Hi Max, I only pay $50 for these 24's not running and even then when I get them up and ready for sale they usually cost me at least a week. I usually have to make up new Delrin bushes and clamps to hold the front axel in place (90%of the time they are all flogged out in the body) turn up new bushes for the front wheels or replace them, replace the motor or get the existing one running again, fix the height adjuster, fix the rear axel and or bush the rear wheels, new blades and maybe repair the blade carrier if the holes are flogged out, the list just goes on and on. And then if I am using a PT motor that requires extra weight to be added to the crank by whatever means I can. Then it is modify a carby and get that all working and that alone usually takes me a couple of hours. Are they worth it, of course not, but I just keep doing them to fill in time and keep me occupied
It's a shame the second hand mowers aren't worth much these days ,I still remember you taking 2 days refurbishing power torque mowers to sell for $80. and I remember about 10 years before that mower shops would refurbish second hand mowers and sell them for more than twice that. About 5 mower shops have closed down around here over the years and I spoke to one shop owner and he basically said when Bunnings came out and sold cheap new mowers his mower shop business suffered financially.
Not many people are left these days that repair equipment as I hear people all the time go to shops with barely used equipment that just needs a little work to get running but the shops tell them they need to buy a new replacement power tool and then there are the shops that first dismantle the customers mower knowing it's no good then after it's all in parts charge the owner as much money for taking it apart as they could have bought a good second hand replacement ,then telling them they need a new mower.
Hi Max, Yes I have picked up a number of 24's that were traded in to mower shops that were closing down and a couple of them have said that this year it has got even worse with one saying he has had customers who could not afford to have new blades fitted to their mower. He was saying that this year there were some days when not one person would come into his shop. He was going to try and operate from his home and do mobile repairs around his area in Gippsland
The last time I bought new blades at Bunnings they were about $14. but just had a look online and now they are $28. for 2 blades.
Just shows how cheap a $50 to $80 mower is with 4 good blades.
Not sure how much a mower shop would charge for 4 blades and fitting them but probably at least $70.
I've had a few people bring me a mower to repair and the blades are only half the size and I've just given them good second hand blades and fitted them for free.
These days for some, Australia is the lucky country where the rich get richer and the poor get their homes repossessed by the banks.
I did talk to one mower shop owner that went out of business and he was living in his car.
Hi Max, The blades I get for the 18 inch Victas cost me about $5.50 a pair and then the prices for the other mowers creap up slowly depending on the size and what mowers they fit up to the 24's which cost me about $13 a pair. These are the most expensive blades I ever buy. Of course I have to buy them in bulk and I would have hundreds of dollars sitting here in blades but I need them because I never know what the next mower coming through the door will need. I have said for a long time that it is not an industry I would like to try and make a living from.
Yeah I haven't needed to buy new blades for a long time as I would just buy a mower at the tip shop for $10. that had newish blades, but I've definitely scrapped a lot of mowers for blades and have probably used most of them by now so good to know what you can buy them for in bulk.
It's sad to see them disappearing. I scored a lot of mowers and bits from their scrap bin over the years. I found a fully functioning green 1970s Mustang with G3 carburettor in the early 2000s as well as a white 80s Mustang at another. Also got a VC 160 behind a third store dumped in an alley which ran beautiful.
Have found some good stuff of late here outside Sydney but both the mower shops I would get them from have closed down.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Hi MF, The only way I would class a 24 for wrecking would be if the body was broken in half. All the other bits I can scavage from stuff I have here, or fabricate what I need as long as I have blade carriers for them all other bits I can cover
Beautiful MF, cleaned up no problems. I keep an eye out for any bits that turn up, and sometimes I drive a long way chasing these things. Sometimes I can spend most of the day picking things up, probably makes them not worth it but I do what I do
Hi MF, and all, They stopped making the 24 about 5-6 years ago(am happy to stand corrected) and parts are a real PITA to get for them. I've had 6 blade carriers for them on back order since last April (yes, almost a year and a half ago) and the response from Victa is always the same, "yes, they'll be here in the next 4-6 weeks".
Good grief, I found a treasure trove and didn't know it. Don't worry Norm no hard feelings. Glad to have got rid of them and sent them on to someone who could use them and get something for them as well.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Hi BT, Yes I a still interested in the blade carriers if they ever turn up. Eventually I will have to get some laser cut but that will be a pain because I will have to weld the recess in the centre to go over the bearing. It means I have to get the big disc cut and another disc cut to cover the bearing. Is it worth it I doubt it but eventually I will run out of alternatives. Thanks MF much appreciated besides the fact somebody put 71 stamps on the box, it was good for a laugh
Hi BT and MF, Last week I paid $50 for about 14/15 mowers, 2 trailer loads and there was only one in the pile I wanted. It was a 22 inch Victa self propelled slasher and all I wanted off that was a fuel tank to fit a 24, they are that hard to come by
