My 10-year-old lawn mower has finally died, and replacing it with a decent model would set me back more than $400. I’m torn between buying new equipment or simply hiring a lawn care service for the whole year. When I factor in the ongoing costs of maintenance, fuel, and storage plus the time and effort involved it makes me wonder if outsourcing the work might actually be the more practical and cost-effective choice.
Is it cheaper to buy a new mower or just hire someone for the season?
byu/Kitchen-Bee555 inFrugal
Posted by Kitchen-Bee555
25 Comments
i guess it depends on how much the labor costs?
You should call and get an estimate on lawn care services. Where I’m at it runs about $100 / week but that will have a wide range depending on the size of your lawn, how often you want it cut, and who you are using. I think it would be considerably cheaper to buy your own mower, but that doesn’t factor in the time element. How much is your time worth to you on a per hour basis?
it probably doesn’t scale well , unless you do a lot of mowing over a large area , that would be my guess
Do you have a pair of scissors?
I joke, but have you thought about Craigslist or Facebook marketplace?
That’s a very individualized calculation as others would say. I just came to say that if you are going to go the route of replacing your own equipment, now is the time to switch to electric/battery.
No one can answer this for you. How much does it cost to have someone mow your lawn? Storage and maintenance? Is this an actual cost or hassle for you? We can’t answer that, I’ve got a push mower that just chills under an upside down wheel barrow year round and has probably seen $20 in maintenance in the past 5 years. I’d find a used mower and give it some TLC unless you can get your yard mowed really cheaply to get through the season to buy for a better price
What happens at the next season? You’ll be spending however much that is every year compared to (let’s say) another ten year purchase of a $400 lawn mower plus gas and your time. How much is a years worth of lawn care service? There’s no way they compare on a cost basis.
I’m not sure how it would be frugal on its own unless you’re trading something else off, like spending that extra 2 hours per week working longer instead of mowing it yourself. But if you don’t want to do it, don’t do it.
How much lawn?
Mower is always cheaper.
The bigger the lawn the bigger the Mower. Even if you need a riding Mower it would be considerably cheaper then paying someone to come do a lawn that size
It’s about $75-100/wk here for the most basic service in a MCOL area.
I live where it’s cold, so if my mower died now, I’d just not more for the next 6 weeks, and then mowing season is over, and you have 9 months to put money aside for a mower for spring. I also do not have an HOA.
There might be someone around that cleans and tunes up older mowers. Seems like I’ve run across them more than once.
Check Craigslist for someone with multiple mowers for sale, ask around your neighborhood, ask at your local hardware store.
Look for some independent guy that does tuneups in his garage.
Do you have a string trimmer? When my mower broke last July, I finished the season with just the trimmer. It wasn’t the prettiest, but it worked. I have a small city property (30’x130′) so it was manageable, especially when I’d do the front yard & back yard on different days.
Is a walk behind mechanical mower an option? $140
Depends on the size of your lawn. We use a service because I’m not up to the work in heat. But I have costed it out, and if I had to, a cordless electric mower would be a cheaper option.
So it sounds like you push mow. Look into electric, more expensive upfront but no gas, maintenance, just easy. They use way less money to operate and just work. They will last for a long time(very few moving parts compared to gas).
Maybe you can get a decent mower on sale at end of season this year? Outsourcing jobs that you have the capability to do yourself always costs you way more in my experience. And cutting lawns is pretty easy so ya I would be replacing the mower
Find a used honda mower on FB market place for around $100
I’ve been there before, last year, I calculated the expenses and was astounded by how similar they were. Since I support hiring out, I’m curious what other people think.
When I got sick of dealing with mowers, I got sheep. It’s been wonderful, but it wouldn’t be for everybody.
Best time to get a lawnmower robot.
One other thing to consider is if you have pathlights or other decorations. No one will take care like you do. We stopped hiring out when we got all our lights broken.
When you say died …. I don’t know how much you know. Have you pulled the air filter & tried to start it? Have you switched out the fuel line?
Sometimes lawnmower engines can be revived for a pretty low cost. Have you tried switching out the spark plug?
I’ve had luck over the years buying used on Craigslist and using for 5 summers or so
My neighbor and I actually split the cost of a mower. It stays covered outside, and we have our own battery so we can each mow whenever. Two yards for the price of one mower. Our yards are also really small, so we only got a ~$200 mower.
Pay someone. The older you get the more odious the chore is……..