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Replies
Benji, if you are not sure - then don't invest at moment.
Go look to see if you can hire one for a while to get to know what works, what you can load on a trailer/van, what will fit thru gates, what the running costs are.
If serious, speak to dealer and ask for a demo on site. See if you can live with it. Then make an informed decision that suits your type of client/workload.
You could always throw a bid in on mine ;)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2207811473...
But only if you're sure you have enough work for it, and can fix/put up with the problems :)
How will you transport it?
I'd be cautious getting one unless the work's guaranteed otherwise it's not an investment it's a gamble. A decent one will be double your budget and how many lawns will you need to mow in order to break even on it? Plus you've got running costs, servicing etc...
The main question is if you want to collect or not ?
If yes, then there isnt much to choose from realy. Avoid turbine collectors and go for a straight through.
If your going to let fly then there is much much more to choose from. Dont discount the big (scag style) walk behinds, they are very good. We prefer them to ride ons for all but the biggest of jobs and theyre perfect for anyone on a tight budget. Stick with uncle sam and you wont go wrong, much better than euro or jap crap ( actuall mowers, not engines).
I recently forked out a 2 Tonne 10 ft indespension dropside trailer. I think Rowly has hit the nail on the head and when you think about it (hypothetically) hiring a mower for a day at £100 per day making say only £40 on a job makes you much worse of than earning £140 quid on an asset you already own and can sell for the same value.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JOHN-DEERE-1145-OUT-FRONT-MOWER-NO-RESERVE-/1...
Thoughts?...
2500hrs sounds a lot to me....
Why don't they know year of manufacture? Surely that should be easy to find out?
Out front ok, but no good for jobs where you need collection -
Need to decide whether you need to collect or drop and run :)
Benji's Gardening Service said:
Agree with Rowlys chicken/egg thing here - as the boys earlier have said, investing big without genuine work to come in the book is a gamble weighted more against your current situation. On the other hand if you did the 'do nothing' option, would you be content to carry on as you are (at least for now) and not take the larger contracts? These are both 'gambles' in different ways. The other choice of buying second hand seems optimum although you will need to put extra aside to fully service your machine before taking on tasks. Rowly is right, the ideal opportunity to do a bit of concurrent tasking and whilst procuring a second hand like the JD you linked, you can drum up some confirmed work for it. Worst case scenario is if you dont get work for it, you have a second hand asset which you can always resell and it won't depreciate as a newer model would do - good luck mate.
robin
www.gardens4u.co.uk
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