Budget Buster: Riding lawnmower

[TexasErin]

Darn riding lawnmower started having problems today. It is 3 or 4 years old and is a Craftsman. DH said the part that the blades connects to broke!

We have an acre.

This really sucks because we are trying to pay off credit cards and not charge them up. They are getting out of hand. And I just had to spend a couple of hundred dollars on a plumber a couple of weeks ago. Aye carumba!!

We have talked about either seeing if it can be fixed. Or buying a self propelled push mower. Putting $1000+ on a riding lawnmower is just really not in the cards right now. Like I said, we are trying to pay off debt.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[kymom99]

Same happened to us a few years ago. We have a lot of grass to cut and my husband loves mowing the grass. He wanted a cub cadet. We bought one for about 1800. It hurt but it was a necessary evil. He needed a good one because the yard is hilly and the mower had to be strong enough to pull up the inclines.

 

[queenofthehive]

Buy a used riding mower for now and when your debt is paid off start stashing away for a new mower.

 

[firefly_ris]

I would definitely try to have it repaired first. Are either of you handy or would you have to have someone else do it?

 

[DisneynBison]

search craftsman spindle deck assembly

 

[MillauFr]

Do you really need to have an acre of mowed grass? Seems a bit excessive. Why not just let it go wild?

 

[tvguy]

Do you really need to have an acre of mowed grass? Seems a bit excessive. Why not just let it go wild?

You might find the code enforcement people after you.

 

[TexasErin]

I would definitely try to have it repaired first. Are either of you handy or would you have to have someone else do it?

We are not handy people. I kind of think we should have it repaired....

 

[TexasErin]

Do you really need to have an acre of mowed grass? Seems a bit excessive. Why not just let it go wild?

We live in a neighborhood with a Home Owners Association and those are some hard core fascists. They charge high dues and are QUICK to write a nastygram.

 

[afan]

I would look in to getting it fixed. The place that services ours will pick up and drop off but there's a fee for it so keep that in mind. They also charge to look it over, like if you take a car in to get it fixed, but they should give you a quote so you can decide what to do.

I would be cautious buying a used mower to save money unless you can have it checked to ensure there's nothing wrong with it. Used is great to save money but not if you get something that then requires more money to get it fixed later.

We get ours serviced/winterized each winter to help keep it going and lasting longer.

 

[DisneynBison]

We are not handy people. I kind of think we should have it repaired....

No time like the present to start working on becoming handy. Most of the time people just need to try. Search you tube for the repair you need to make and at least watch it a few times. Then make the decision. A $30 dollar part and some time is a heck of a lot cheaper than a $250 repair bill. I do believe you can do this one and if you have a handy friend now would be a good time to call in the favor to help. To just help though, not do as you don't become handy by not doing. Just make sure you take lots of pictures as you go in case you need to look back at them when putting it back together and be safe and watch out for the blades.

 

[firefly_ris]

We are not handy people. I kind of think we should have it repaired....

I tend to agree with you. My DH can do minor repairs, (his knowledge is more on the home improvement side of things) but larger stuff we have a friend who fixes mowers, snowblower etc on the side. We have a truck and drop it off at his place.

So the repair is usually much cheaper than buying another one - but even if you don't know anyone like that and need to call a pro, I think it's still more worthwhile to have fixed, especially since it's less than 5 years old. They will charge for pick up and all that but you are already familiar with this mower, its other parts are still quite new, etc whereas buying used you're going to spend more than a repair plus you don't know how the previous owner treated it (not that I'm against buying used , I buy used as much as I can but not if I have a 4 year old mower sitting outside).

 

[kymom99]

No time like the present to start working on becoming handy. Most of the time people just need to try. Search you tube for the repair you need to make and at least watch it a few times. Then make the decision. A $30 dollar part and some time is a heck of a lot cheaper than a $250 repair bill. I do believe you can do this one and if you have a handy friend now would be a good time to call in the favor to help. To just help though, not do as you don't become handy by not doing. Just make sure you take lots of pictures as you go in case you need to look back at them when putting it back together and be safe and watch out for the blades.

Better yet get the blades sharpened while you have it apart.

 

[DisneynBison]

Better yet get the blades sharpened while you have it apart.

I just came back to post this. You are absolutely correct to get them sharpened or put new ones on while it is already apart and upside down.

 

[Ranger111]

This is among one of the easiest "moderate repairs" to do.

But, if you do not feel comfortable doing it. Don't do it.

If you need the mower, get it fixed. Fire season is coming.

Honestly, coming from someone who lives on a farm, I have a bit more than an acre of grass I maintain for lawn parties, etc. I "mow" it by hand four or five times per year using a "brushcutter," which is a heavy-duty weedwacker.

If you decide to trash the rider, get a decent power push mower, it does not need to be propelled -- they are more hassle then they are worth for an acre.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

No time like the present to start working on becoming handy. Most of the time people just need to try. Search you tube for the repair you need to make and at least watch it a few times. Then make the decision. A $30 dollar part and some time is a heck of a lot cheaper than a $250 repair bill. I do believe you can do this one and if you have a handy friend now would be a good time to call in the favor to help. To just help though, not do as you don't become handy by not doing. Just make sure you take lots of pictures as you go in case you need to look back at them when putting it back together and be safe and watch out for the blades.

Great advice! I work at a lawn mower dealer. This is a pretty easy part to replace.

 

[miztressuz]

If you know what part it is that's broke you can call around to a couple repairs shops for an estimate and find out the fees before they pick up. Then you can compare that to the push mower. (also compare the pickup drop off fees to doing it yourself with a uhaul or some such) If its 200 - 300 to repair it probably worth it to do that than spend the 200-300 on the push mower.
If everything is flat then I'd agree the self propelled isn't necessary but if you have hills it'll definitely make it less work going up hill. Could also make it go faster since push mowing an acre takes a while. We could have been lucky but we've never had a problem with the propelled part of a mower breaking and it's only a little more than the non-propelled version usually. I have only one steep hill but I'm glad my dad talked me into buying the self propelled one for it. I do all the rest of the lawn without it and then activate it when I go up hill; saves my back and makes finishing the lawn quicker.

 

[OddDisneyFan]

As others have mentioned, the problem as described sounds like a bad spindle or spindle bearing, which should be relatively easy to replace. If you’re not comfortable making the repair yourself, find a neighbor or friend who has more experience with mechanical repairs (working on cars counts) and ask them to help. Will be cheaper than paying a repair shop, and a lot cheaper than buying a new mower.

I’d be happy to help, but don’t live anywhere close to Texas unfortunately. If you need help locating the replacement part online, I might be able to help if you can PM me the details (make, model, year, deck size) of the mower.

 

[imbatman]

I've replaced engine parts in my 2012 car with YouTube videos. And I'm not a certified mechanic, but I had a screwdriver and sockets.