Hi all, new to the forums and given what most people are here for this may not be the right place to be asking...
I have a Masport 4 stroke which I bought 18 years ago when I bought a house with lawns. It has given sterling service and in return I've tried to maintain it well. Over the years I've grown fond of it because it's just worked beautifully every time, regardless of what it's mowed through.
A couple of years ago it stopped working and I took it to a mower shop who charged me >$200 for the repair. I found out when I picked it up that the problem was gungy fuel left in the carby over winter. They had simply cleaned it and the problem was fixed. Expensive (and probably a rip-off) I thought, but wth it was working again.
Since then the mower has been kept at my mum's as I do her lawns for her (and I bought myself a new monster mower for home, but that's another story). And now it's stopped running and I'm 99% sure it's gunged up again. I have a dilemma: I don't have another $200 to get it fixed, I suspect it's an easy job, but I don't have the space/time/confidence to do it myself. And the grass is growing...
So now I'm tossing up whether to (1) chuck it out and buy a cheapie with a warranty? (2) have a go at fixing it and chuck it out if it doesn't work out?, or (3) I don't know what else to try.
It's been an awesome mower, and although it may be silly I'm kind of attached to it and think it deserves better than being dumped. I also don't think a sub-$200 mower, while perfectly adequate for the job, is going to be as satisfying to use.
Is this emotional attachment strange? Am I old-fashioned for believing that our throw-away way of life is wrong?
I'd appreciate any thoughts and ideas people here have.
