Scag Tiger Cat II or Kubota Z781?

[Suburban Plowboy]

I went out and looked at two mowers to replace my elderly John Deere 430. I picked out a Scag and checked it out, and then I went to Kubota and looked at pretty much the only comparable thing they had. Both products are American-made, although I guess the Kubota's Kawasaki engine must be Japanese.

Kubota: Z781KWTI-60

This thing looked somewhat sturdier than the Scag, but the weight is the same. It has a fuel-injected Kawasaki 850cc engine rated at 29.5 HP. The warranty is 48 months/750 hours for homeowners.

Scag STCII61V-32BV Tiger Cat II

The Scag appeared to be very thoughtfully designed, with regard to operation and ease of working on it. The engine is a 32-HP Briggs & Stratton 896cc Vanguard made in the US. The warranty is 36 months with some complications.

The Kubota is about $1000 more. This is apples-to-apples with mulch kits installed.

I have had work done at both dealerships. The Scag guys fixed a chainsaw. Took 4 weeks to do a simple job, and they sharpened the chain, which I asked them not to do. This made it hard to keep sharpening it with files, so I got a new chain.

The Kubota dealer fixed my tractor. The employees are very, very helpful when you deal with them, but they made unrealistic estimates about the time my tractor would take, and they didn't mention extra charges for shop materials. I ended up spending two or three hundred dollars more than I was quoted, and they were slower than the mower shop. This was the first time I got charged anywhere for things like shop towels and WD40 or whatever.

The Kubota salesperson was a nice lady whose English was not good, and she obviously knew nearly nothing about the products. Other people there speak English. She said she would email me a quote on another model, but she didn't. The Scag guy seemed to be extremely informed.

So: the Scag may have a marginally better engine. The dealership will probably be less annoying if I have problems. The mower costs a thousand less. The Kubota has a solid old company behind it, older than Scag, and unlike Briggs, Kawasaki has not had bankruptcy issues. Kubota has a better warranty. And Kubota makes great stuff.

What would you choose?

 

[Richard001]

Flip a coin.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Nickel or quarter? American or Canadian?

 

[groundcover]

I have a Kubota and a Skag, both diesel though. They both do a great job . Overall the Kubota seems to be a little better engineered , the whole machine is Kubota unlike the Skag which has a Kubota engine but the oil drain plug is over a cross member, things like that. Power lift deck on Kubota, foot power on Skag, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy either one again .

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Yeah, maybe I should just go with the lower price and the dealer who knows what he's doing.

 

[stevem5215]

If it were me I'd choose another product. In ZTR's a full suspension product is far better than not.

But, based on your two choices. If I can't fix it myself as you are indicating having stuff worked on. Then I'd pick the $1000 cheaper and go with them. I personally have Briggs engines and while they've made some questionable moves as a company lately I'm not unhappy with my homeowner used Briggs engines in the last 15 years. The few parts I've needed I've gotten quickly online and were easily fixed by me.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I don't even know what a full-suspension product is. I'll bet it's more expensive!

 

[aesanders]

I don't even know what a full-suspension product is. I'll bet it's more expensive!

Take a look at Ferris mowers for the most proven popular full suspension ztr’s around. I love my Gravely, but if I were getting a new ztr, it would most likely be a Ferris.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Will it make a difference at 80 hours per year?

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

It looks like the closest Ferris is the ISX 2200, but it has a smaller engine.

 

[aesanders]

Will it make a difference at 80 hours per year?

My back will appreciate it. Especially as I age.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Thanks for the tip, but I already feel like I'm a spendthrift for spending over $12K. I can't see going up another $2500.

 

[aesanders]

Well, I see them on sale from time to time. You do you though. I never thought a Ferris was more than Kubota for like wise machine.

Do a quick search on here, and you will see it is way more than just a few of us that like these Ferris mowers.


Where about in Florida are you anyway?

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I am in Marion. The grass is horrible. Sticks constantly falling from trees. Literally tons of leaves every year. The only people who have nice yards here have full-yard sprinklers and real grass instead of bahia.

 

[aesanders]

I am in Marion. The grass is horrible. Sticks constantly falling from trees. Literally tons of leaves every year. The only people who have nice yards here have full-yard sprinklers and real grass instead of bahia.

I am not far from you in Alachua County. I have looked at Ferris at the Yardstop right off HWY 40. They also have the Stihl branded Ferris mowers (same thing only in Stihl white/orange color. They also carry Wright, Badboy, Hustler and a few others. Well worth a stop.

There is a good mower dealer right downtown Ocala, can’t remember the name but they have Dixie choppers and Grasshoper mowers.

Mikes mower is also listed as a dealer for Ferris. I really like them and have bought some saws from them before. Can’t say I have noticed Ferris there. They do have some nice Yanmar tractors to look at though.

Ocala Tractor has Gravely. I bought my Gravely from a dealer in Alachua, but Ocala tractor has good prices on them.

You have lots of nice choices and places to shop at where you are. My LS tractor came from a dealer in Ocala.

And I have the same type of yard, Bahia grass, twigs, ant mounds, etc. My Gravely has held up really well to abuse. Mowings 3-4 acres of some yard and some pasture and even some light bush hogging. Bought it in 2010, so closing in on 15 years of abuse. Still running strong. Gravely are very popular in our neck of the woods. I see them everywhere, and really popular with yard crews and municipalities as well.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Ocala Tractor is pretty interesting. My saw needed a carb rebuild and tuning, which is about a 20-minute job. They kept it for a couple of months, gave it back, and said they could not do anything with it.

I took the saw to Mike's, and while I was not completely thrilled, they did fix it and get it back within a month.

Now my saws go to FALES if I can't fix them or just don't feel like it. But FALES only has Bad Boy mowers, and I read lots of bad things about them.

 

[aesanders]

Fales is decent. They are hooked up with Connor tractor, the Kioti dealer. They have good reputation.

I will say in regards to Ocala tractor, they are a high volume seller. Not the place I would want to bring a saw in to get fixed.

My Gravely has never been back to the dealer. Just change oil regularly. Have had to change the belts a few times when pine cones get sucked into them.

 

[dodge man]

I would consider the Kawasaki engine better but that’s not a guarantee it will be better. From what describe of the dealers I’d probably get the Scag.

 

[slckeys]

Less than a month ago I was quoted $12,400 for a Stihl RZ760 which is the equivalent to the Ferris 2200. Only difference is no suspension seat and different colors.. That was the 28hp and 60 inch deck model with a Vanguard engine. They were having a major rebate to push the sales the dealer said. As mentioned here, Gravely is a good machine. A lot of yard companies have Scags around here, or Exmark. I think I'd go with the lower priced one if that's the only 2 machines you are considering though.

 

[almega1962]

I had the same dilemma last year and compared the same 2 mowers. I wanted a heavy duty commercial grade mower and I ended up buying the Kubota because it ended up about 1k less than the scag. I cut about 2acres around the house weekly and a 3 acre field. I'm glad I bought the 781i, it's a tough heavy duty mower and easy to maintain. The only negative I have is the Kawasaki is a thristy engine. If I had the money at the time I would have bought a Kubota diesel zt.