For about the last 20 years I have been using a 6' tractor PTO driven finish mower along with a Swisher 5' self engined finish mower. staggered out behind to mow my 75' x 2500' runway. The first Swisher I bought new 20 years ago for about $1200 from Northern Tool catalog. It lasted about 10 years when I found a newer used Swisher that needed minor repair for $400. I attempted to use both Swisher for the rest of that mow season, but my old one was falling apart. I ended up scrapping it so I was back to mowing with tractor PTO mower and my new used Swisher.... About 10' mowing swath which required 4 round trips which took me just under an hour.
The new old Swisher has given me a few problems so I looked on line a couple weeks ago to buy either a new one or another used one. These damn things went way up in price! $3800 for a new one and the only used ones I could find were around $2000. I mentioned to a friend that I was done looking and would just fix up my old one and keep using it. A week later he sent me a link to one that just got listed on Facebook Marketplace 20 miles away for $300... supposedly works great! I contacted them right away (10 minutes after they had listed it) and said I would pick it up next day after work with my trailer.
I show up and had bought it used from a friend who had put new battery and spindle bearings in it the prior season but now it had some small issues that he was not machanically inclined enough to deal with. (carb needed cleaned, paint was flaking, belt tension spring was not correct and belt would slip in heavy grass). I acted upset with the issues and offered him $250.... He took it!
Got mower home... cleaned it up and touched up paint.... cleaned crud from carb and it now runs perfect. I feel like the proverbial blind squirrel who occasionally finds a nut. Best deal I have found in a awhile. Got my other one fixed also so last night I got the runway mowed in three round trips and just under 40 minutes. Life is good again. lol
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