--- title: "Should You Buy a Used Riding Mower?" description: "You can save a good deal on used riding mowers; used models are typically worth about half their retail price. But you need to be careful." date: "2012-08-21" modified: "2014-05-07" authors: - name: "Jennifer Noonan" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.bobvila.com/authors/jennifer-noonan.md" url: "https://www.bobvila.com/articles/used-riding-mowers/" categories: - "Lawn, Garden & Pool" - "Mowers" - "Reviews" tags: - "grass" - "lawn" - "mower" --- # Should You Buy a Used Riding Mower? ![Photo: Homeandgardenideas.com]() When we moved from New York City to a beach town in Southern, DE, we suddenly went from having zero lawn to caring for a full half acre. We were incredibly grateful to have a good lawn mower passed down to us from my parents. It’s a walk-behind model, so we imagined we’d get our workouts in on the weekends using it. And we did! I actually enjoy mowing the grass, but it took us three hours to do it. We decided a riding mower was in order, and the sooner the better. But it wasn’t exactly in our summer budget. So we began researching used riding mowers. You can save a good deal, as used riding mowers are typically worth about half of their retail price. But you need to be careful. The life expectancy on a residential riding mower is about seven years. If you’re still thinking you might like to buy a used riding mower, keep the following in mind: **1. Buy something you can see in person and test drive.** And preferably buy it from someone you know. That way, you get a better sense of how well the mower has been cared for. Be sure to ask: - When was the mower purchased? - How often was it used? - Why is it being sold? - Have the purchase/maintenance receipts and user manuals been kept? **2. Don’t be put off by a mower that has a lot of hours on the engine.** Typically the engines on mowers have great longevity; it’s the other stuff that ends up going kaput. Make sure to check: - Age of belts, battery, and wiring - Condition of tires (be wary of cracks and dry rot) - The blades' condition and the level of the blade deck - Fluid levels (if low, watch out for any leaks) **3. Take it for a test drive.** While you're at the wheel, make sure: - The engine starts within a few seconds on the first try. - It idles smoothly. - The brakes are working. - It doesn’t smoke or stall. - It cuts evenly. ![Yardcare-riding-mower]() We ended up with a 2006 Cub Cadet with a 46-inch mowing deck and less than 100 hours on it. We purchased it from the gentleman who sold us our house, so we already had a good professional relationship with him and knew he was someone we could trust. He had taken impeccably good care of the machine and had all of the purchase/maintenance receipts, user manuals, and maintenance logs to give us. The last time we mowed the lawn, my husband and I accomplished all of the mowing, weed whacking, and clip blowing in 1 hour and 15 minutes! That’s way less time than it took just to mow the lawn with our walk-behind model. If you multiply that by the number of mowings per year we expect to do, that’s 50 hours of summer we get back! Woo-hoo, let’s hit the beach! For more on mowers and lawn care, consider: [Bob Vila Radio: Lawn Tractors]() [How To: Mow Your Lawn Properly]() [Mower Maintenance: 5 Ways to Keep Your Machine Up and Running]() ## Author A confessed DIY junkie, Jennifer Noonan writes about home improvement, gardening, and all things do-it-yourself. The recipient of degrees in International Relations and Library & Information Science from Syracuse University, Noonan has worked in media and related fields for over 15 years, including her time at [MTV Networks](), where she served as Manager of Digital Programming at [Nickelodeon](). Today, Noonan lives in Delaware with her husband and daughters, where she is ardently teaching the next generation how to use power tools. ### Author social links [LinkedIn]()