Looking at buying a replacement lawn tractor.  Given new prices, used is attractive.

What are “high” hours?  What are things I should look for when evaluating a used lawn tractor?  Any other tips or advice?

Thanks!

I'm rocking a 1989 Ford YT18H that I've owned since 2013.

Just replaced the coils a second time a week ago, and put a new rectifier in it to replace the failed original.

I did spindle bearings on the deck a few years ago.

I fought with front wheel bearings the first year of ownership until I sourced some wider roller style units.

Point is, you can generally keep up with most things that break, provided you can source parts.

Blades are no longer available, so I picked up new old stock when it showed up on eBay.

This has been the biggest headache with the machine and would be a good thing to check before buying any used machine.

ETA:

Purchase inspection list:

Tires
Front wheel axles (failed wheel bearings can chew up the axle.)
Deck spindle bearings.
Belt idler pulley bearings.
Electric clutch (if equipped)
Hydro-static transmission (if equipped) cooling fan (plastic, can break, especially if it tries to eat a broken belt.)

I'd pull and read the plugs on the engine and check the condition of the oil.
I'd be less worried about the engine as re-powering isn't a huge deal.

My Box store Cub at 700 hours of hard use pretty much getting crappy and kept just for backup and has a bagger for leaves.

My replacement $8000 JD X590 better last 2 or 3 times longer than that.

Most box store riders (Husq, Deere, Cub) are pretty much junk by 500 hours. This is mainly due to the transmission usually being toast by that point. A stamped deck is going to be broken, the spindles and pulleys will need replaced, etc. If the engine isn't a Honda, Kohler, or Kawasaki it'll be pretty much junk too (Briggs).

I purchased a 500 hour Husqvarna knowing it was trash, and limped it through a season, replacing a few things to make it.

The next spring I bought a quality zero turn with a blown up engine (Briggs) and swapped the Kohler from the rider onto it. Currently running great at over 600 hours.

My old Exmark Lazer Z is still going strong after 7yeas of use - and I bought it used from a landscape company with 380 already on it. other than oil changes, blades, and anti-scalp rollers I haven't had to do a thing to it.

i  just replaced the worn broken parts  2006  an a 2002 poulin lawn tractor

Box store mower: 500 hrs is high
Commercial mower: 1500 hrs is high

I would more readily take a high hours commercial before high hours box store. Commercial mowers are made to be repaired, parts should be available and easily swapped. Box store mowers are made to be junked.

When my husqvarna rideing mowers Briggs engine shit itself it had around 400 hrs on it. It had been well maintained and not abused. Frankly if I was buying used it would be either a lightly used commercial model (under 1k hrs) or if homeowner grade, I wouldn’t touch anything with more than 100 hrs unless the price was dirt cheap and a repower was economically feasible immediately.

I bought that turd brand new and it wasn’t cheap. Manual said nothing about adjusting the valves and it trashed both heads.

My Cub got very slow to turn over, battery was older so I replaced it but didn't help. Figured out the valve adjustment had got loose and the auto compression release wasn't doing anything.
Adjusted valves and it starts way better.

I run a lawn maintenance company, we usually sell our Wright Standard mowers when they hit 3000/3500 hours.  This brand is usually darn reliable until they near the 2500 hour mark, even then usually it's a pretty easy fix.  We ran from John Deere products as we were repairing them daily it seems.

My 1997 John Deere 445 garden tractor is over 1700 hrs. We beat the shit out of it.

It should be noted that although from a distance a 445 type mower looks similar to the green and yellow mowers in the Lowes parking lot, they are completely different machines.  There is a reason that the 445 was probably 4 or 5 times more expensive than the box store machine back in the day.  Those things were built to take a beating and keep on keepin' on.

My 98 lx-178 is still humming along. The hood finally succumbed to the tornado damage it suffered in ‘05, but I’m hoping for 2-3 more years out of it. It’s though to find mowers with a liquid cooled Kawasaki

That's a damn good machine, I'm semi looking for a 455 or 430 with 3 point and rear PTO for garden duties.

I've got a 2000 John Deere 425 that has 1400 hours on it.
The only repair was a fuel pump 5 years ago, and two front tires.
It was used up until three years ago to cut 2 acres and in the winter it either has a blower on it or a plow.
Maintenance has always been by the book or better.

The poster that said there is a significant difference between commercial grade and homeowner grade is correct. My Grasshopper is 18 years old and still running fine, I'll keep it for a while longer because of the vacuum system. It has needed very few repairs in the time I have had it.

Talk to a few lawn care places and most will tell you the hours they sell them [or trade them in] at. It will be far higher then what a residential mower is trashed at. The commercial mowers will still be decent at high hours but wear and repairs will be higher and since they make the owner money, they need to keep moving which is why they get replaced.

Always pop for the better motor and hydros even if you have to spend a little more money, it will save you more then you spend in the long run.

Most manufacturers make their mowers and ZTR's LOOK beefy because looks sell to the casual residential buyer, it's what's inside and under them that makes the real difference. Spend your money on that part of the ZTR or mower.