Trade Vendo 56 and Vendo 81D for zero turn mower.... To please my wife....

[Philip S]

This is a long shot and I’m not sure if I really want to get rid of 2 of my best coke machines but my wife and I recently purchased some land and are building a house (everything has went way over budget which leads me to this predicament).  The yard is several acres with hundreds of trees (house is pretty much in the middle of the woods).  A small riding mower (maybe 42in cut) came with the property.  Originally my wife told me she likes my coke machines and to never get rid of them. But after she spent 8hrs mowing over the past 2 days she says why don’t you get rid of some of those coke machines and buy a zero turn mower.   So I thought I would throw it out there and see if anyone has a zero turn mower they would be willing to trade for a Vendo 56 and Vendo 81D. The Vendo 56 I believe is pretty much original.  The only thing I’ve done to it is replaced wiring and converted bottle door to glass (other than that, it’s just set in garage for past several years).  The Vendo 81D I purchased several years ago from a lady who said she had the soda machine in her family for 35yrs.  It is an old repaint.  The only thing I did to it was put red vinyl over the embossed Coca Cola on the door.   Last time I checked, both machines cooled down.  If anyone has a zero turn mower they would be willing to trade straight up, send me pictures and info on it.   Believe  me, I don’t really want to get rid of 2 coke machines that took me forever to come across at an affordable price and will retain value a lot better than a lawn mower, but this was my wife’s first time mowing this yard this year and there is probably 20 more mowings left this year (once a week till end of Sept).  I don’t think it will get any easier for her unless I get her a bigger mower.  Only other option is to put her on the 1952 Harry Ferguson TO20 with the shredder highly doubt she will go for that.  Anyway, if anyone is interested I am located in Illinois roughly an hour north of St. Louis (1hr southwest of Springfield IL).

These were some quick pictures of the machines crowded in my current rental garage.  I have more pictures on my pc that I can email if needed.

[Chedki]

Why not do the mowing yourself and save your machines ? 

[MoonDawg]

      I'd trade all of my machines for a wife like yours.   

[jholmgren]

Wow... if you were closer to York PA, I would do that deal in a second!

I have a Toro TimeCutter Zero-Turn that is really just a 'nice to have' but I really don't need it to take care of my little piece of surburbia.  It is only a 42" deck - but it takes me about 50% less time to cut my lawn with the maneuverability and speed vs. my old 42" JD riding mower. 

Jim

[Philip S]

Why not do the mowing yourself and save your machines ? 

I would mow myself but between working my full-time day job, on the new house of an evening, mowing the rental property we are currently living in, then reclaiming old barns on Saturdays, it doesn't leave much time.  I am grateful my wife mowed the property once, but I'm guessing it will be the last time.

I figured my chances of finding someone local that would have a zero turn to trade would  be slim to none (but in the back of my head I'm telling myself if there is someone I would try to work a deal).  I've had several emails asking what the cash price for each machine would be or as pair.  I know it's difficult to determine price with the few pics I posted, but could anyone give me an estimate of what a fair selling price would be? (Both machines have all parts.  Vendo 56 has some beltline rust and has holes where water fountain was attached on left side.  Vendo 81D has nice interior with minimal rust.)

I am still trying to think of how I can get around getting rid of these 2 machines as I know they will be hard to replace.  It would only leave me with my Vendo 39, Westinghouse Jr. and a 80's model Pepsi can machine.  I mean I'm building a new house to have space to display the soda machines....  Last resort is getting a couple goats...

[Slider-Bob]

Have you considered getting a lawn service? 

My lawn is small and I still hired a service!  $23 bucks a week to cut, edge, weedwhack and I get my weekends off!

[HowDueYouDue]

Lol. When I first started reading this I was thinking "get some goats". Can't bar b q a lawnmower when it breaks down

(No offense to any vegetarians and/or animal lovers here on the board).

[tkaz]

Hm...there has to be another way!  Stop by a mower repair shop, see what you can find on refurbished/repowered machines, get a warranty, save the machines!

[Creighton]

Funny, I thought track down one of the herders that rent goats as well. Could hire kids for quite a while on what it would cost to replace those machines. Hope you can get something sorted and keep the machines.
Creighton