Honda Izy or Hayter if the Honda is too expensive. Avoid Mountfield

Two tips:

1) Buying at the end of the summer season can mean massive discounts if you can wait

2) Check your local paper, Gumtree, Ebay.

I have purchased excellent cylinder mowers before for £20, and seen Honda rotary ones going for almost nothing before (an old chap dies and the kids want to get rid of his 'old' Honda that's in brilliant nick).

Doesn't really matter what make it is. They're nearly all powered by Briggs & Stratton or Honda.

Self-propelled or push-along is really dictated by the cut size. The larger mowers tend to be self-propelled because the weight with a full grass box can be considerable. Also if you have any gradient on your lawn it is advisable to go s/p.

I'd say for your lawn area you're just on the cusp of needing s/p. I mow 400sqm with a slight gradient using a 55cm s/p Stiga. This is the so-called professional range of Mountfield using a Honda engine. After my last mower it's a joy - low-noise and no vibration.

Dogs abuse?

Same here though (except for the dog abuse, or 7 years - 4 for me).

agree with the comment about checking ebay/gumtree etc.. I got lucky and managed to pick up a very nice mower similar to these for £50 (admittedly from someone at work not one of the above sources)...was just about to spend £500 or so on one.

http://www.mowdirect.co.uk/acatalog/MowDIRECT_MTD_...

Mine has 6 speeds, variable throttle, and it's rear roller drive - sooo much more fun than FWD on moist grass ;-)

(entry level self propelled ones have 1 speed and fixed throttle)

I have a John Deere it's the one with a Kawasaki engine, it's being going great guns so far and was similar price to the Honda.

Also came with a mulching kit, you swap the blade over and put a bung in where the grass normally comes out and hay presto it mulches it up super fine back it into the ground, no more cuttings. It's handy to be able to swap back and forth, tend to mulch in the summer and use the normal grass collector in autumn time or the first cut of the year.

If I was to buy now I would get a dedicated mulching mower, no more grass cuttings again

Starting to go off the idea of a self propelled because of the extra weight on the steps
Beginning to wonder about a cylinder rather than a rotary....

I've two Mountfields and a Hayter. The Hayter does an excellent job but is heavy - if you've a lawn where you have to spin it around every few meters then it's tiring. Mountfields of old came with forged alloy decks, which is what mine have. They are simply indestructible and mine have suffered much abuse. However IIRC Mountfield as such were bought by an Italian mower manufacturer for the brand name and the decks are now pressed steel and the quality is lower.

So an older Mountfield is a good idea - I bought my last one off eBay for £50. The new Hayter cost over £500 and I use the Mountfield more.

Purchased my Mountfield Emblem with briggs & stratton engine in 1982, still going strong.

There seem to be some non-specific Mountfield criticisms here. How bad can they be - especially relative to other non-Honda machines such as McCulloch, Sanli etc, let alone the non-branded offerings available at Screwfix/B+Q etc?

Armed with a £200 John Lewis voucher what would be the demerits of a Honda powered Mountfield self drive for £389

http://www.johnlewis.com/231641136/Product.aspx

opposed to a smaller Honda badged alternative from the net (with £200 spent on curtains or a vase I can't rev in the morning)?

http://www.lawnmowersdirect.co.uk/product/self-pro...

I don't want to buy a dud, but Mountfields can't be that bad can they? The garden is approx 15metres X 8metres with very little in the way of a slope but some obstacles.