Does the math work?

[bdog]

I have lots of expensive toys. I can afford a 15k mower but does it make sense?

We don稚 get a lot of rain. I mow every three weeks on average from May-October. Roughly 8 mowings a year. There are about five acres to mow so to hire it done is about $350.

With what a fancy mower would cost I could pay to have it mowed for over five years.

 

[Motorboatin]

He who dies with the most toys wins

 

[Industrial Toys]

My main mower cost the City of Mississauga probably 70-80 grand. And it cuts like a bat out of heck. But I have better things to do with my time than cut grass. Ten minutes here and twenty there, cuts a lot of grass. So grass cutting is not even anything I have to set time aside for. That to me is worth a lot.

 

[Bill Groom]

My line of thinking is, to pay someone else to do something you can do, and have nothing but cut grass to show for it, makes less sense then purchasing a quality piece of equipment, and upping your net worth. Another asset on the balance sheet, and some time spent saving $350 every couple of weeks, only makes sense to me. Your mileage may vary.

 

[RjCorazza]

Buy a mower now and in 5 years you will have a mower that is paid for (other than your time).
Don't buy a mower and in 5 years you will be 15k poorer (but no time invested).

 

[Industrial Toys]

What got me started in this crazy never ending equipment procurement process.

Years ago, this was a weekend place and I hired a guy to cut my grass. But often, the grass was never cut on weekends, and he had various excuses. BUT, I noticed that his wealthier customers always seemed to have their grass cut for weekends.

Anyway, I bought a FORD 917 Flail mower for a thousand bucks, back around 86, to use with our 42 PTO 2wd tractor, and I never looked back.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I question whether you need a $15k mower to mow 40 acres per year.

 

[fried1765]

I question whether you need a $15k mower to mow 40 acres per year.

If the OP WANTS it....he NEEDS it!

 

[quicksandfarmer]

If the OP WANTS it....he NEEDS it!

Then it's not a math question.

I've never known anyone who got rich mowing lawns. It's a competitive business and guys are going to charge what they need to charge to make a living, and are going to figure out the most efficient way to do it. I can guarantee you that the guy mowing lawns for a living is going to have a much, much lower cost per hour of operation than someone with a mower he might use 20 hours a year. And the guy who mows all day can probably mow your lawn a lot faster than you can.

So the economically rational thing to do is take the money and invest it in a high-yield mutual fund, and to spend the time that you would have spent mowing doing more of whatever it is you do for a living, that you're good at, where you probably net more per hour than the mower guy, and let the mower guy do the mowing.

However -- if you would get satisfaction from buying a fancy mower, and you would rather spend that extra time mowing than working your day job, you're essentially working for yourself to pay off the mower. And when you work for yourself, it's tax-free!

 

[Industrial Toys]

I bet it all comes unglued when the (contractor) guy gets big enough and has to HIRE labour.

 

[Wagtail]

If the 'mower' is going to be used for something else then I would consider it.

There are more viable dedicated mowers out there if that's all that it would be used for.

 

[bdog]

My line of thinking is, to pay someone else to do something you can do, and have nothing but cut grass to show for it, makes less sense then purchasing a quality piece of equipment, and upping your net worth. Another asset on the balance sheet, and some time spent saving $350 every couple of weeks, only makes sense to me. Your mileage may vary.

Agreed but what about the value of your time? I don’t mind mowing, or changing my oil, or whatever but if you have to factor in the value of your time.

 

[bdog]

I question whether you need a $15k mower to mow 40 acres per year.

I am not saying I do. I have been eying the ZD1211 and I think that is what it costs. I have a 60” gas zero turn now and I like it, but I hate that is is gas. It is about the only thing gas I have and it seems I am always having to run to town to buy gas for it. I have a bulk diesel tank and would like a diesel mower. If there are cheaper options in the same size I am all ears.

 

[bdog]

If the 'mower' is going to be used for something else then I would consider it.

There are more viable dedicated mowers out there if that's all that it would be used for.

Not sure I understand your post. I am talking about a dedicated zero turn mower. Specifically a Kubota Zd1211

 

[Wagtail]

Not sure I understand your post. I am talking about a dedicated zero turn mower. Specifically a Kubota Zd1211

And that's the first time that you have even mentioned that this is about a z-turn, let alone what model you're considering.

We're not mind readers. :wizard:

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I agree with those guys that have no extra time and are making hundreds of dollars per hour for every one of their hours worked and paying taxes on it to keep our great country and those that want work going.
Now for those of us that have some free time and don't hate spending time on their land, all of their land then buying a mower makes a bit more sense. I've bought lots of Kubotas and have two more on order now. One is a new dedicated front deck F mower and the other is a used under 100 hours Z but a gas model Kubota that was to good of a deal to pass up. As one person or more mentioned you can pass out money every week or month and watch it disappear or you can pay Kubota Credit Co monthly for 48 to 60 months and at the end have a machine that you can sell and get most of those monthly payments back as well as have a machine available to mow whenever you deem it necessary or just because you want to without waiting on someone to show or not show when you want/need something done. Mowing is a bit easier to figure since it's mostly fixed job and cost but add a machine that may be able to do some other duties with additional (Not free) attachment/implements and the picture is totally changed.
Oh by the way, I priced a ZD1211 and it was closer to $12,000 than $15,000, just sayen.
Time is valuable to every one, especially as one gets older but it isn't always a money value. But time for younger people is also valuable and can often times be measured in money value. Frustration or the lack/avoidance is also of value and those independant contractors aren't always the most reliable.
Bottom line is the value and production value of your time more than the outlay of money for the machine. It's a no brainer if you have time and maybe enjoy cruising over your land on a regular basis during grass growing season. A machine in the garage/bar/shed is always more valuable than a cancelled check or payment receipt.

 

[Bill Groom]

Agreed but what about the value of your time? I don’t mind mowing, or changing my oil, or whatever but if you have to factor in the value of your time.

bdog, I am unable to place a value on your time, however I am able to for my time. If one dislikes mowing, or makes a considerable amount of money per hour, then value per hour would lean towards hiring that task out. If that is the case, then my statement holds no water.

I gathered from your question that you were considering a costly piece of machinery to perform a specific task, and from that were looking to gather opinions of how others would rationalize options A and B. I am a fella with a technical job, and mowing with my 7100 and rfm makes little sense on my small lot, but the joy and stress relief it brings overrides the cost of my time and having an asset in the garage makes sense to me.

Add to that the fact I am able to make use of other implements to save some stress on my aging back, and I jumped at the opportunity to add that horse to the stable, in addition to 2 Case garden tractors. A ZD1211 is quite the machine, and should firmly plant a smile when used. Good luck with your decision.

 

[KennyG]

I think the consensus here is that if you don't mind spending your time mowing, go for the zero turn. My way of thinking about the math is a little more refined, however. Lightly used (less than 50 hours per year?) diesel zero turn mowers hold their value very well. Considering the resale value, I don't think you would ever be "under water" on this purchase after the first year. It seems like every time I look at renting something or paying to have it done, if it's going to happen more than a couple of times, I'm better off buying.

 

[bdog]

And that's the first time that you have even mentioned that this is about a z-turn, let alone what model you're considering.

We're not mind readers. :wizard:

Sorry. I posted this thread in the Kubota lawn and garden section. While I didn’t mention a specific model I thought I made it clear I was talking about mowers. Not a tractor with a mower or something like that. I am far from being an expert on all the models Kubota offers but the only mowers I have seen them offer in the 15k range are the big diesel zero turns.

 

[CobyRupert]

Like other's have said: We can't put a value on your time. So, we have to ignore this part of the calculation. However, it may be very important. But looking at other factors:

It cost's you $350 for someone else TODAY, but what is their price 5 years from now? You have no control. With a mower you can control when and how it gets mowed to your liking.
If you spend $14,000 for a new mower (=5 years of mowing expenses as you say, right?) you'll still have most of the $14,000 (minus depreciation) versus having none of that $14,000 if you pay someone else. It's just that the $14,000 is sitting there looking like a mower instead of being ink on a balance sheet, or a bank report, or gone to the person you hired.