Hi all,
I have a small garden maintenance business in Norwich which has been running for a couple of years. All is going well and I am now looking for a small ride on mower so that I can (hopefuly) take on some bigger jobs this season. I imagine I would only give it light use, at least to begin with.
I've been offered an Etesia Bahia MBHE (Briggs engine) 2004 yr which looks nearly new because its just been sitting in a shed not being used. The price is £1500.
I have searched the previous discussions and the general consensus seems to be that the kawasaki models are the ones to go for. However, the second hand ones look very used and abused and are more expensive.
Has anybody used the Briggs one? Are the other models that much better at collecting wet or long grass? In other words does this sound like a good purchase?
Any help would be much appreciated because this is an expensive investment for my small business.
Cheers
Views: 2712
Replies
Hi Geoff
The difference between each model is more down to noise / vibration / fuel consumption and reliability of the engine.
The reason the Kawasaki is the most popular is purely because it’s the engine which slides nicely in the middle for every thing and the most favored engine with 80% of users.
The mbhe will not cut and collect any differently than the mhhe or mkhe.
The only difference on all machines is the engine, transmission is the same / deck / frame (except engine mount brackets) etc etc.
If i'm honest for the price you’re getting it for and the condition you say it’s in I would be amazed if you could pick up another identical machine anywhere for the same price.
If you wanted to know anything about these machines before going any further feel free to give me a call on the office line or replying on this discussion
Thanks Stephen and Neil for your helpful replies. Sounds the the Briggs engine would be fine then regarding reliability and performance but I imagine that this option would be the noisier, less efficient model?
Im being indecisive because there is no urgent need for a ride on regarding the gardens I currently look after which are small to medium size. However, my thoughts are to expand my business by offering more services on my website and by advertising in nearby areas where the gardens are more likely to require a ride on.
The thing is if I wait until I get offered a job where a ride on is needed it will be summer time and it would be harder to find a good second hand machine of this standard.
I suppose it comes down to the chicken or the egg scenario.
Also would an 80 cm cutting deck be a good size for a first all round ride on mower? or would say a 100 cm deck be a better all purpose size. I have a VW Transporter LWB and a 6x4 trailer if that helps.
Any thoughts on these matters would ease my indesiveness!
I would urge you to consider the overall width (not just the cutting deck) of any ride on for 3 simple reasons - productivity, transportation & access.
We know that the 80s WILL fit thru all normal pedestrian gates we have encountered :-)
No good having good kit that can't be used ...
hi geoff
i think it would be the best size to start with,
you would be able to use it for bigger gardens which have side access and also the bahia can be fitted with a snow plough & drop pin tow bar which gives the machine a little extra you can do with it
and is my preferd rid on mower
pluss for the money as i said you will kick your self later on if you come to need one for a job and need to pull another 1k out to get a machine in the same or close condition
Geoff Sibley said: