Originally Posted By: Bornyo
I bought three riding mowers for 100.00 from an older guy off craigslist. All three run, but all three need a little attention. I rarely need a rider but now I can leave them wherever I'll use them.

He is an interesting character, as I suspected he would be based on our email exchange. He would have tinkered with and fixed them and sold them for more money, but was having his shoulder operated on and they dropped him on his head moving him off the operating table. This caused him to loose control of the outer three fingers on both hands and left him with 8 bulging discs in his upper spine. I really feel for the guy because you could tell he'd always been a fighter. He is having trouble getting a surgeon to take his case to fix him up because they know he is sitting on a malpractice goldmine. I suspect he'll be buying whatever damned mower his heart desires when his settlement comes through.


I have now repaired and cut grass with all three of these mowers. The Honda has to be straight wired to start and if I want to invest the extra 30 minutes I can disable whatever safety sensor is keeping it from starting normally. The 14 horse Craftsman is a beast, and the 12 horse Murray is as big a piece of shit as it was from the start. I had to buy two batteries, a tire and a mandrel/belt kit so I am invested 275.00 in three mowers. I'm going to sell two of them, I think, to cover the total cost. Maybe just one so I can leave one at a rental property.