Lawn Mower 650 or 430?

I am starting to look for a new (different) lawn mower to use primarily for mowing my grandma's yard, but possibly a couple of others too. Grandma's yard is about 1.5 ac, all hill; no flat areas. Thus it's a hydro killer, at least cheap ones. I want to make the step up from a stamped steel frame, 42", 20 hp MTD special and into something more robust that will handle the hill better (power train, traction, frame flexing, etc).

I've been watching CL for about 2 weeks now and so far, of all the mowers listed, there are two models that really stand out to me; JD 650 and JD 430.

My questions are -

What are the pros and cons to each?

Performance wise, how do they compare to the 20 hp, 42" MTD special I have now?

What kind of hours should I look for? When buying a used car, anything over 100,000 is usually a lot, how does this apply to hours on lawn mowers/garden tractors?

Which would you recommend?
 
Well, the only 650 I ever worked on was really a compact tractor. It had a finish mower hooked behind it on the 3 point. The one you are looking at probably has a 3 point hitch (or could have been equipped with one.) And rear pto. It also has enough ground clearance you could do other things with it if it does have a 3 point.

I think the 430 is really more of a dedicated high end mower. Deck underneath. Not as much ground clearance if I remember correctly. Probably a 3 point was an option on it too, but I don't know about rear pto.
 
The 650s I'm looking at have belly mowers. I want to stick with the belly mower because of maneuverability.

I like the 650 because its a diesel but most of all because I know it has a substantial frame and its a gear driven transmission rather than a hydro. I have 3 755's at work but none of them have belly mowers anymore. 2 are dedicated snow plows but never get used and the third is a dedicated loader tractor. I've run an 850 but it was used as a compact tractor for tilling gardens, brush hogging, etc. I just don't know what to expect out of a 650 as a lawn mower with the belly mower deck.
 
Any ideas how the turning radius would compare between what I have now, the 430 and the 650?

Also, I have seen a few places where the 650 doesn't have live PTO, is this just the rear PTO or does this apply to the front (mid) PTO as well?
 
The 430(if we are talking about the L&G model)is one of or the best l&g ever built. But remember it is getting old,mid 80s? 1000 hr is a just broken in Yanmar.
 
Yes, the lawn/garden 430...forgot about the old 430 row crops/utilities.

Old isnt scary, I'd rather have an old one thats built for work and built to last over any of today's stamped steel, pop metal jobbers.
 
If your looking for a mower from the big box stores and it has a 1000 hours on it. I'd pass on that one. They do sometimes get that many hours but I believe it's rare.
 

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