By buying a product in person, you will have the opportunity to test-drive the machine. Pay attention to how it runs and its performance in cutting grass. If it runs well, then you need to check if it the blades can cut the lawn well. The blades should be sharp so that it can cut the grass properly.

These new Greenfield ride on mowers have nothing in common with the older models from a couple of years ago!! I am in the market for a ride on but those new Cox look a like greenfield mowers with those garbage chiniese engines are absolute shit> You can take that bloody garbage and shove it up your backside especially for the money! Bring back the propper Greenfield ride on mower with a propper chassis and Briggs or Vangard V twin engines then I'll buy another one but not this crap!! Reply From Henderson Mowers: Hi Al! Thanks for your feedback and I will be sure to pass it on to Greenfield. I just wanted to rebut a few of your points for a healthy argument. Firstly I do agree that the new Greenfield do not look like the old ones, I loved the old ones with the shiny finish and scoop in the bonnet! These are made out of the Cox factory and as any smart company would they have made an attempt to reduce costs and therefore have no doubt incorporated a little of the same supplies in the newer Greenfields which is why the body may seem similar in some aspects. Like anything, you can't judge something on its looks though. It terms of how they operate, the pulley system on the deck, the friction drive system (with the crush washer upgrade) and the cut you have all come to know and love are exactly the same as before and I know this as I have cut with them multiple times. The engine. Al as you know at the end of the day everything is about price. Money makes the world go round and it doesn't matter how good a Greenfield is you need to have it priced well to sell in todays market. With the Boss engine the unit can be priced just under the $7K mark at $6,995 inc. gst. which is a super important price point to be at. I have actually been to the Toro factory in Minneapolis where they do rigorous testing and they also run Loncin engines (Loncin make the Boss engine) and it holds up extremely well which is why Toro sell so many units. Now I'm not disagreeing that a Vanguard engine is nicer and it has a reputation that takes years to match but again it all comes down to money. Greenfield have released the Deluxe model with a Vanguard also and it is priced at $7,399 inc. gst. (above that $7k mark) and I have 4 sitting in my showroom. You see this is a luxury for those that either want the Vanguard name like yourself and also have the money to do so. Some people have a budget to buy to though and like any company Greenfield realises it so they try and cater for all areas of the market. I'm like yourself and I would spend the extra $400 to buy the Vanguard because I know the engine is proven in commercial applications although it's super easy to sit here and spend other peoples money so the Boss engine will be perfect for some people. So, in summary, I agree with the look of the unit but minimising costs is a huge aspect of surviving in Australian manufacturing so that's what they have done to fight that adversary. I disagree with you in regards to how it operates because under the body it still applies what has made the Greenfield name a household one in Australian family homes, I don't agree that the engine is terrible because they are manufactured by a company that makes engines for the biggest mower company in the world called Toro, but I do agree they are unproven when compared to a Vanguard which is available as an optional extra and I apologise for it not being in the spreadsheet because it is only a recent addition, although it is in our products if you look there! (features a Vanguard 23HP V-Twin!) Thanks for the blog post! I love a healthy debate! If you would like to come down and try a Vanguard unit I would love the chance to show to you first hand how good they are. Thanks again Al!

Well I don`t agree that Briggs and Stratton engines are anything to be proud of and I am not alone in that belief, I invite anyone considering investing in petrol powered equipment to read the reviews on the internet of Briggs and Stratton engines, it would have to be upwards of 96% of people taking the trouble to write a review of their experience with these engines who are not just uncomplimentary but downright scathing. It is when you look deeper and closer than the nice shiny finish of the engine that the design shortcuts become evident, unfortunate choice of materials which leads to parts and equipment failure not far down the track. A potential buyer doesn`t see where economies have been made internally, the cam shaft and its gears, the spindly push rods and rocker assembly and weak valve springs, the propensity for the conrod to exit the crankcase. Then if you try to make a warranty claim they will try every reason to avoid honoring it sheeting responsibility back to the owner/operator`s negligence, wrong engine oil, insufficient engine oil, foreign objects in the crankcase. Then a bent crankshaft is not a claim, mainly a problem with mowers with blades mounted directly on the crankshaft. I have just assisted a friend with his Greenfield ride-on mower, he bought new around five years ago, 20 hp Vanguard engine 127 hours on the tach, the engine shut down two months ago and never went again. I looked for all the simple things first, carburettor and associated fuel issues, ignition, including a check that the flywheel had not shifted on the crankshaft, it hadn`t, it can and does happen. A 7 hp Briggs and Stratton engine I had on a John Deere walk behind mower allowed it`s flywheel to shift because the taper on the flywheel did not match the taper on the crankshaft, no matter how tight the flywheel nut was torqued it was never a snug fit not helped by the woodruff key being soft aluminium, that`s right folks aluminium not steel, admittedly the vanguard has a steel key. B&S will excuse this by saying that the key is just for ignition timing purposes, it is not meant to lock the flywheel to the shaft, ok then take more care with tolerances. Having said all that, I will declare that I own a 13hp Cox from early this century, so side valve, not OHV, I bought second hand almost new. While the mower is unsophisticated it is heavy duty and reasonably simple for me to maintain, I know my way around mechanicals, it`s necessary when dealing with Briggs and Stratton. It is no accident that it is almost impossible to have an alternate power source, it has to be the case that B&S supply their crappy engines to equipment manufacturers at or below cost so the likes of Honda can`t compete cost wise, quality wise the only thing common to them is that they burn petrol. One is rightfully proud of their product, (Honda), the other has no right to be proud. It`s like printers who allow their product to marketed at or below cost so they lose on the printer but win on the ink cartridge. Of course mower shops won`t hear a bad word about B&S, why, because of a couple of things, it`s almost a case of sell B&S or have no mowers to sell, almost. Secondly the repeat business both of parts and repairs would keep the workshop busy and the sales on target. Some of the blame has to go to we customers , were we given the choice of a Cox or Greenfield or any of the imports for that matter and were offered a choice of a machine powered by B&S costing say $7,000 or the same machine powered by Honda but costing $8,000, very few people would justify paying the extra. I mean they both look like they are quality how much better can Honda be? The answer to that is chalk and cheese, ask someone who has owned a Honda over a very long time because they are built to last a very long time, not so the also ran. I would be much happier had my Cox been powered by Honda. So what of the Chinese engine, I guess only time will tell, I really hope it works out both for the local industry and for the customers, It`s about time consumers got a better deal than we have had, I wouldn`t count on the big American fixing their act anytime soon, pressed by competition.