I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
07-11-2010, 01:41 PM
#26
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: , ON, CANADA
Posts: 974
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
Hello!
Get a Honda Self Propelled Lawn Mower - we have had ours for years now, no problems, and it has enough power to get through ANYTHING, including steep inclines. You don't need to push it - just nudge it the direction you want it to go.
It costs more, but lasts forever, starts first time.
(I am NOT a salesperson!
)
Graeme
Get a Honda Self Propelled Lawn Mower - we have had ours for years now, no problems, and it has enough power to get through ANYTHING, including steep inclines. You don't need to push it - just nudge it the direction you want it to go.
It costs more, but lasts forever, starts first time.
(I am NOT a salesperson!
)Graeme
07-11-2010, 02:11 PM
#27
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Sambach,
AE, GERMANY
Posts: 842
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
I got a $99 Weed Eater push mower from walmart a couple years ago. Fact is I couldn't afford anything else. It has a Briggs and stratton motor on it and it runs like a champ! Now it is not near as nice as the JD or Honda mowers but it does the job. The old Briggs and stratton motors will keep on chugging for years with very little maintenance.
07-11-2010, 02:29 PM
#28
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Torchy the Fiery Fast RC Turtl
Posts: 10,544
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
ORIGINAL: TruBlu02
I got a $99 Weed Eater push mower from walmart a couple years ago. Fact is I couldn't afford anything else. It has a Briggs and stratton motor on it and it runs like a champ! Now it is not near as nice as the JD or Honda mowers but it does the job. The old Briggs and stratton motors will keep on chugging for years with very little maintenance.
I got a $99 Weed Eater push mower from walmart a couple years ago. Fact is I couldn't afford anything else. It has a Briggs and stratton motor on it and it runs like a champ! Now it is not near as nice as the JD or Honda mowers but it does the job. The old Briggs and stratton motors will keep on chugging for years with very little maintenance.
I will not buy another one of these wally-world movers again. WeedEater has put a bad taste in my mouth for going cheap and undermining minimum industry standard quality. And wallyworld has ticked me off by undermining minimum return policies by only giving you a 90day return policy.
So angry am I about how wallyworld treated me over my Weedeater I bought from them that I now spit on both wallyworld and Weedeater.
07-11-2010, 02:48 PM
#29
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: kalamazoo, MI
Posts: 6,812
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
we had a cheap-o from lowes. we paid something like 150 and it lasted the better part of three years with next to no maintenance. we have landscapers mow our lawn in the summer and plow our driveway in the winter.
07-11-2010, 03:58 PM
#30
Senior Member
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
ORIGINAL: SAVAGEJIM
It adds up. The honda I had from years ago whe I was a kid is over 10yrs old. We donated it before we bought riding mowers, and it still ran even on the day we gave it away.
The cost is not cheaper for the $99 USD mower.
At 10 years, you will have spent $990. Over the 10yr life span of a Honda, the $650 Honda will have saved you $340 plus the headaches of having to go to the store each year and take home a new cheap-o mower. The time you spend going to the store again, the gas you burn to drive there, and so forth will add on to this price too.
Our consumer society sucks: buy & throw away. We waste so much more money, we fill up our land fills, and contribute to pollution (It costs fuel to truck in cheap-o mowers to wallyworld, you have to burn oil on the ships to get them from china, it costs energy to make these mowers, and the factories in china have to burn coal to make electricity to run these factories).
Even if you could care less about the global impact of the practice of buy cheap & throw away, at the very least, think about yourself: Think about the money you will spend over the years.
ORIGINAL: JT
Who cares, spend $99 and if it does not start the next year throw it away and buy a new one. I can buy a lot of mowers for what$650.00 Honda cost. IMO
Who cares, spend $99 and if it does not start the next year throw it away and buy a new one. I can buy a lot of mowers for what$650.00 Honda cost. IMO
The cost is not cheaper for the $99 USD mower.
At 10 years, you will have spent $990. Over the 10yr life span of a Honda, the $650 Honda will have saved you $340 plus the headaches of having to go to the store each year and take home a new cheap-o mower. The time you spend going to the store again, the gas you burn to drive there, and so forth will add on to this price too.
Our consumer society sucks: buy & throw away. We waste so much more money, we fill up our land fills, and contribute to pollution (It costs fuel to truck in cheap-o mowers to wallyworld, you have to burn oil on the ships to get them from china, it costs energy to make these mowers, and the factories in china have to burn coal to make electricity to run these factories).
Even if you could care less about the global impact of the practice of buy cheap & throw away, at the very least, think about yourself: Think about the money you will spend over the years.
Here's another rant: The car I recently bought was only $600, yes just $50 less than your lawnmower. [&:] I've been spending a little time and a little cash reconditioning the car, one piece at a time, with junkyard parts. What amazes me is the quality of the cars sitting in junkyards these days. 15 years ago it was mostly rusted junk from before I was born, now more than half of them look like they could still be on the road, given a bit of TLC.
Yes I know everyone wants to drive new every two, especially those fancy pants hybrids, but I wonder if anyone sits down and calculates the total cost of junking their car before its time.
07-11-2010, 04:11 PM
#31
Senior Member
My Feedback: (2)
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Acworth,
GA
Posts: 1,298
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
Okay. If you guys can fix RC trucks and cars and keep them running, then you should be able to fix a lawn mower. Take it apart, clean it, especially the flywheel, magneto (may require the use of sandpaper) and carburetor, and put it back together. You will be able to get it running for at least a couple more seasons. I have an old Snapper self-propelled RWD push mower and I've only had to fix it twice. The rubber came off the wheels both times. Other than that, I just replace oil and spark plug, clean it up good and it keeps running. It's over 15 years old and keeps on truckin. The Toro mower from Home Depot ran only 2 seasons, then needed to have everything cleaned, sanded, the pull cord and spring replaced, and the self-propulsion system removed because it locked up. But it's still running now, 6 years later.
If your car sat for several months a year in the rain and direct sunlight without being driven, moved or even thought about, it'd do the same thing. Lawn mowers have rough lives.
Don't trash it. Do what you can to fix it, then sell it to someone who needs it.
If your car sat for several months a year in the rain and direct sunlight without being driven, moved or even thought about, it'd do the same thing. Lawn mowers have rough lives.
Don't trash it. Do what you can to fix it, then sell it to someone who needs it.
07-11-2010, 04:37 PM
#33
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Some where in
Posts: 3,716
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
ORIGINAL: SAVAGEJIM
I am fed up with the cheap lawn mowers. I bought one from WalMart, last year I think, and it crapped out on me recently. I gave it a tune up (new plug, new plug wire, etc.). Once done, and I pull the cord? No dice.
This was a cheap mower, I paid only $170 USD for it.
I asked 4 other neighbors up and down my street if I could borrow their mowers, offering even to top off their tanks & clean their mowers after I use them.
To my utter surprise, they all have non-functional mowers. One neighbor paid $99 for theirs and its been broken for over a year.
Another neighbor had two cheap mowers, both are broken.
The other two have similar cheap-o Wallyworld mowers like mine, and they didnt work too.
This is too much of a coincidence. These substandard cheap-o mowers are everywhere. I know some of you guys will say ''Well I have had my Wallyworld mower for over 5 years and had no problems!'' But your good cheap-o does not erase the fact that 5 of us in one neighborhood have bad cheap-o mowers.
Walmart will not lift a finger to fix my mower. They want me to by ANOTHER mower! The saying is true, buy cheap, you have to buy again, and you wind up spending almost as much as if you bought a decent product in the first place. And worse, if the 2nd one breaks too, you spend MORE than if you just bought a proper product to begin with.
I just went and bought a good mower, a JS36 (I read up on it form mower testers in several magazines and also on-line) and I opted to buy this one, it cost me about $400 USD, but it comes with a 2yr warranty where the Wallyworld one does not. Walmart just had a 90day return policy. So, after trying to fix that PSO, I donated it as is.
The JS36 has more perks: self propelled, choice of bag catcher or side exhaust mulcher, one lever to control deck height for all four wheels, and most of all, 7ft-lbf torque!
http://www.lawn-moweronline.com/john...wn-mower-js36/
I'm gonna fire up that puppy tomorrow, I have complete faith in it. I have owned and used JD riding tractor mowers for over 10yrs, and those are the best. Husky make some decent ones, but I find the JDs more durable.
Also, I did the math in my head: 2 cheap-o Wallyworld mowers @ $170 a pop = $340, only $60 less than my new JS36. And having a feel for the sorry products sold in Wallyworld, if the 2nd cheap-o mower broke too, 3x cheap-o Wallyworld mowers - $510 USD!
It was clear to me, so I cut my losses after my own cheap-o broke and seeing 4 others with broken cheap-o turds also.
I am fed up with the cheap lawn mowers. I bought one from WalMart, last year I think, and it crapped out on me recently. I gave it a tune up (new plug, new plug wire, etc.). Once done, and I pull the cord? No dice.
This was a cheap mower, I paid only $170 USD for it.
I asked 4 other neighbors up and down my street if I could borrow their mowers, offering even to top off their tanks & clean their mowers after I use them.
To my utter surprise, they all have non-functional mowers. One neighbor paid $99 for theirs and its been broken for over a year.
Another neighbor had two cheap mowers, both are broken.
The other two have similar cheap-o Wallyworld mowers like mine, and they didnt work too.
This is too much of a coincidence. These substandard cheap-o mowers are everywhere. I know some of you guys will say ''Well I have had my Wallyworld mower for over 5 years and had no problems!'' But your good cheap-o does not erase the fact that 5 of us in one neighborhood have bad cheap-o mowers.
Walmart will not lift a finger to fix my mower. They want me to by ANOTHER mower! The saying is true, buy cheap, you have to buy again, and you wind up spending almost as much as if you bought a decent product in the first place. And worse, if the 2nd one breaks too, you spend MORE than if you just bought a proper product to begin with.
I just went and bought a good mower, a JS36 (I read up on it form mower testers in several magazines and also on-line) and I opted to buy this one, it cost me about $400 USD, but it comes with a 2yr warranty where the Wallyworld one does not. Walmart just had a 90day return policy. So, after trying to fix that PSO, I donated it as is.
The JS36 has more perks: self propelled, choice of bag catcher or side exhaust mulcher, one lever to control deck height for all four wheels, and most of all, 7ft-lbf torque!
http://www.lawn-moweronline.com/john...wn-mower-js36/
I'm gonna fire up that puppy tomorrow, I have complete faith in it. I have owned and used JD riding tractor mowers for over 10yrs, and those are the best. Husky make some decent ones, but I find the JDs more durable.
Also, I did the math in my head: 2 cheap-o Wallyworld mowers @ $170 a pop = $340, only $60 less than my new JS36. And having a feel for the sorry products sold in Wallyworld, if the 2nd cheap-o mower broke too, 3x cheap-o Wallyworld mowers - $510 USD!
It was clear to me, so I cut my losses after my own cheap-o broke and seeing 4 others with broken cheap-o turds also.
07-11-2010, 05:55 PM
#36
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
I have a $120 yard master with a briggs 3.5 horse on it, it has literally lasted me years. It has no bag, no self propulsion... just a simple mower. Keeping a mower under a tarp or in a garage really extends the life.
07-11-2010, 06:09 PM
#37
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Stockbridge,
GA
Posts: 8,275
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
ORIGINAL: skippyc5
No, it's so they will pay a decent wage and stop causing the smaller shops to close.
No, it's so they will pay a decent wage and stop causing the smaller shops to close.
Higher wages to workers = higher prices to shoppers. It in no way, shape or form means that they would sell higher quality products. They would just charge more for the same cheap ones they have now.
Unions have absolutely nothing to do with protecting small shops. Small shops don't have unions so why would a union help them???? A union would just as soon shut down a small shop to promote a larger, union shop.
If you want small shops to stay open then simply support them.
And I 100% guarentee that, if wallyworld were to go union their already less than stellar customer service would sink to the bottom of the cess pool.
And as far as pay goes... If you don't like how much you are getting paid, get some education and get a better job!
07-11-2010, 06:12 PM
#38
Senior Member
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
ORIGINAL: DaveG55
So we should support a union so that WalMart has to charge more for the same crappy stuff?
So we should support a union so that WalMart has to charge more for the same crappy stuff?
bunch of evil managers and corporate bungs run the joint, i will not spend over $23 dollars there, and will not shop there more than once a month.
oh, and everything they buy is CRAP.
07-11-2010, 06:20 PM
#39
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: johnstown,
PA
Posts: 2,654
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
Has anyone else noticed walmart is selling more and more generic products? They say it is the same as the name brand stuff, but I have noticed, atleast with the medicines, that they are CRAP. I don't know if it is psychological or what, but that stuff does not do a thing to me. I know it is a little off topic, but just saying.
07-11-2010, 06:34 PM
#40
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Stockbridge,
GA
Posts: 8,275
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
I was a union member for over 15 years and everything you said could just as easily still apply.
It 100% depends on the contract that is negotiated FOR YOU and the average worker has ZIP for input into those negotiations. And you WILL vote for whatever they lay before you. Sure, you can vote to strike but you better hope that enough others are not terrified of losing their job to vote with you. And if you do, by some odd chance, walk out there will be HUNDREDS of people ready to cross that picket line to take that crappy job away from you for LESS that you were getting.
Oh, and have you ever walked a picket line???? I have and there is NO WAY it's worth the pittance you get from the union.
And if/when you settle it will be for less than you were holding out for and you'll be going back to worse conditions than you had.
And forget trying to get ahead by working hard, won't happen. EVERYTHING is done by seniority. Want a better position? Better hope you have more time in than that lazy, fat slob that has worked there 2 days more than you. Want daay shift? Want vacation? Want ANYTHING? Sure - as long as lazy fat guy does not want it too...
Yeah, you can keep the union. In todays day and time it's far more of a lilability to an intellagent, hard working, ambitious person than a help!!!
It 100% depends on the contract that is negotiated FOR YOU and the average worker has ZIP for input into those negotiations. And you WILL vote for whatever they lay before you. Sure, you can vote to strike but you better hope that enough others are not terrified of losing their job to vote with you. And if you do, by some odd chance, walk out there will be HUNDREDS of people ready to cross that picket line to take that crappy job away from you for LESS that you were getting.
Oh, and have you ever walked a picket line???? I have and there is NO WAY it's worth the pittance you get from the union.
And if/when you settle it will be for less than you were holding out for and you'll be going back to worse conditions than you had.
And forget trying to get ahead by working hard, won't happen. EVERYTHING is done by seniority. Want a better position? Better hope you have more time in than that lazy, fat slob that has worked there 2 days more than you. Want daay shift? Want vacation? Want ANYTHING? Sure - as long as lazy fat guy does not want it too...
Yeah, you can keep the union. In todays day and time it's far more of a lilability to an intellagent, hard working, ambitious person than a help!!!
07-11-2010, 07:01 PM
#41
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Howard Lake,
MN
Posts: 291
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
Well said!
The Unions had their day. There was a time that they were necessary. Not any more. I will hedge my bets on my own. I'd rather cut my own deal anyday!
Oh yeah, talk about corruption? Walmarts got nothing on the unions in that department.
The Unions had their day. There was a time that they were necessary. Not any more. I will hedge my bets on my own. I'd rather cut my own deal anyday!
Oh yeah, talk about corruption? Walmarts got nothing on the unions in that department.
07-11-2010, 08:04 PM
#43
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
I'm now a big fan of Consumer Reports; two years ago I got fed up with the less expensive lawn mowers that would last a year maybe two. One of the Toros was rated at the top of the heap (along with Honda) and it was in the $400 range. I purchased the same mower with one additionl option that it adjust it's speed to how fast you are walking (up and down slopes). I'm a very happy owner going through my 3rd year now. Kudos to Toro.
The worst I've owned... three years ago I went through two Troy Built mowers in one month!! I have a hilly yard and two TB mowers from Lowes the transmission went out on both.... almost more annoying was the wheels had bushings and squeeked like he77. Even my neighbors out walking would tell me to break down and buy a new mower when the heard it.... they were both less than a month old.
Steve
The worst I've owned... three years ago I went through two Troy Built mowers in one month!! I have a hilly yard and two TB mowers from Lowes the transmission went out on both.... almost more annoying was the wheels had bushings and squeeked like he77. Even my neighbors out walking would tell me to break down and buy a new mower when the heard it.... they were both less than a month old.
Steve
07-11-2010, 09:36 PM
#44
Senior Member
My Feedback: (7)
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: League City,
TX
Posts: 597
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
I have a JD walk behind. It might even be the JS36. Usually starts on the first pull and if not, it's running on the second pull. It's about two or three years old now and runs like new. I went thru the same problems you did with the cheapies and they always died at the most inconvenient times. Also, If you haven't done it already, when you need to replace a weedeater, I would recommend Echo. You will not regret it.
BTW, I'm one of those plane guys but have been known to play with an RC drag car or two on occasion. :-)
BTW, I'm one of those plane guys but have been known to play with an RC drag car or two on occasion. :-)
07-11-2010, 09:59 PM
#45
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Lakewood,
CO
Posts: 422
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
I have a 6 year old Toro self propelled with a Tecumseh engine, it is getting a little bit worn but I'll use it until it's worn out. I don't know what my replacement will be, but it definitely will NOT have a Briggs and Stratton engine on it, the reason I don't use Briggs is because the automatic choke mechanism has had the same problem with hot starts for 30 years, a REAL pain on a mower with no throttle.
I looked at a Husqvarna mower the other day that looked pretty good. Overhead cam , self propelled, the works for 350, about what I paid for my Toro.
I looked at a Husqvarna mower the other day that looked pretty good. Overhead cam , self propelled, the works for 350, about what I paid for my Toro.
07-11-2010, 10:03 PM
#46
Junior Member
My Feedback: (2)
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Aruba,
MD
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
Unlike anybody else it seems, I find Husqvarna's high quality machines with long lasting lives but even if they did break they have great parts service unlike walmart junk.
07-11-2010, 11:25 PM
#48
Senior Member
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
i use a troy bilt with a honda engine that i got from lowes $55 on clearance, that thing is one of the best mowers ive ever owned, and it cost less that a set of tires for my revo
07-12-2010, 12:10 AM
#50
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Mesquite, TX
Posts: 240
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: I'm sick of cheap-o lawn mowers
I have a 5HP Briggs&Stratton powered lawn mower I purchased 10yrs ago from the local Tractor Supply,,$79 bucks on sale! All I do is change the oil once a year,change plug and airfilter when needed,sharpen the blade periodically and run regular gas. Never had a problem with it.I've never drained the tank or use Sta-bil during winter just go out and shake the thing up once a month to keep the gas from settling,trick my small engine repair teacher told me about and has worked well so far.I do the same thing with a 8yr old El'Cheapo FeatherLite Weedwacker I bought from WallyWorld,need to step up to something bigger as I'm using alot of line.
My neighbor was spending a $100 a yr at a local shop getting his $200 mower [??Brand??] to start and run,this last time he asked me to look at it.All it needed was a new fuel line [.79 cents] and the bowl,needle and seat cleaned out with a dash of Chem-Tool then it ran like a charm.
Boy was he happy!
OhYeah,I did the same with a WHobbies Enforcer boat I owned too that had a 25cc mid mod.Geez[!] owned that thing for about 12yrs and ran it hard everytime I took it out .
My neighbor was spending a $100 a yr at a local shop getting his $200 mower [??Brand??] to start and run,this last time he asked me to look at it.All it needed was a new fuel line [.79 cents] and the bowl,needle and seat cleaned out with a dash of Chem-Tool then it ran like a charm.
Boy was he happy!
OhYeah,I did the same with a WHobbies Enforcer boat I owned too that had a 25cc mid mod.Geez[!] owned that thing for about 12yrs and ran it hard everytime I took it out .