I am in the market for an electric LAWNMOWER. I live in the UK; have a
medium-sized lawn; and would hope to get some change from Ģ100.

Which brands are considered to be the MOST and the LEAST reliable? Or
are they all much of a muchness?

AA very good source for tests (customer experiences) for lawnmowers
has already been given by my colleague robertskelton-ga in his
comment.  Thatīs exactly the site Iīd recommend to get an impression
of the quality.

I found a site where you can find prices for lawnmowers compared.
There are direct links for shopping. This should be very useful for
you:
Compare Prices
( http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/search.asp )

Just enter "lawnmower" in the serach field and -if you wish- a price
range and youīll get a list of offers. When you click on the product
name in the product list that occurs you’ll be directed to the
(online-)shop where you can purchase the item.


Search Strategy 
( ://www.google.de/search?sourceid=navclient&hl=de&q=electric+lawnmower+uk+comparison
)


till-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by probonopublico-ga on 21 Aug 2002 04:59 PDT

Sorry, but my question was specifically about RELIABILITY: not
cheapest prices; nor sources; nor tests carried out by the Consumers
Association.

You have completely missed the point of the question!

---

Clarification of Answer by till-ga on 21 Aug 2002 06:12 PDT

First of all I thought that money was an important part for you :
"and would hope to get some change from Ģ100."
People at 
( http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/product/40303.html ) give you detailled
reports and recommend a machine (or they do not). Does that not give
you an impression of the reliability of a lawnmower ?
I donīt see what kind of information you want !
Searches like
( ://www.google.de/search?q=reliable+lawnmower+brand+uk&hl=de&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=40&sa=N
)
or
( ://www.google.de/search?q=quality+lawnmower+uk&hl=de&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=10&sa=N
)
donīt help.

Well. maybe a five year guarantee for a lawnmower may convince you of
quality. Please have a look at:
"The worlds first steerable electric hovver mower with a unique
pivotal head. Features 28cm blade width, 2 cutting heights, 10m cable,
2-way pivoting head for easy steering around your lawn. Unit is
lightweight (only 4.5kg), and folds down for easy storage. FIVE YEAR
parts guarantee."
or
"QUALCAST Fastrak 32
The quiet electric rotary mower with a 32cm blade width. Features 4
cutting heights and adjustable handle for greater flexibility. Cable
length 12m, with fitted plug. MASSIVE FIVE YEAR PARTS GUARANTEE"

What about a world wide bestseller ?
"QUALCAST Concorde 32 Mains
CONCORDE - The world's BEST SELLING electric mower. Quattro Cut 4
blade cutting cylinder with 32cm blade width. Z-fold handle for
compact storage.
* 32cm Cutting Width 
* Rear Roller 
* 325 Watt Motor 
* Cable Length 12m/40ft 
* Four Blade Cylinder 
Magic Price:  Ģ99.00"
all from
( http://www.mower-magic.co.uk/acatalog/Electric_Mowers.html )

till-ga

Obviously, there is NO answer to my question. 

I am not impressed by:

Manufacturers' blurbs; 

Parts Guarantees that are often predicated on returning equipment to
an authorised supplier who then stings you for labour costs;

'Consumer testing'.

Some opinions can be read at DooYoo:
http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/product/40303.html

It's not free, but registering with Which? online gains you access to
the results of their comparison test on lawnmowers:
http://www.which.net/trial/introf.htm

A friendly researcher colleague gave another maybe useful hint:
The Which? magazine of the Consumers Association reviewed lawnmowers
for their April 2002 edition, in the UK. You may find it helpful ti
read this issue of the magazine.

till-ga
(Thanks to jeremymiles-ga for the hint)

In the April 2000 edition of Which? they reviewed electric lawnmowers.
 Interestingly, they did not test them for reliability.  This seems to
me a little like the dog that didn't bark - Which? tests almost
everything for reliability (washing machines, cars, electric sanders,
paint), sometimes by testing to destruction, and sometimes by
surveying members.  The fact that they didn't seem to report on the
reliability of lawnmowers suggests (to me) that they might be
considered much of a muchness.

There were other pros and cons though.