Mine arrived today, Bit funky to put together but after its done it works like a dream :smiley:

Yep:

BEWARE - not all Bosch mowers are born equal!
After 7 years use of a brilliant Bosch mower (replaced a horrible Flymo) I foolishly 'upgraded' to the 37cm version of this one. Dreadful mistake: underpowered*, flimsy, didn't pick up the grass properly, lead too short, didn't stripe as well, etc, etc..... Changed under warranty and new one just the same. Subsequently learned that these cheaper ones are made in China now and while that shouldn't matter they are made down to a lower price. Frankly I'm surprised Bosch risk their reputation on them. I've changed back now to a UK built (I think) Bosch (albeit a second hand cordless one) and it's as brilliant as my original one. The good ones have a black cover over the motor and the height adjustment lever is higher up on the side, not low and near the front like this one.

Lots of comments if you do an internet search. Also disappointing to discover how poor Bosch's customer service is: they failed to respond when I tried to contact them by phone and email and I've learned that's not unusual: maybe a good reason to go to JL for support? Homebase accepted mine back without quibble though.

No doubt lots of posters will say they're happy with theirs, which is fine, but if you had one of the 'good' ones previously you'd really notice the difference.

My observation in B&Q is that the smaller ones (up to 37cm) are the poorer type, larger ones OK. However if you search Amazon etc. you'll find good ones in smaller sizes.

* Stated same (1400W) power consumption but clearly less efficient in some way as it wasn't turned into the same cutting/pickup power.

Made = manufactured or assembled from parts manufactured elsewhere.

No Bosch mowers are fully manufactured in the UK.

This is the one made in China and the 34R is the one made in the UK if I'm not mistaken.

Hence the difference in build quality.

I have the model one up from this and agree it's a good mower. My only complaint is that the handles are a bit loose, even if you tighten them before use. Not a big issue though.

I bought the model up from this last year, great lawnmower, much better than my old flymo, good price for this one. HOT

Should never cut more than a 3rd off the grass to avoid killing it off.

If its manageable strimming it first as you suggested, wait a couple of days then cut on its heighest setting.

I got one of these last year, as my trusty flymo power petrol mower was getting a pig to start. It does the job though I was a little disappointed at the build quality - but that is most likely me comparing it to the £400 flymo.

No, other bosch models are, but this one scored 59%.

When this was on offer at John Lewis, it prompted some warnings from owners http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/bosch-600885b70-rotak-32r-electric-rotary-lawnmower-with-32-cm-cutting-width-2-years-2447825

Ok I've just bought this as my first lawnmower and wondered my grass is over a foot height at the moment. Would I use the strimmer first, rake up the cut long grass then go over with lawnmower or just go over "lawn" area with lawnmower?

I'm sure this is a which magazine best buy

just in case anyone is interested in this, we bought this model around this time last year - it was about this price at B&Q. It is light enough to carry up our steps, and does a perfectly adequate job of our very uneven back lawn. It's easy to use, and so far has had no problems.

£57.83 if purchasing via Flubit aswell :smiley: or £64.99 with Amazon Directly :smiley: