When you use a lawnmower regularly, one of the issues you might come across is the need to keep the cost of the maintenance down. A common way to do this that many people end up trying is the use of low quality mower parts, such as those that are salvaged from damaged lawn mowers. It might be very cheap to buy such parts, but you will find that with time, using them will turn out to be more expensive than buying legitimate certified parts from the manufacturer. Some of the ways in which this can occur include:

Increased fuel consumption

One of the characteristics of such parts is that they usually don’t perform as well as the original new ones. In addition to that, they might end up having a wrong fit either due to being overused to the point of deformity, or simply not being the right part for the model of the lawn mower you are using. This lack of performance usually translates to increased fuel consumption, particularly if the part is used in the engine or other moving parts. With time, your energy bill associated with using the lawn mower will increase, and this will erode any cost benefits you had gotten by buying the parts.

Damage to other parts of the lawn mower

When you are fixing a lawn mower, you should think of it as a system of parts. Changes in one of the components of the lawn mower could affect some of the other parts. For instance, if the shaft connecting to the blades is not properly attached, it could result in the engine having to work much harder in order to make it turn, and this in turn means that the engine would suffer more wear and tear. By using the wrong parts, you may end up inducing damage in other parts of the lawn mower, and this will result in higher maintenance costs in future.

Reduced longevity of the machine

One of the commonest and most widely recognized effects of using the wrong parts is finding that they reduce the longevity of the machine. With time, you will find that the machine will start breaking down more regularly, and this means having to spend even more money on parts and labour. Selling the lawn mower at this point is usually difficult, since most people will only buy it only if they know that it will work perfectly. You could decide to overhaul it before putting it on sale, but this will cost a lot of money, and it might not be possible to recoup the cost from the cash you get from the sale. This is especially so when you have to do more extensive repairs.

In summary, the next time you have to make a decision on which parts to buy for your lawn mower, always stick to high quality ones. This will save you a lot of trouble in the long run. It might seem more expensive, but it will actually turn out to be the cheapest option in the long term.