G’day,
Your in W.A don’t you knuckleheads use cylinder mowers anyway lol
I too looked at these before buying a 216 and was given the same feedback as you and advised to stay away, they look similar and $400 difference is a good saving if you were buying the same mower but it is just a cheap knock off.
The way I looked at it was it worth risking buying a machine from a company you can’t speak to that has a bad rep for customer service and quality and risk potential down time to save $400.
having already owned a 196 Honda I was very happy with reliability and performance and I decided that a commercial warranty easily assessable parts and a proven reliable mower was worth spending the extra considering how much work it will do
The Honda 21 inch as I mentioned cost me $1300.00, Buying 2 you might be able to negotiate a further discount make sure you tell the dealer you are a contractor as they usually will do you a deal.
Also do you need 2 maybe you could just get 1 or get a 196 as your second mower you can get them for just under $900.00
All the best with your new business