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Mike, If possible, see the mower in operation. Listen for rattles, grinding sounds, whines. Raise the cutterbar and see if the shoes are worn out. New ones are about $50 each, maybe less, depends on make. Check oil in gearbox. On a gear bed cutter bar, bottom seal can fail and let oil run into cutter bar, running gearbox dry. Too much oil can ruin cutter bar. Check oil in cutter bar. If oil in either gear box or cutter bar has metal chips in it, walk er..run away. Kuhn mowers Caseyc mentioned are probably the cadillac of gear bed mowers. They have cadillac prices new also. If the cutter bar is locked up, pass it by. The cost of rebuilding in money and time is too high. You would come out better buying a new cheap brand, or even a top brand. Get one that has nearby dealer support. Bear in mind that the cost of new parts for a gearbox or a cutter bar are such that buying a new gearbox or cutter bar is cheaper. Gear box--about $1000. new cutter bar--probably $3000. Shaft drive cutters like the Lely and Vermeer have repairable segments so hopefully you would not have to repair the whole cutter bar. Avoid the Vermeers with the metal shield instead of a curtain because it is too heavy for the mowers framework. Give serious thought to getting a new one and plan to take care of it. Good luck. Hope you"ve learned from my mistakes. KEH
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