.
I also got a cheaper Victor lawnmower from bunnings, it's about 4 years old now.
Generally starts first / second pull of the cord. I haven't done any maintenance on it but I don't thrash it cutting super long grass.I also had a $1000 masport mower that had a branch chipper on it as well. Great lawnmower and I had it for 7 years without maintenance. It got destroyed by tennants eventually that most likely put the wrong fuel in it.
Unless you have a special need case I would vouch for these cheaper ones. Someone told me that if the motor is Briggs & Stratton then it should last alright.
I got a $200 lawnmower from the Warehouse. Briggs & Stratton motor. Starts first time, everytime at 10 years old (I think). Oil change every 6 months. I use car oil (10-30W) as much cheaper. Changed spark plug once as I think I flooded with oil when tilting once. You can hear the difference but seems to be working well. I only mow the grass when dry and don't clean the mower. Not propelled but definitely get a decent motor and think about plastic catcher if not getting a mulching model. I see a lot of good looking second models on Facebook marketplace - where I'll get my next one from.
Check out Cash Converters' website as well. I got a Honda mower from them a while ago for $450, and it's a beast.
Nearly 6 years ago I bought my lawnmower off a guy on trademe who "refurbishes" them. When I picked it up he gave me the story how the chassis was off so-and-so and was 10 years old and would last another 10 easily and blah blah.
I think I paid around $200 for the mower and 6 years later it is still running like an absolute beauty. Starts first pull every time, runs perfect and still looks the same it did when I got it and I treat it like shit. Mow the lawns wet or dry, cut at like 25mm when the grass is 150mm long, etc.
Don't know how much this helps when making a decision, but it is a cross-breed alloy masport body with a tecumesh 3.5 horsepower engine.
If it failed tomorrow, I wouldn't spend more than $250 on a new one.Okay folks, I ended up getting this particular model. I saw the same model at Mitre 10 and got them to do a price beat, so ended up getting it at around $300.
Now for maintenance, what do I need? Just engine oil, if so does anyone have any economical recommendations.
Do I need to get anti rust for any of the parts?
I meant to say this particular model.
https://www.bunnings.co.nz/lawnmaster-140cc-18-4-stroke-petr…
An oil change, and maybe an air filter change (depending on how dirty it is) every mowing season. The blades should last a few years with domestic use.
Try not to mow wet grass unless you know you'll clean the underside afterwards. When mowing dry grass clean the underside periodically (especially at the end of season) and leave it in a dry place. Also you can try spray on some rubberized undercoat for cars if you want a little bit of extra protection.
If you follow the advice above then the deck will probably outlast the engine. The problem with cheap mowers is that parts may become impossible to find, if something breaks. TBH for $300 I would rather get a 2nd-hand Masport mower with an alloy deck from Trademe or Cash Converters (they have a online listings now), because the deck will last forever even when full of wet grass clippings, and Masport has all the spare parts.
It looks like the lawnmower on mitre 10 is slightly different to the one on Bunnings. Did they not check it in detail? Or was the exact model in store but not shown on the website?
It was identical. Mitre 10 just didn't have it on their website. They orjbably knew that Bunnings had it on sale so price beat would bring it to a no profit territory.
Good price. I'd do oil change every 6 months with recommended 30 weight oil until warranty expires (be careful if you tip lawnmower over as oil can flow inside engine and get on spark plug-i balance mower between lawn chairs and open sump plug underneath so stays level). After warranty expires, i use car 10-30W oil as much cheaper. Not sure about rust proofing. Mine is starting to rust at 10 year mark but only mow when dry so not worried. I'd probably get a spare spark plug on special at SuperCheap at about 2 year mark for the day it stops starting.
Honestly I would go with a cheaper Victa or similar.
My dad has one of these Victa 125cc
And I have one similar to this Victa Ultimate
While I know the build quality is better e.g. Alloy vs steel body, Most of the other things are gimmicks.
Have had the instart battery stop working on me twice. This is bloody annoying as you cant start it without the damn battery.
Also its really heavy compaired to the basic victa. I borrowed my dads while I was waiting for a new battery (took 3 months) and it was much easier to do the lawn as it didn't require as much effort pushing it around.Also this made the process much faster.
The self propelled can be slow imo and can make it harder to push around at times.
With a steep cut I reckon a light mower would be better than a heavy selfpropelled one.
Also if wet the wheels just skid anyway.
In hindsight It would be better for me to buy a cheaper $350 one every 5 years than to have a $1000 model last me 15.