Cheapest place to buy lawn mower (in Houston)

**Veovis** · 03-27-08, 10:19 AM

For the first time in 10 years, I'm living in a house with a yard. Ok, so Texas has one good thing about it.

Where can I get the best deal on a lawn mower and weedwacker. Costco? Harbor Freight? Craigslist?

**AttackRabbit** · 03-27-08, 10:28 AM

I think Craigslist would be the cheapest:
http://houston.craigslist.org/grd/620007945.html
Plus, it has "low miles"!

'Rabbit

**Pineapple!** · 03-27-08, 10:52 AM

I decided that when I get a yard, I'm going to be paying the neighborhood kids to mow my yard. I remember working as a young teenager mowing lawns for extra spending money, and looking back, I'm glad I did it. I hope today's youth aren't so fucking lazy that they'd be willing to go out and do this.

I don't plan on having really nice landscaping done, so a simple mow and weed-whacking would do fine for me.

Then again, I don't know the "going rate" now from most neighborhood kids. For $25, I used to mow, weed-eat the front and back yards as well as sweep off their driveway, sidewalk, and gutters.

**Nuckle** · 03-27-08, 12:25 PM

Veovis,

How long to you expect to use this mower? How large is the yard? Do you want to push it or ride it? Beware of buying cheap yard equipment. You could find yourself having to buy it year after year not to mention chosing the right product will safe you time and energy.

Nuck

**Tractorpull** · 03-27-08, 01:01 PM

What Nuckle said, if you have a Lawn Mower, you will also need at least a weed eater. Maybe a blower or edger, but you can get by without them. If you want the absolute best weed eater, get an Echo. They are expensive, but it will be the last weed eater you buy. We have had one for about 10 years, and it starts on the second pull, every time, and we have used it to death.

**Veovis** · 03-27-08, 02:38 PM

It's a pretty medium sized yard, and I don't know how long we'll be here. But I do know that even buying a shiny new mower from Sears would be cheaper in the long run than paying somebody else $30 per week to do it. Yeh, I'll probably need a weedwacker too.

**Nuckle** · 03-27-08, 04:38 PM

Here is the deal. Any of the lower priced mowers and trimmers are designed to last about 3 years. Now before someone and steps up to let me know that their $125 ryobi from home depot has lasted them 8 years and running strong let me say that yes 1 in 5 will last a little longer. If you want to get a real good idea how good these are then just go to a home depot and look in the receiving department. Normally there are 20 or 30 of the ryobi's, john deer (built by homelite) or homelites back there for return. The units also are unserviceable so once they croak that is it. You go fork out another $125 or whatever for a new one.

As far as a trimmer I would go with an Echo. They have several different sizes and with having a small yard then you get purchase one of the smaller units. This unit will last you 15 or 20 years. It will be about $225-$250 but is fully serviceable and will start for you in a couple of pulls every time. It will also feed the line out like it is suppose to every time. It will also be powerful enough to not bog down. You will trim with it in half the time you would spend with a cheaper unit.

As far as the mower. If you are going to push mow then I would get a Honda. Get a smaller one if you are trying to save money. From me I always consider time as money. The less time I spend cutting grass the more time I have to make money or spend money.

I have .7 of an acre and I bought the larges edger Echo makes, the largest back pack blower echo makes and a John Deer riding mower. Is it over kill? Yes.... but I can do all of my yard work in about an hour.

Nuck

**jabberwock** · 03-27-08, 05:54 PM

My favourite lawn mower thus far has been one of the cheapest... Can't even remember the brand, but it's got a Briggs and Stratton engine, and no drive. Hence, it's the lightest damn mower I've ever used. You can run uphill with the damn thing, turn it easy as can be, and the motor's powerful enough to get through some thick ass grass. As far as the weedie goes, I would definitely get something that is maintainable. An Echo or a Stihl would probably be good.

I'd probably get a decent used weedie, and buy the mower new, but that's just my opinion.

Good luck to ya!