Looking at a used Grasshopper 932-Need some input

[jk96]

Have the opportunity to purchase a used 2003 Grasshopper 932 for $5400. 72" deck, hydraulic deck lift, 32 hp liquid cooled diesel engine. Unit has 1199 hours. Good shape, could use a new set of tires. Talked to a friend who owns a dealership and said normally in very good shape and well maintained would sell at $7600 to $8000. Now here's my questions.

Mower is coming off of a trade from a local Parks and Recreation Dept. I'm not sure if this is good or bad? Maybe good since they have thier own maintanance dept. or possibly bad if they were not maintained well since they didn't plan on keeping them for the long haul. Anyone have any thoughts or experience with Parks Dept. type equipment? I'm assuming 1200 hours is not too much for a diesel engine? Thanks for any replies.

 

[jk96]

Update - I was thinking of the 928. The 932 I'm looking at has the liquid cooled "gas" Kubota engine, not the diesel engine.

Which leads to a second question - Any idea how many hours these engines last with good maintanance?

jk

 

[dsb5610]

jk,

I would expect that engine to run well past 2000 hours if it has been maintained and not abused. I have a 94 F911 Deere with a 22hp liquid cooled kawasaki. It has over 1500 hrs on it and still running strong.

I have a buddy who is a manager at a county forest preserve. He's told me stories of the equipment and summer help. I would go over it with a fine tooth comb before you purchase it. That is a pretty expensive unit so if it is in good mechanical condition it would be a good price.

dsb

 

[jk96]

DSB,

thanks for the info. I'll check her over well. Just wanted to make sure that the engine still had plenty of life left. (depends on the maintanance though) I only plan on using it on my own property and one other small lot so I wouldn't put more than 50 hours a year on it I wouldn't think. Should last me quite a while.

I did get to borrow it yesterday to cut my yard as a trial run. Engine runs strong, everything works correctly, no smoke on startup or when blipping the throttle. These things are amazing. A just about got dizzy making the pass down a row of 15 or so trees.

jk

 

[dsb5610]

They are amazing. How did the 72" work on your lawn? I was convinced I needed a 72" but after talking to numerous people I am looking to replace the F911 with a ZTR 60". My understanding is the 72" decks are more prone to scalping.

I hear you on getting dizzy. I have 80-100 trees/shrubs in my yard to mow around. Sometimes I lose track if I'm coming or going.

dsb

 

[jk96]

"How did the 72" work on your lawn?"

It worked really well. I noticed two small areas that scalped close to ground level but that was it. The only problem I had was tearing the turf when turning 180 degrees, which is mostly operator error by locking one wheel instead of spining both in opposite directions. Also, I just traded my DX33 tractor with a 72" mid mount deck for a larger tractor. So most of the scalping that was going to be done was taken care of last year with it.

Glad I was able to try it out. The tractor I have now is a larger DX45 and I've been torn between buying the 84" mid-deck for it or buying a zero. Went ahead and called the guy and told him I'd take it. The zero is by far the best option for my place. With 80-90 trees I was able to cut everything in close to half the time.

jk