"H Ryder" wrote in message
...
We are looking for a petrol mower (we think) for our lawn - the garden is
supposedly just under 1/4 acre and contains beds as well as lawns. We
think
that we want a roller as this apparently will make it possible to avoid
having to strim the (many) edges.

A roller mower does make it easier on the edges. It does give a better
finish, as it is produced solely for the UK market and they also cut lower
than the four wheel models. However they are more expensive and you don't
get the benefit if you have a "garden" instead of a "lawn"

We also think that we want aluminium as we
are not brilliant at cleaning things.

The polymer (plastic) decked machines are just as reliable as alloy, pressed
steel (tin decks) is the cheaper material and is usually used on budget
machines. Nothing wrong with it but it does not last as long as other
materials and when you start to get into the Retail £400+ market it should
alloy or ploymer.

At the moment we seem to have got it
down to either a Hayter Hawk at about £300 or a Hayter Harrier 41 at about
£360 (both these are online prices). However we are not sure what the
difference is? Could anyone give us any advice please? We'd like to know:

Harrier is part of the main range, Hawk is a special budget priced machine.
I can't remember the exact spec of the machine, but the sort of differences
from the Harrier is it has a lower grade engine etc.


are petrol ones a good choice for us - lawn is reasonably level but a bit
bumpy, it is often damp, we cut it about once a week or so and are not
after
a bowling green but we do have a lot of edges.

For the size of garden you have, you definitely need a petrol machine.


are hayter as good as we'd been told?

Yes, Hayter are one of the two top brands in the UK market with mowers
specifically made for British lawns.


is aluminium worth paying extra for?

As stated earlier, alloy (aluminium) or polymer have decks have a longer
life, but you do pay a premium for that.


does getting a self propelled one make life hugely easier? (hubby will do
the bulk of the mowing and is quite "hefty"). we are also not sure that we
could afford self propelled.

Self propelled takes the hard work out of it. It comes down to affordability
Vs convenience.


and what is the difference between the hawk and the harrier?

Answered above.


and are online suppliers any good?

Most of the independant garden machinery dealers have online websites, as
Janet pointed out, best to go and buy from your local dealer. This is the
best time of year to buy if purchasing on price. Look in your Yellow Pages
under lawnmowers. To be honest if you print off the Internet price, they may
match it and even if they don't, they will get close, plus you'll get the
machine built up tested and shown how to use it. That has to be worth a few
quid more and if you have a problem you'll know where to go.

To the poster that suggested that Mountfields are good, I can only say tha
you haven't looked at one lately. They no longer exist as a comapany, only
the brand exists which was sold off to a major European conglomerate a
couple of years ago, they are all made in the Italian & Swedish factories.

The Hawk doesn't appear on the website because Hayter do not push their
budget roller model. It is also being replaced by a new model called Spirit.