I'm thinking about starting up a little lawn side business.  I don't have 10 to 12K to drop on a Xmark or other high end commercial grade mowers.
I was looking on Craigslist and came across a Gravely pro turn 252 with bagging system included.  Seller is asking $4200 obo.  I know condition is important but is this a good ballpark process for such a machine?  Is it a good reliable mower?   Thanks in advance for suggestions as I have no idea.
I did a quick Google search for the mower and haven't found a ton of reviews.   The ones I found seem good.  They look to be about 9-10k new.
ETA.. I have about 3 Acres to mow myself and need a new riding mower.  I have a good Honda self propelled push mower and a good weed eater.

This is a copy of the listing:
"Gravely Pro Turn 252
490 hours.
52in cut. It has been serviced every year and been well taken care of. Comes with bagging system. This mower is commercial grade. Runs very good. Good for starting a grass cutting business or for personal use! Can send more pictures $4,200 OBO."

Picture on listing..
Attached File

We just switched from higher end mowers to gravely.  I only have about two weeks behind it so far but it is good, and should hold up well from what I've seen.

I don't know what your goals will be for your business but unless you're mowing ultra high end homes you'll find zero turn baggers useless for the most part. I would prefer a mulch kit to be installed.

Another thing to keep in mind is it's going to be impossible to train most low level hires how to use a zero turn without trashing yards, and maybe your mower.

You may check with a local dealer and see if they have any pro turns in the $5k range new.  Eta - looked online and the pro turn 100's are around 7k. I'll check which model I've been using when I get a chance.

Here is how that came onto the market.

Most lawn services that are serious about getting the job done quickly and correctly with the least down time, sell their brand new equipment after 1 year of 12 hour days. That mower probably got used on the bigger yards half of the time, so that works out to about 500 hours.

Most start up lawn services start with walk behinds, depending on average yard size.   You are going to want to have 2 mowers, even if one is smaller... you cant afford to be down even for 1 minute if you have a whole day of yards, because if the next day it rains, your schedule will be screwed so bad.

As for the bagger setup I can change that I'm sure.   It'd be nice to have the flexibility of the bagger if I needed it.
My goals aren't very lofty at the moment.  I just want to try my hand at it and see what happens.
The operation would be just me.  
I have a little experience with a zero turn mower.  I'd obviously use my own lawn to get the hang of it the best I can.
I'm mostly concerned if it's a pretty good deal.  I just happen to need a large  mower for my lawn as well.
If it isn't a good deal or if it isn't a good mower, what route should I go?

Judging from the prices I saw online of that specific model, it's not a bad deal by any means.

490 hours is nothing if it was taken care of.

Look around the motor for oil stains all over, look around the hydraulics for fluid leaks.  If they ran it like dumbasses hydro fluid leaking might be the first sign.  Also turn the blades on and see if it's vibrating excessively, could be anything from a beat to shit deck to a warped frame.

The grasshopper that I was running just retired at 3000 hours, they use very similar motors.

I was just reccomending you also check any local dealers, you never know and might be able to find a good deal.  You may also qualify for dirt cheap interest rates if you wanted to finance and save cash for other stuff to get started up.

You would be very happy with that mower and it is very good price. It looks to be in good shape from that one picture. The bagger is nice when there are many days in a row with rain or for fall cleanup. Mulch as much as possible thou, it is better for the lawn and no disposal hassels. Check on dealer support in the area and check the fluid condition. Make sure you check the strength of the hydros.

What motor and HP is it?

Ariens Icon X $2,999.00 at Home Depot