Mowers and suppliers

Can anyone suggest 'the' mower to buy round the £3-500 mark for general lawn mowing? Where to get it nation wide? Any advice on this would be welcome .

Thanks

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Darren on February 19, 2009 at 11:39pm: Hi all ,i'm to am looking at lawn mowers i've seen a mountfield petrol with Honda engine for £350 med/lge lawns at B&Q my wifes cousin who runs his own gardening company for 25 years says it's ok but i would be better of with a John Deere well at as i said that since i've paid £700 for a 2 year RHS course don't have that kind of money canonly go to £350 dose any think this is a good buy; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Stuart on February 20, 2009 at 7:58am: I'm told John Deere have great back up on their products. If it were me I would pop along to your local Deere stockist and see what you can barter for. My local Deere dealer does Etesia and are willing to match and knock some more off from another quote I have had from else where. I've already managed to get near 50% of the retail price on one model.
Barter like mad and see what you can get for your money and take your time and see them working which is what I was told to do.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Graeme @ BGS on February 20, 2009 at 1:35pm: Darren said:
Hi all ,i'm to am looking at lawn mowers i've seen a mountfield petrol with Honda engine for £350 med/lge lawns at B&Q my wifes cousin who runs his own gardening company for 25 years says it's ok but i would be better of with a John Deere well at as i said that since i've paid £700 for a 2 year RHS course don't have that kind of money canonly go to £350 dose any think this is a good buy

The only good thing with B&Q is that you can take it back for a replacement - just tell them you are not commercial. I think they have 1 year return to store and thereafter they send it away for repair.

Go for the best you can for the money. Even consider second hand.

Look on Ebay at http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ETESIA-18-INCH-PETROL-PUSH-MOWER_W0QQitemZ170...|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Don't know anything about the seller or if local to you but these are cracking little machines and even if you get a year or two out of it it will serve you well. Only draw back is no stripes.

Keep on at the dealers and haggle and then haggle some more.

Just one point to bear in mind - how are you going to transport your mower as this may be deciding factor on what make / model.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Stuart on February 20, 2009 at 4:37pm: I've just got back from my local dealer Turners Groundcare and they were great. The sales guy was away on training but a chap showed me both the Etesia 46 pro and 51 and he gave me some great advice too.
I had my heart on the large pro 53 but its way to big for my needs as is the 51k.
We had a chat about mulching and I can get a kit for the 46 if need be but for my few jobs and they are not huge lawns I agreed the 46 was the better choice for me. Easy to transport too. He did recommend getting the blade brake system and he told me the Honda engine is fine even though its not the commercial engine.
They also did Honda and John Deere but the Etesia just felt better and is a perfect machine for what I require.
What I really liked was how the cables are protected and how easy it is for me to transport.
I also considered that the jobs I have are on a housing estate and access to the rear is narrow and there are steps on one job which lead to the lawn so the lighter mower and smaller fits the bill.
I was offered by another company the 46 for £500 which as it was by email the version was not mentioned but I guess its the briggs push.
What I really liked was I was made to feel at home, no pressure and he had lots of time to spend with me. Nothing was to much trouble and even if they can't match the price from others I would still buy from them as they are local and offer great support.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by colin on February 20, 2009 at 4:45pm: honda are doing £50 part ex on any mower, get to the tip and find a knackered 1 in the skip and get an 18" izy for about £280
ive got a couple of old mowers im considering trying to get 100 off lol; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by colin on February 20, 2009 at 9:07pm: with a budget! best bet for a new mower is mow direct tbh, go to your limit and get it, it will be better than your local dealer if ur not buying a lot of tools or "they dont know you", unless they have a good lookin second hand machine. look for what is there expensive machines as to what they have second hand if its only cheap new to buy stuff dont bother. you can get the 07, model briggs engine mountfields for 200- 250 on ebay new good engine, chassis, and collection but the handles break at the bottom, either need reinforcing or replacing (about £25 on ebay). but if your serious definitly look into a new/ proffessional machine always looks better in front of client than b / q!!!!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Stuart Marler on February 20, 2009 at 9:20pm: A certain named DIY store that might be mentioned on here somewhere, does sell mowers and other petrol driven equipment, for what looks like good prices.

How ever, they alledgedly tell the manufacturer to make them for X amount as they will then sell at X plus Y in thier stores. So, the manufacturer then gets sub standard parts which do not last long. When you take them to be repaired, the repairers cannot get the spares. Any service/repair shop will then say, I bet this was brought at "xxxxxx" and will then laugh at you.

I would steer clear of large DIY stores for mowers/strimmers etc.

Again, raise your budget or go for a decent pro model second hand unit.

I've been there and done that, got the T shirt; hence why I am here on LJ offering my advice to fellow members to stop you/them falling into this trap.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by colin on February 20, 2009 at 9:31pm: yes ive said before aswell to make sure its californian regulation briggs engine its the easiest way to tell if its american or eastern european built same can be said for honda engine mowers but you need to know the engine production numbers, european built hondas are fixed at a lower rev rate to true jap hondas found that out from experience

Stuart Marler said:
A certain named DIY store that might be mentioned on here somewhere, does sell mowers and other petrol driven equipment, for what looks like good prices.

How ever, they alledgedly tell the manufacturer to make them for X amount as they will then sell at X plus Y in thier stores. So, the manufacturer then gets sub standard parts which do not last long. When you take them to be repaired, the repairers cannot get the spares. Any service/repair shop will then say, I bet this was brought at "xxxxxx" and will then laugh at you.

I would steer clear of large DIY stores for mowers/strimmers etc.

Again, raise your budget or go for a decent pro model second hand unit.

I've been there and done that, got the T shirt; hence why I am here on LJ offering my advice to fellow members to stop you/them falling into this trap.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Pro Gard on February 20, 2009 at 9:31pm: Stu, the 46 is a nice machine, I had one for 3 years prior to getting the 51 for my needs the 46 was on the small side although it used to do the job.

The only thing that wears is the plastic cog mecanism that adjusts the handle bar height, this does wear out eventualy but only cost about £5 to replace, a simple matter of undoing a coach bolt and taking the old off putting the new on and tightening the bolt again. Mine had the honda engine and was still going strong when I sold it, change the oil regularly and it will be ok.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Stuart on February 20, 2009 at 10:29pm: Thanks Paul for the info.
Can't what to get going now and try her out :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Gardens4u.co.uk on December 30, 2009 at 7:18pm: I agree , would not ideally buy from DIY unless starting or on a tight budget.

Stuart Marler said:
A certain named DIY store that might be mentioned on here somewhere, does sell mowers and other petrol driven equipment, for what looks like good prices.

How ever, they alledgedly tell the manufacturer to make them for X amount as they will then sell at X plus Y in thier stores. So, the manufacturer then gets sub standard parts which do not last long. When you take them to be repaired, the repairers cannot get the spares. Any service/repair shop will then say, I bet this was brought at "xxxxxx" and will then laugh at you.

I would steer clear of large DIY stores for mowers/strimmers etc.

Again, raise your budget or go for a decent pro model second hand unit.

I've been there and done that, got the T shirt; hence why I am here on LJ offering my advice to fellow members to stop you/them falling into this trap.; ▶ Reply to This