Mountfield SP470

Having a back problem, I decided to buy a self propelled mower. I bought a Mountfield SP164. After the first use, it was clear that the clutch will not disengage so it proved to be difficult to use with the disability I have.I contacted Screwfix who I bought it from, they told me to call the manufacturer who then told me to contact the authorised local dealer. They told me there is a long wait for warranty work. 2 months later, I'm still waiting to get my mower in. I wrote to Mountfield to report my circumstance 3 weeks ago but they seemed to have ignored me email. Now I'm stuck with a mower I cant use with no help from all three contacts.

Purchased a Mountfield front cut ride on mulching lawn mower model 1125m in July 2008 for £1249.00 from R.H. Crawford of Firthville Boston Lincolnshire. Over the next 18 months the machine was a nightmare broke down many times cant remember how many on a couple of occasions I even had to ring R.H. Crawfords to come and take it out of my garden as could not get it back to my garage. Did not keep records as did not realise would have reason to do so as Crawfords did repairs under guarantee. Anyway was so fed up with it started to use a grass cutting service did get it out last year for some reason and again had to call Crawfords as broke down this time got a bill for over £100 and then it went back in the garage. Still using a grass cutting service but again got it out in Sept and yes you guess it, back to Crawfords only this time I had enough I paid good money for a machine that is not able to do the job. I am no longer willing to have a machine that is almost like new just collecting dust in garage. The way things stand now is that I have refused to take the mower back and rejected goods under Sale of Goods Act.

On researching this model Mountfield 1125m I have found out that this model was only available under the Mountfield name for a short while and in fact no information what so ever can be found on Mountfields web site concerning it. It was also sold under the Stiga Primo model and others for a while another brand sold my GGP group (Global Garden Products) among many.

I believe this model was produced as a budget range front cut mower by Mountfield and the way the cutting deck and belts fits on the front does not work (unless you garden is like a bowling green) it is only the cutting mechanism I have a problem with the engine is fine it is impossible to refit the belts or even clean deck. The deck on mine is not removal or inter changeable like the new models. I believe these models Mountfield 1125M/Stiga Primo was badly designed and in fact is not fit for propose and that is why it was discontinued although Mountfield denial this and say available in Scandinavia. I have for a copy of the workshop manual as the user manual does not show how all the belts and pulleys fit but I am told it is not allowed.

I know nothing about lawnmowers and went to what I though was a reputable dealer to buy a ride on R.H.Crawford but I may as well have gone to a D.I.Y store and paid a lot less because I believe that if Crawfords was honest they would agree that this mower can not do the job it is intended for.

So either Mountfield have produced a mower not fit for purpose or R.H.Crawford have sold me a mower that can not do the job it was intended for. Unfortunately I am the one left out of pocket with a lawn mower that if I use will cost me more in repairs than I pay a grass cutting service. Where do I go from here I would be willing to take them to small claims court but surly I would have to prove my point and without more information on the mower. I cant do this as I have only been able to find real reviews by owners on the mower in other countries which seem to agree a problem with mower.

brilliant mower had it for about 9 10 years never been serviced or anything and just gets fuel put in it everytime it runs out never has had an oil change or anything only topped up and runs fine use it about 2 times a week dureing the summer to cut all our lawns approx 100 foot long and 20 foot wide plus front lawns plus nans lawns also picks up brilliantly in the wet and wet leaves too starts 1st to 3rd pull everytime has the odd sputter when cold now but brilliant for the money

Two years old and it will just not start. Clean petrol, new plug, new oil, stripped carb and cleaned, great spark and fuel going in. Air filter replaced, still dead. It is going to council dump this afternoon. I am getting an Atco electric start.

If u use this mower without the grass box or in grass with cuttings on it the grass gets stuck in the wheels and locks the wheels up. The mower then gets harder and harder to push until u pick the grass out which is very difficult and annoying. Find a mower with proper wheels.

I had it for 16 months cord broke then recoil does not work it seems to be one problem after another will buy a different make next time

Really is easy to use and with great lines on the grass, easy to empty box and does not eat the lawn

This is a review of the old mower about 2003 model. It's red.

Good stuff... Very forgiving and easy for anyone to get a great finish every time, and really easy to cut up to walls/edges because of the deck setup and the position of the wheels. Very simple to use. Lightweight, at only around 25kg it's about the lightest self-propelled, petrol mower there is. Has a Briggs and Stratton classic engine which is very well supported by any service centre and generally lasts longer than the rest of the mower. Can handle wet grass better than most mowers i've used. A mulch plug is available and works very well (although might be hard to find one).

Bad stuff... Handles are not set up very ergonomically. After prolonged use, gripping one handle in each hand it becomes painful. Wheels can be a problem after a couple of years as the plastic is maybe not as strong as it could be, it can cost a bit to replace these parts too. Engine is not really powerful enough to cut long grass effectively, but you shouldn't really be mowing less than once a fortnight anyway. Height adjustment levers are plastic and not much cop.

Other stuff worth noting... Old ones had Briggs and stratton engines that were of good quality. New ones have chinese engines that can be fine, but sometimes they just don't work or are assembled badly. New ones have better wheels and single lever height adjustment.

Summary... I would buy "at least" one (to use professionally) if they still had Briggs engines and the handles were better. They are value for money if they work but you do take a risk as B&Q don't like accepting returns as much as they used to (you would have to argue and wait a lot).

I have owned this mower for many many years and have only had it serviced once. Starts on the button every time. Easy to use, and in my opinion well put together. I'd thoroughly recommend this mower to anybody.

Had mine (470) for 7 years following 2 or 3 other ones from different makes which were unreliable. It has gone on for 7 years and still going fine without a single problem except that the self-drive cable stretched and needed adjustment. Reading the other reviews there is clearly a quality control problem as they're either unltra-reliable from day one or utterly unreliable form day one.

Personally, I'm moving to the Channel Islands and I;ve bought another one from B&Q there and will leave this one for the new owner as it owes me nothing after 7 years

Would recommend all but the Friday afternoon versions.