While the best time to buy a new lawn mower is at the end of the summer season as lawn and garden equipment goes on sale, early spring is the second best time to invest in a new lawn mower. Watch for deals before mid-May as stores start to stock up on lawn mowers and other lawn and garden care supplies. Whether you decide to buy new and have been watching for a deal on riding lawn mowers at Lowe’s, or maybe you’ve been watching for used riding lawn mowers on clearance, you’re probably wondering which type of lawn mower you should get.
There are many different types of of lawn mowers, each of which have their pros and cons. They will all affect any grass problems you have and your lawn care in general. Consumer Reports is a great resource for finding the best appliances, tools, and equipment. Here are their top three best riding lawn mowers.
While both a tractor and a zero-turn-radius mower are both considered riding lawn mowers, they both have different qualities that would make them right or wrong for your lawn. A tractor generally costs less than the ZTR mowers, and they’re great at bagging clippings, easy on your lawn, and more stable on hills. The ZTR mowers however are best if you’re looking for something with speed and the ability to maneuver around trees, shrubs, and any other obstacle you may come up against.
Your best bet for a tractor mower is the John Deere X350. For just over $3,000 you’ll get a comfortable seat and an easily accessible mower deck to make cleaning a cinch.
And for your ZTR you can’t go wrong with the Troy-Bilt Mustang 42. It has great cutting performance for a great price. Note that the deck is 42-inches rather than the standard 46-inch deck, but if you don’t have acres and acres to mow this shouldn’t be an issue.
If you’ve got a lot of lawn to mow you’ll want to look into a wide-deck tractor so help get as much lawn cut as possible with each pass you make. The 50-inch cutting deck on the Troy-Bilt Super Bronco 50 is a Consumer Reports best buy with a very reasonable price tag of just under $2,000.
If shopping for your own lawn mower is a bit overwhelming, let alone actually mowing the entire thing yourself all summer long, you may want to consider what your time is worth and lawn mowing prices. Often lawn care services are much more affordable than people realize, and it’ll free up your time and energy so you can spend it elsewhere. If this sounds like something that would work better for you and your family, consider the local lawn care services of My All Green. Whether you are in need of fertilization treatments, weed control, aeration, or other services, give My All Green a call today to set up a plan to achieve your best lawn this summer.