I am preparing to purchase my first lawnmower, and I’d like your recommendations as I start comparison shopping. My needs are pretty simple: I have a relatively small yard, and I don’t have any need for the latest whiz-bang gadgets. My druthers include:
[ul]
[li]Ability to mulch and bag[/li][li]Easy to push and/or self-propelled[/li][li]Maneuverable enough that my, erm, “lacking-strength” wife can mow when needed[/li][li]Quality construction that will last a long time[/li][li]Takes straight gas, rather than a special fuel formula[/li][/ul]
Any brands I should definitely check out or avoid? Any features I will want to be sure are included? How much should I expect to pay for a mower with my specifications?
Lawn Boy is pretty good. Stay away from Craftsman.
You say you have a small yard… have you considered an electric mower?
I also was going to suggest an electric. They run for ~40 minutes per charge, more than enough to mow a small yard. They bag as well.
Another option might be a 1920s Style Push Mower, as seen on the opening credits of “Leave It To Beaver”. My brother has one, and absolutely loves it. No gas, no electricity, no noise, minimum maintenance, extremely light, and can bag your clippings. There are various models, and the link above was just the first thing that Google popped up for me. The same site also has a link for electric mowers.
Go to your local library and check back issues of Consumer Reports for help in selection.
Kudos to you for thinking about the ‘straight gas’ rather than a mix of oil/gas. That is a total pain in the ass.
We have a John Deere Riding Lawnmower ( which is the Home Depot brand, made by John Deere. It’s orange and therefore cheaper. Very happy with it, FTR. It has cup holders for my drink.)
Tell your wife to stop being a panty waist. 
Shirley
Who owns and operates a rototiller. Wanna armwrestle?
I have to second that opinion. Here’s my sad, but true, story:
Our Uncle started using a lawn service, so he gave us his Honda self-propelled mower a couple years ago. The thing was close to, if not in fact older than, 30 years old at that point, but it still worked, essentially. We used that for about 3 years before it pretty much died. So I give high marks to Honda (the down side is that they are a good bit more expensive than Craftsman). Anyway, we went to Sears and got a Craftsman self-propelled mower (6 hp) w/ an electric ignition 'cause my mom has arthritis and she thought that would be easier to start (I usually mow the lawn, but I can’t live here forever). The thing weighed a ton and was front-wheel drive. I don’t know who thought that would be a good idea, but the thing did not propell itself except down hills. So we took it back to Sears and exchanged it for a rear-wheel drive, 6.5hp, Craftsman. That mower works pretty well, but it doesn’t take much to clog it up when you have the mulcher in.
So to sum it up:
-I recomend a Honda if price isn’t an issue
-Stay far far far away from front-wheel drive
-Mowers with an electric ignition didn’t wow either of us, so I don’t think that’s really worth the extra money
I swear by my Lawn Boy. It was on the expensive side for a walk-behind mower, but worth every penny.
It does use an oil-gas mixture, but I can’t understand why this is such a pain in the ass–they sell the oil in little cans, and you add half a can to two gallons of gas. That’s it.
I’ve actually had good luck with Craftsman. I like that I can actually get parts easily for it. Depending what ‘small’ is, you might get by with electric or push mower. I mow about 1/3 acre yard with 22" self-propelled, If you have a city lot you might get a smaller blade.
I have also had great performance from Craftsman. My mower starts on the 2nd pull after priming. I have had this mower for 3 years now and the last one I had was just as reliable but it just rusted out. Mine is not self propelled. Lawn Boy and Honda make fine machines but they are expensive. I don’t like electric mowers.
I’ve used a couple of Gravely mowers and thought they were great for their intended use. One was a riding mower (direct-drive steering is way fun), and the other was one of the old walk-behind tractors with the mower attachment.
I owned a low-end John Deere that ran well but died after only six years. It was well maintained but just has poor build quality. I replaced it two years ago with a higher-end Honda. I have been surprisingly disappointed with this machine as well. It has suffered two in-warranty repairs. In addition, it just doesn’t cut the lawn as well as the Deere. I doubt that it will survive beyond six years as well.
My next mower will be a Home Depot cheapy. Chances are that it will last about as long as the others, perform just as well, and cost a few hundred bucks less.
A few years ago Consumer Reports highly recommended a self-propelled Yard Man model (made by MTD under a few different names), we bought it and it was a piece of junk. We had constant problems with it and only kept it three years. I Don’t trust C.R. like I used to, maybe it’s just that their tests aren’t run long enough to take into account shoddy materials that don’t last. Before that we had a Craftsman and it didn’t last long either, 10 problem filled years. On both mowers the self-propelling part broke first.
Last year, after researching repair records, we bought a Toro self propelled with an aluminum deck (no rusting of steel or cracking of plastic). Rear wheel drive is better for hills and front wheel drive is better for going around trees and sharp corners. All self propelled models have higher repair records than push models by the same company. We didn’t use the Toro yet a whole season but so far nothing has gone wrong. The Yard Man broke right away.
Our neighbor has had a Honda self-propelled for around ten years and has had no problems.
I bought a Yard Man a year or two ago, and the plate that the wheels and handle attaches to keeps getting metal fatigue…second time I had to replace the part!
Scott’s (Home Depot cheapy), $300.00, self propelled, bagger/mulcher, it was what the local lawn service guy was using so I bought one, you would have to ask CA3799 how well it works (but it seems to be fine), the deal was “whoever buys it doesn’t have to run it”, I left skidmarks on the street leaving to get it!.
Unclviny
I like Briggs and Stratton engines, but I’ve heard too many good things about Honda’s small engines to recommend Briggs over Honda. Beyond that, I’d try to get a mower with steel wheels; plastic wheels can get brittle over time and break.
I can’t recommend any brands and I don’t think the brand name matters much anyway. Some bags may last longer, but a deck is a deck and there’s not that much else to a mower. Besides, I’d assume that mowers are like most consumer appliances in that most brands are made by a handful of manufacturers.
Unlike Geoduck, I’ve had the same John Deere for 8 years now and have been extremely pleased with it’s performance. In fact, it’s never not started on the first pull… ever. It takes straight gas and I change the oil once yearly in the winter. It was expensive, $800 plus another $150 or so for the bagger but I fully expect I’ll still have it for another 8 years and this is with it having to handle a fairly large yard.