If you’d like to know how to get rid of a riding lawn mower, I’ve got the solution: give it to me!
In all seriousness, that’s really the best way to dispose of a machine. All over the globe, there are outdoor power equipment enthusiasts who will gladly jump at the chance to acquire a new machine – for various purposes.
Including our personal riding lawn mower, I currently have 8 machines. Six of them are to repair and sell (when I get the time), and another one is mostly for parts.
My wife likes to (lovingly) remind me of our lawn mower staging area (i.e. junkyard). The thing is, there is considerable value to these machines in the right hands.
Last summer I paid around $200 for a John Deere 345 riding lawn mower. This is a liquid cooled engine and even in used condition can sell for upwards of $4,000. I bought it mainly for the 54″ mower deck to go on a different machine that didn’t have one. That was before I researched the value of this machine.
So you can see how it can be profitable. That being said, we live in a disposable society now, and small engine shops are on the decline. It’s simply not worth the time or effort in many cases for an average homeowner to pay for a mechanic to repair their machine.
Oftentimes, the repair costs can be as much or more than the cost of a new machine. Conversely, small engine shops have to charge these rates in order to survive in today’s economy.
This obviously has lead to a decline in these types of businesses unfortunately.
Give it Away
Luckily, there are plenty of us who like to repair riding lawn mowers for a side job, and so we can get by with a reduced hourly rate. It’s a hobby of mine and a way to supplement our income.
In my mind, that’s the only way to make it work today. It might take me weeks or months to have the time to fully repair a machine and sell it. There’s no way I could survive if that was my sole means of income.
Simply by donating your machine to one of these types of individuals can go a long way in helping them provide for their family.
The best way to do so is to post a free ad on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. I can almost guarantee that someone will be by to pick it up rather quickly.
Donate to a School
Similarly, you could look at area schools if you are fortunate enough to have a college or high school that still teaches small engine repair. As mentioned previously, this is a declining skill across the country, so it might be rare to find such a program.
Like medical students practicing on cadavers, disposed machines offer vital opportunities for small engine repair students to practice and learn this craft.
Recycle Centers
If you have no desire to commiserate with another individual, look for other opportunities to recycle your machine.
Our local garbage disposal facility has a “Reuse Center.” Employees from the facility will determine if an item can be of value to someone else, and will bring that item to the Reuse Center.
Items placed in the Reuse Center are free for the taking, so people can stop by to “shop” for things which they might want or need.
The downside to this method is that you have to transport the machine to the facility. If you don’t have a truck or a trailer, this can be a nuisance.
Scrap Yards
One final option might be to look at scrap yards. Generally, this only makes sense if you have an older machine that has a higher metal content.
As riding lawn can weigh upwards of 900 pounds, there’s a decent amount of metal to be found. Most modern machines, however, are predominantly plastic on the body. The only metal that can be salvaged is from the engine, transmission and the frame.
That being said, you still have to deal with the issue of transporting the machine. Depending on the current price of scrap steel, you might be able to manage $100-150 per TON. So expect considerably less. At the very least, it’s an option for disposal.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.