Is this for a trimmer or used to mow a whole lawn? A good thought is that a $150 mower that is serviced regularly will outlast a $700 mower that is neglected and slammed around.....Some people pound the living crap out of a mower and never check the oil.....ET.....

A two-cycle Lawn-boy is not a good choice for multiple use, by a number of users. Somebody will inevitably install regular gasoline in a 2-cycle engine gas tank, and it'll be ruined in no time! I have seen this happen in several cases--where the Dad told the Daughter to put gas in the 2 cycle snow blower, so she poured in a gallon of regular gasoline, which they used for the 4 cycle mower during summer, and---yep---BANG, and the blower was scrap! Other folks have done it, too.
Better buy a 4 cycle engine type--less chance for some uninitiated user to ruin it!
by: Rusty Jones, The Mower Man.

No new 2 strokes left thanks to the EPA. If the mower is purchased in the church name, it will be considered commercial use and likely will have a 90 day warranty.
Forget electric start, the mower will likely get as much use in one season as most homeowner units see in three.
A premium Toro or Lawnboy should serve you reasonably well if it is properly operated and maintained.

Hopefully there is a servicing dealer that is convenient for the church to use. If you will be relying on them for service, rely on them for their advice as well. Maybe they have solid, used equipment available. Canguy's comment on warranty should be taken into consideration when weighing the advantages between new vs used. I would also agree that a premium Toro is an easy to use and long lasting mower. Better electric start mowers have a good track record. Compare the weights of the electric start models to models that feature the blade clutch. How much area are you actually mowing?

I thought the lawnboy line was dropped all together...?

I had a Honda Harmony from a dealer the 1st or 2nd year it came out...nothing but issues with cables and the tranny...most covered under warranty. Again, it was NOT a HD model and was expensive for its time ($650 or so as I recall)

Plus Side:
road smoothly (cadilac like over grass)
quiet
not smokey
very good mulcher

Eventually I switched to a Toro Personal Pace from a dealer, again the first year they came out. They were a bit cheaper. Within a month they put a new shortblock on it...it was blowing blue smoke. They also had to replace something with a wheel under warranty. I have had no adjustment issues. It has a rather bumpy ride but also mulches quite well. It is also a lot lighter than the honda. I really like the feature where it goes as fast as you walk. Pulling it backwards takes some getting used to. It does not have the blade stop / engine idle the Harmony had. It seems smellier to me too...it does not hav an OHV engine--the honda did...not sure if that makes a difference.

Both were easy to service each year.

I would go with whichever brand has a DEALER who can service it for you if the need arises.

I would avoid the HD models unless they are dirt cheap on clearance, they seem to be cheapie reproductions of the real thing...ie the Personal Pace has really cheap looking wheels and I believe a cheap deck...steel not aluminum. My Dad bought a second (backup) Honda from HD (to back up his dealer bought Harmony model---which I might add he has never had trouble with....go figure) The self propel mechanism or something went. He took it to the dealer who said the HD models were throw aways and that the tranny was not worth replacing...who knows.

Try to by from your local dealer who can service it, maybe you can even pick up 2 quality used moweres for the price of a new one.

Good luck.

Rusty; there was no call for confusing the man with that crap about 2-cycles. He's talking about the 'new' 4-cycle LBs. They haven't made a 2-cycle since 2004.

Ponderwilu; Toro has owned Lawn-Boy since the 1980s. There is no indication that the Insight line will be dropped, but if it were, parts would be available for many years. I believe the Insight series is still the best line available. I have two, a 10684 and a 22271.

Mowers at Home Dept/Lowe's are not 'cheap reproductions' as speculated in the above post. This is dealer propaganda.

"Mowers at Home Dept/Lowe's are not 'cheap reproductions' as speculated in the above post. This is dealer propaganda."

Maybe a better way of detailing the differences between the lines is that the steel deck units, which don't have some of the longevity and quality of cut features that the die cast aluminum models have- are sold only at the dealers. Dealers also retail the steel deck models. I bought the tin lizzy Lawnboy I have from a local dealer as it was lighter and has limited use. Remember the days when Toro said their aluminum deck was 20% lighter than a comparable steel deck? There aren't many trans issues on either, other than the fact that the steel decks flex when they get beat and can't hold the pivot arms true.

Toro Super Recycler-20092-$560.00

Ive had a lot of luck with toro so that is what I would lean towards.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lawn care equipment

Got to love an Aluminum deck. The 1988 Lawn-Boy and the late 50's Jacobson are made of this instead of steel and both are like brand new. Got a White with a steel deck and it does havfe some rust on it. And it wasnt used much.