Buying Advice MF ZTR Mower

[Kal130]

So my father in law and myself are each in the market for a new ZTR mower. I have been patiently waiting for him to make up his mind on which he likes best. I think he has tried them all. He ended up liking the comfort of the John Deere the best. I agreed. The handles were nice, seemed well built, etc... It was a gas engine which I didn't like much, but doubted I could afford a diesel (or should I say be willing to invest that much since mower frames/decks rarely outlast engines anyway). I also thought a fabricated deck rather than a stamped deck might be better as well. Well he didn't end up not buying it because JD wouldn't give him any money off no matter what. Neither of us take kindly to full retail So just like when I found my GC, I thought "hey wait a minute. Massey makes one of those?". So low and behold I find these super sweet looking Masseys. Cheaper than the JD with a diesel no doubt. Having trouble this late in the season finding a demo to play with so I thought I would ask you guys what you thought. Any of you have one of these? Thoughts?

 

[Alan L.]

Don't know anything about the Massey mower (I have a Scag) but after months of reading the various lawn care boards a common theme was that the JD decks are not just your average stamped deck. The 7-iron deck is a 7 guage deck that takes quite a piece of machinery to stamp. This deck is not inferior to a fabricated deck at all, and is regarded as one of the best decks there is.

Funny they wouldn't come off retail, must not be any competition in the area for JD products.