The drive is 'Variable Speed' that you control with the bail. $829 is not bad. The lowest I've seen was $749 and that was on-line. The mower listed for $945. It's the last commercial mower Lawn-Boy will ever sell. Toro now has the exact same thing (22156) at about $1000. Considering these two are the only mowers I know of with the Honda 190cc GSV Commercial engine on an aluminum deck and they have all commercial features, I'd say $829 is pretty good, although you might try to get him down some by hinting you might want to order it on-line for $749 and free shipping.
This is unquestionably a great mower. I have not regretted getting mine for one minute.