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spend as much you can afford if you have the work for it , it will last years longer as anything.
and u can do bigger jobs or work faster.
do you need a self propelled / rough cut or roller ?
I picked up a pro46 2nd hand as a working spare for my mini fleet for £200
They will earn you money day after day.
Nick
we use etesias, best mower out there.
The Etesias cut and collect in virtually any condition. But they don't stripe as much as a roller mower. And they cost a pittance to maintain vs - Honda/Kaaz/Lawnflite/Danarm etc machine.
Don't really need self propelled but always handy. I guess the better the machine the more efficient the job. Not sure if I want /have the cost of commercial machine just yet
Nick @ NM Garden Services Ltd said:
Me too! :-)
When I came back in to gardening after another business winding down, I was skint, and working from my car. I bought a £100 mower, and let's be honest, in ten hours it had paid for itself!
It really wasn't up to job, though, so I invested in a £500 mower. This broke within a week, and was no end of trouble.
I then stuck about £1000 on a credit card, and bought one of the first Honda pro-rollers in the UK. Whatever the costs of runing/reparing a pro machine, they make you far more back in ease of use, reliability, and quality of the result.
Like Nick, I have an Etesia I bought for £100 off ebay, plus £60 for a grassbox. great machines, but I need a roller for the quality of finish on most jobs. Worth it's weight in gold for sites with poor access, and as a back-up machine.
With any profession, your tools are your livelihood. I would say think carefully, but consider buying the best even if it means a business loan to do it. In my case it was a credit card, but it still paid it's costs many times over in the early days.
My advice would be to find a local trade specialist, promise him decades of your custom, and buy what he carries spares for, and prefers to repair fastest. One day without a mower is more lost income than buying a slightly cheaper machine in the first place!
u can get 3 good secondhand commercial ones and repair by a mower mechanic (knowing what is fixed or serviced) for buying one of some high priced ones.
it gives you a range for under £2k ive actually got 4 now and im covered for any job here i need for years and its spread the cost, no interest and none overly expensive/attractive to thieves.
this gives you back-up / variety and lowers risk.
I run an AL-KO 4610, cost me about £350, its a domestic machine but has very good build quality and a honda power plant. I have had it a year and had now problems yet. I run it around 2 full days a week. Best thing is its only 32kg so in and out of the van is so easy. Let us know with how you get on.
Couple of other things to add.
Always service the machine. New oil every two weeks when busy, sharpen the blade and clean the grassbox, and blow the air filter through.
Use decent petrol. Silly thing, but supermarket's cheap petrol is bad for cars, even worse for mowers.
Once a year, change the cables. Cheap to do, but one failing is a trip to the repairer and a job left half-finished.
If a machine is getting near failing, retire it. You'll need to replace it soon, so keep it working as a spare, don't wait for it to fail terminally. Over time, it's free back-up for every tool.
Sell everything. I've got good money for completely broken Stihl, and a pro mower is worth £100 in bits. Honda pro engines fetch £75 or so alone, if advertised well.
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