First-time lawnmower buyer! Clueless...

[Gauchita]

As the title says, we have to buy our first lawnmower and we have no idea what to look for.

Our budget would not stretch over £75 unfortunately, and I've seen some within that budget online but the reviews confuse me, to say the least. I saw a few Flymo ones but some buyers say it's the best purchase ever while others say "avoid avoid avoid" On a particular model a buyer said you'd be better buying a goat, as it'd do the job better

This is our first garden, it's a fairly big rectangle, only grass, no plants or anything (yet) It's about 6x20mt.

Any advice will be hugely appreciated. Thanks!

I have a Bosch Rotak which is fab. I got mine second hand off ebay but you can get them for under £100 (eg here.
I personally hate flymos as they destroy my garden when they don't 'fly' but just dig into the soil and just seem a bit flimsy.

You should look for a metal blade and a collecting box. Plus, wheels on it make it far easier to push.

Thank you very much glitch. That's exactly the type of information I needed as I had no clue what to look for out there. I just had a quick look at the link and I like that price

Another question if you don't mind. What's the difference between rotary and hover ones? I mean, should you choose one over the other for different gardens?

That's OK, I looked into it last year when mine blew up and I had to get a new one. I went for the cheap flymo option first and it was so crap that I now hate all flymos .
Rotary and hover both work the same way, with a blade that spins round in a circular motion, (the other option is cylinder but that would just complicate things too much!!) but the hover mower does it by floating about the grass rather than being on wheels.

If you are happy to push the mower in a straight line a wheeled one is fine. Flymos / hover mowers are lighter and you can move them in different directions, perhaps useful if you had slopes or small patches of grass.

The metal blade is the bit to look for. Any blade made of plastic will need replacing when it breaks (and it will!) which is a PITA.

Fantastic, thanks again for the info, glitch. I think a rotary one will be fine, and that Bosch actually looks great, we're going to go for that one. No slopes or small patches, ours is a fairly precise rectangle so a rotary will do the job well. Thank you!

My garden is about the same size as yours (although quite a few flower beds) and if I had the chance I would get a Bosch rechargeable battery lawnmower. Light and easy to manoeuvre. But may be out of your budget.

Purple, thanks. I looked them up but yes, out of budget unfortunately
We bought the Bosch Rotak today, but there's a snow forecast for tomorrow, apparently... so I guess we'll have to wait a little longer to use it!