whfan74 2,066 #1 Posted August 9, 2012 Well as the title states............31 years apart. The story goes back to 1981 when my dad bought his first brand new tractor. A C-85 with weights, plow, 36 RD, trailer back when he was in business. The tractor is still in our collection and will never be sold. It is the tractor that I grew up on and learned how to do normal chores around the house. It still get's used to this day for little tasks and works nicely as a trimming mower around landscaping and inbetween bushes around their property. The problem is......they don't live on a city lot anymore in a subdivision. They now have 1 1/2 acres out in the country (many of you have been there). He has been mowing with a 1988 520-H with a 48" deck. It works ok but it just takes too long to get the yard work done when the grass is growing well. Load the trimming on top of all of that and it is an almost all day ordeal for him. I try and go over and do as much as I can while trying to keep up with the work of my yard. Over the last year, I have been dropping hints that he should invest in a zero turn. Well this last week we went around and looked at all of the brands available in our area. We checked out Toro, Bad Boy, Simplicity, Kubota, John Deere, Exmark. The Kubotas are very, very nice..........but a little overkill and a pretty penny. The Exmarks are a great unit, but still more than he wanted to pay for a new one and the used ones available were pretty much beat up from contractors. Bad Boy's were ok......kind of rugged but not thoroughly impressed. Toro just didn't feel right...........plus they screwed Wheel Horse! LOL! So then we end up at one of the Simplicity dealers that is actually going out of business. He takes us out back and shows us a beautiful machine. It was supposed to be a Demo unit......but it didn't have any hours on it. He was selling it for his cost (which was actually $2900 and some change less than retail. So we started doing some research and decided to go with it. It is a Simplicity Cobalt with a 30 h.p. Briggs Vanguard 810 cc engine. It has a 61" welded mowing deck made out of 10 gauge steel with greasable zerks . Full suspension front and back to give a very nice ride on his bumpy lawn. So he brought it home today and I just had to go and check it out and do a little mowing. It drives fantastic and doesn't even miss a beat in the deep stuff. This is really going to make mowing enjoyable for him again and with a lot less time invested. Glad he was able to swing a good deal. So I can honestly say that I witnessed Dad's first tractor purchase at the age of 7 and his last at the age of 38. Thought I would share a few pictures of the new addition to the stable. Not red.......but definitely not green! The two mowers he has bought new in his life.............. A few pictures of the new worker........... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 21,338 #2 Posted August 9, 2012 Cool! Its a got a springer front end like a Harley ! Nice machine and of course a warantee to fall back on for awhile. Mike...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
racinfool40 202 #3 Posted August 9, 2012 :handgestures-thumbupright: Looks Good Scott...Will make the yard look top notch for the show this year!!!! Hmmm If I come up early this year maybe dad will let me mow with that!!! :ychain: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whfan74 2,066 #4 Posted August 9, 2012 I am sure he would Biser! It is a comfortable ride and makes mowing a lot of fun! Mike aka Sparky......that is what clinched it is having a warranty for a few years, just in case. All of the other one's in that price range were a couple years old and a couple hundred hours on them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Challenger 27 #5 Posted August 9, 2012 I believe that the Simplicity zero turns are built by the Ferris Company. (Briggs owns both Simplicity and Ferris.) Around here in Central New York, (home to the Ferris Company), their equipment is held in the highest regard. One of the best. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jake Kuhn 1,555 #6 Posted August 11, 2012 Those sure are some nice mowers! Last fall we purchased a used one to mow the farm with,it is such a smooth ride and cuts beautiful. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IthacaJeff 151 #7 Posted August 12, 2012 I believe Challenger is correct. . . the zero-turn Simplicities are made by Ferris. Here in central NY Ferris are the choice of the professionals. It is striking how much Ferris outnumbers the rest of the walk-behinds and zero-turns. Jeff Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
6wheeler 603 #8 Posted August 14, 2012 Your dad is really going to love that machine. In-laws had 2 Citations, 1 was an 05' and 2 was an 06' w/ (52") decks. The only major problem was with the 06'. At 70 hours it started blowing oil. Took it back to the dealer, he said it was fixed and ready to go. As soon as it was warmed up from mowing it would blow oil again. So back to the dealer again. This time at 84 hours, they decided to bring Briggs into the fold. They pulled the engine and tore it down. Briggs rep. says, " Its not our fault, it has been running dirty oil". I look at my brother in law and ask "You ever change oil on it"? We both look at dealer and say,"its only been serviced here"! Dealer says, " Well, I don't know what you been putting in it in the field so its not my fault". I say to brother in -law, " Let em keep it, don't make any more payments on it til simplicity fixes it". Strangely enough. He gets in touch with simplicity rep. and they just signed off the machine and gave it to him. No damage to his credit . Rep asked if he wanted a deal on a new one as well. So, we buy a new Briggs twin, put it in and sell the darn thing. One thing you might want to get is the bagger. But, if you do? Get the front weights too. The front end gets a little light when the bags are full. He used them commercially and has since quit that business and sold both machines. The hour meter will probably quit working and the PTO switch gets sticky after awhile. They were good machines(Except for the engines) IMO. If I were going to get another one I would try the Kawi engine. Get the warranty transferred to a reputable dealer and you will be happy. Pat Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
perry 82 #9 Posted August 14, 2012 Cool! Its a got a springer front end like a Harley ! pic of a 2013 model simplicity Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
