That shiny new mower that you bought on sale at the end of August last year? One of these days before too long, no matter the model, how sturdy it was when you bought it, or how much you paid for it, if you use it a lot you’ll need some replacement parts after something breaks.

Usually it’s not defective design that leads to a break-down right in the middle of mowing your two-plus acres of the most beautiful grass in the tri-county area. It’s just that damage and wear and tear take their toll. Damage to a riding lawn mower part is usually pretty easy to diagnose—suddenly your riding lawn mower is no longer giving you a ride around your property.

Something has broken and “can’t get up”. An obvious case of replacement need. Annoying and embarrassing right? Especially when your neighbor over the fence, reminds you how tall your weeds got the year before, when your riding lawn mower blew a gasket.

The other need for replacement riding lawn mower parts is when hard riding or lengthy use wears things down. The most typical wear on a riding lawn mower is when your blades won’t cut a stick of butter, much less that big old dandelion weed in your lower 40!

Usually all you need for such times, is to have the blades sharpened, but if they’re too far gone, you’ll need replacement blades. The same is true when you get a little carried away and break an axle, when you forget you’re not an off road racer and don’t quite make the other side of a ditch that you attempt to fly over. You need a new axle (and perhaps some psycho therapy).

Well don’t panic. There are plenty of riding lawn mower parts out there, it’s just a matter of where to look. But then, that’s the thing isn’t it?

Where to look.

Well here it is—wait for it—do what professional gardeners do—go to the gardening warehouses for your parts. Gardening warehouses and parts catalogues, generally divide riding lawn mower parts into four categories, i.e.

• Housing assembly for housing parts such as wheels or frames
• Hand control assembly for handle parts and parts like cables
• Engine assembly for current gas powered riding lawn mowers
• Drive train assembly and steering assembly, including vehicle parts like axles and drive shafts

You might be thinking on how easy it is to find a mower part. It isn’t as easy as you may imagine. Finding the appropriate part that works with your riding mower might sometimes be a bit sketchy. But at the gardening warehouses you can find most parts from typical riding lawn mower parts’ manufacturers. The professionals at such warehouses generally know all the manufactured models and what parts are compatible with each. Even if you have to order a part, you’d typically be able to pick it up in a day or so.