THERE comes a moment in many a life when a person finally says “Enough.” My mowing ‘enough’ moment came last summer, prompted by our loyal, 20-year-old Westwood sit-on lawn tractor. Having had its annual, circa £500 service, during its second foray into our ever-more lumpy paddocks, it went into/over yet another hole/bump and, blades screaming in agony as they chewed into something uncuttable, went silent. And refused to restart. Something had damaged the array of rubber belts and pulleys that comprise the underside of most sit-on lawn tractors. Add to this breakdown an apparently unfixable battery issue that meant recharging it from the mains to get it started, and top all that off with our mower people telling us that, with the summer rush now on, we would probably see three changes of home secretary before a repair slot became available. And I said “Enough.” Very quietly, however. My own Montana Don bought that tractor and is mighty possessive of it. I’ll be on the transfer list long before it is.
Time, I decided, to consult my farming chums; any column. Option one: a little Fergie with a topper. Great, but these multipurpose ‘paddock’ tractors are now near vintage. Expect to spend at least £5,000 at auction for a good example (topper extra) but never forget they ancient and, much like beautifully built old shotguns, even the strongest metal eventually wears thin and fails. Option two, and better: a more modern, but still pretty old already, Fergie 135. Expect to pay £7,000 to £8,500 for a good one that, hopefully, will not break down any time soon. The happy news from the Cheffins farm machinery expert was that I wouldn’t go far wrong. As long as I didn’t buy a dud, they are appreciating at about 5% to 10% a year. Nevertheless, I gave up, deeming this financial overkill for a few acres of infuriating grass.
