Victa Classic Cut

Good but not as good as they used to be – I bought my Victa V144 Classic Cut in October 2022, to replace a Victa Silver Streak Mulch and Catch that I bought new in 1998. I thought 24 years was a pretty good lifespan for a mower, although I looked after it. The new one cost $479, so the price was pretty good. However, the overall quality has declined. For a start, it does not feel as… Read more

robust as the old one, and the wheels seem cheap and nasty. The chassis rattles when you push it across concrete with the engine off. The engine is an OHV, so I guess you'd expect it to be noisier than the old side valve, with the extra valve gear, but the exhaust is much louder as well. After only ten months of fairly moderate use, there is a huge puff of blue smoke when it is first started from cold, and a dribble of blue smoke for a minute or two, although it generally starts first pull. It cuts okay in general, but its mulching function is pretty ordinary. The old mower barely left any visible cuttings behind when mulching, but the V144 often has to be run back over a section to mulch it completely. In tall grass, it lacks power, although it does the job if you take it a little slowly. Checking the oil, level or filling it with oil are both very fiddly due to the location of the oil filler. Generally speaking, it does the job, but I can't see myself getting 24 years out if it. On the plus side, it is easy to maneouvre, and definitely uses less fuel than the old one. I think the fuel usage is actually pretty good. The mower is nothing special, but I would probably recommend it to anyone on a budget. Just don't expect outstanding quality.

Perfect for a woman – Great no nonsense lawn mower that starts on first pull - perfect for a woman who doesn’t have a man around! I chose to review this a year after I purchased it to give it real feedback. I am on an acre block with an incline to the backyard. First of all, yes it does start on first pull as it states. That said, it won’t start on first pull if… Read more

there’s very long grass underneath so you need to adjust the height (easy to adjust height lever) & give the blades height to whirl underneath.

Catcher - fills up quite quickly being on an acre block, it needs to be emptied quite a fair bit. I’ve removed this & leave the clippings as mulch on the grass.

Petrol lasts for the full acre block so it goes the distance without refill.

Very easy to start: 3 pushes on a button to pump the fuel, pull the string and off you go. Also easy to maneuver. The problem for me is the incline in the backyard. It’s hard to mow up hill on thick buffalo but I’ve learned to go across making it much easier. It can get a bit loud so wear ear muffs and at times if I’m doing the whole acre in one afternoon, your arms get slight fatigue. Take a break - it’s easy to start again!

With all this rain we’ve been getting, I’ve certainly used this lawn mower many times and not one issue. Happy purchase & happy mowing!

A world apart from my old mower – Looking for a replacement for my Masport which had died after only 5 years. Having an average suburban block meant I wasn’t after industrial grade so I chose the Victa classic cut. It seemed a good balance between price and performance. It went together easily although there were a few tight tolerances and the air filter cover is a bit dodgy. … Read more

But it was light, so much lighter than the Masport, the petrol tank was very easy to fill and not tucked away, and it started easily Woohoo. No ‘Start you [Word Removed]’ with multiple pulls, just three primes and a couple of tugs. And the compression must be much less than the Masport since I didn’t have to nearly break my back pulling the starter cord. This was really an easy start. It cut the grass well and was very light to push (much like the old two stroke I had had), But what prompted me to write this was my latest experience with the mower. It had been used fairly regularly for about four months then illness, and continual on-going wet weather meant I couldn’t use it for four months. It had just been tucked under the back patio. Then in this week of dry weather (when the ground was dry enough to actually walk on) I thought I should tackle the jungle that was my backyard. The mower had been sitting idle with some petrol in the tank. I topped it up gave four primes and pulled the starter cord. It leapt into life at the first pull! And it chugged its way through the 9 inch grass with no complaints. Wow. This was such a revelation after my last mower. Who knows how long it will last but even five years of effortless starting and cutting is worth the purchase price.

Great mid range mower – To all regarding, purchased a 50th silver vitca v144 in last 6mths..easy assembly, no problems really to address except that the handle is offset and looks that it needs to be pushed 3inchs to the right and the main surport bracket bolts work loose but otherwise it works great..strong, starts easy, pushers nice..is worked in light commercial use… Read more ·  1

and would willing to buy again..mulch plug is great..just wash out and clean at end of jobs..great work vitca..

Good price – Overall not a bad mower could do with a little more power but seeing as we mow our lawn really low with just the mulcher on it does get the job done quite well while mowing our really thick buffalo grass in some areas. 1 con I’ve noticed is it’s not very good with wet/damp grass have to go a fair bit slower. Show details

Wonderful – The Victa classic is great. Is quiet. Cutshave lgrass fantastic. Never had problems. .Is well used. Like so much. Even mode neighbours front lawn too. I will update to Victa classic cut Anniversary lawnmower. Will not used anything else. I hate battery power ones. Does not cut lawns short. Lower settings hopeless .l gad for long time know. Works fantastic. But any lawnmower should little built in lawn eager. With a leaver. Be great. Show details

Very Disappointed – Wanted a mower to replace my Masport. Bought this because it came with a mulcher plug, might as well not have. Cannot mulch grass to save itself, leaves a trail of grass clipping behind you. Also the primer bulb does not work, so makes it very hard to start. No wonder this model has now been superseded. Will have to be a very good deal for me to buy another Victa. They used to be good once. Show details

Disppointing – I have owned Victa mowers all my life but admittedly 2 stroke. This is quiet as 4 stroke but underpowered and doesn't collect grass cuttings into the catcher at all well. The mouth of catcher is not wide enough and grass builds up at entrance then leaves lines of cut grass when catcher not full. Constantly having to go back and over again to get all cuttings. Seems cheaply made for Bunnings. Chinese? Show details

Chinese quality – Got one from Bunnings. Can’t cut real low. Can’t go through thick/long grass not powerful enough. Leaves a pile of grass each time you change the catcher. Just feels poor quality. Pluses - starts easily,and because it’s made of light weight/cheap materials is easy to lift over the retaining wall. I just bought a Victa cause the last one was good.… Read more

Had the Briggs and Stratton motor. Same price for the new one. Increased the profit by saving on production costs. Will try another brand next time or even get a second hand Victa back when they were good. And yes second hand mowers are a gamble but at least you have a small chance of getting a good one

Starting issues from new – I followed instructions to the letter, but this thing just refuses to start. I can't keep pulling the cord with no results, because I'm exhausted, Using starting fluid doesn't help. Never have I had a Briggs and Stratton motor this bad. Less than a year old, I wouldn't sell it to my worst enemy. Not the Victa quality of old. Scrap heap. Show details

Briggs and Stratton 500E engine is bullet proof – Starts after 3 goes. The output is similar to the Briggs and Stratton Quantum XTS 60 190cc engine, but much more economical. The spark plugs are a little difficult to get to as it is placed well inside the covers. Definitely do not like the blue cheapy deck and grey powder coated handles. The engine and the deck are extremely light compared to… Read more

other mowers i have.

You probably don't need to buy the slightly bigger engine as the 500E is more than capable.

Victa blue easy cut mower - Engine revs are pre-set too low – I am mechanically minded and found the the mower was easy to assemble. It is also easy to start and quiet which are both great bonuses. However, the revs of the motor are unable to be to be varied with the throttle. The revs are fixed and are far too low. I see no reason for this at all. There is no prior information to an intending purchaser about this fact. In tough wet grass you need to be bale to increase the revs. Show details

Victa Mower – This mower I only used about 10 times, bought from new at Bunnings. I had it for a few years but hardly used it because I only had a small back area to mow. It was originally bought for a lawn mowing business I started but didn't proceed with. Anyway, because the fuel was left in there too long, it ceased up and will not start. People want $100… Read more

just to flush the fuel line and carby. I can only imagine the final cost being more than half the original price.

On first run, it's definite step up from my trusty old Victa – My 22 year old Victa 2 stroke mower is still going strong but it's very much noisier than any of my neighbours 4 stroke mowers and it rattles like blazes (even when the engine is not running). So it's time for an upgrade.... I bought my new Victa Classic Cut mower last week at my local Bunnings store for $449, so there must have been a recent… Read more

price increase as their previous long running catalogue price for this model was $399. The moral here is that I should have bought one a few moths ago. The mower comes mostly assembled, just the push handles have to be bolted on and the catcher needs to be clipped and screwed together. It's not a onerous task and most people should be OK with it, but if you were relying on the instruction manuals supplied, I reckon they are not very clear. The fact that there are two manuals, one for the mower and one for the engine is not very professional. The engine manual (for Briggs and Stratton engines) is detailed but not very clear (in a dozen languages) while the mower manual is very limited and has little useful detail. The mower being 4 stroke, needs to have engine oil added to its oil reservoir before use. This is very important and you need to purchase the oil separately. Ideally, a bottle of oil (the exact amount) should be included in the box with the mower as it would only add a few dollars to the price, would be very convenient for the customer and a good promo for the brand used. Bunnings had run out of the recommended Briggs and Stratton oil so I bought an alternative brand. We've just endured 3 weeks of very wet weather (NSW Central Coast) and it had been much too soggy to mow, so my grass was very long and well overdue for a cut. This provided a perfect test bed for the 1st run of my new mower. The new mower was easy to start (prime x 3 and a couple of pulls) and I set it at level 6 to see how it would go in the long grass. It performed very well and easily dealt with the mowing. It was light and easy to push and I am very happy with its first run. My old mower would have made very hard work of the same conditions and it would have been a difficult job....but it was a breeze with the new one!

The only thing now is to see how the Victa Classic Cut performs over time, if it gets anywhere close to the longevity of my old one it will probably see me out.

Does a great job however hard to start – I finally had enough of my Roybi lawn mower I purchased less than 2 years ago and still waiting for that Rep to come and see it to give me a refund I just went and brought a new lawn mower - and OMG its a dream compared to that piece of useless metal I had as a lawn mower. This lawn mower is much lighter than my Roybi and I no longer have any… Read more

issues doing my smaller little hills I have around my driveway - I would say its as heavy as my old Masport I had before the roybi. I can easily manoeuvre it around and it cuts right up against my retaining walls and garden beds. Only time it felt a little heavier was when the catcher would be full and you would expect that.

Using the catcher is a dream, my old Royib would throw grass out your eyes everytime you when to take the catcher off and force you to stop and restart it every time you went to empty your catcher. This lawnmower doesn't blow any grass into your eyes or body when emptying so you can easily keep it running while emptying.

I have a standard 600m block with a 215m2 house. Most of the block is flat or a mild slope by the road. I have 2 small steep sections around my driveway. This mower easily manoeuvres this part and is light enough to push it up plus does not get caught on the hill trying to push it up. I found it has a nice even cut so I don't need to go over every part twice and just just mow once. I found my lawn looks very nice after using this lawn mower.

I did find it does seem to use more petrol than my last 2 mowers but not alot more. I also found it hard to start. I have to pump the starter a few more times and found I need to pull the line about 6 times before I can get it to take and start the engine. If someone doesn't have alot of strength this could be a problem.

Other than the starting I have had no issues with the lawn mower and compared to my last mower this is a great little mower for the in town house.

Piece of *hit – I live on an acre property and use a push mower to mow a strip against retaining walls etc. that my ride on can't get to. My 10 year old from new Masport finally expired so I thought being tax return time I would treat myself to another new mower and went to the local Bunnings and purchased a Classic Cut expecting a good mower with the "Victa"… Read more

name on it. Used approx. 4 to 5 times before the motor became rattly and pumped all the oil out of the sump through the carburettor. Took back to Bunnings but they would not exchange and insisted I take it to a nominated place of repair. After 8 weeks & many phone calls was told engine needed to be replaced however not one in Brisbane and would have to come from Melbourne. After other 3 weeks and many phone calls to Bunnings and the place of repair finally I received a call to pick it up. Have used it approx. 3 times and now blowing large amounts of smoke through the exhaust and when idling opened the oil filler to find that it was pressurised. I am not a mechanic but with 66 years life experience I don't think this is a good sign. After all the trouble I have had with this mower I am a little reluctant to go through this whole experience again. I would definitely not recommend anyone purchasing one of these mowers and was rather disappointed in the Bunning's policy on non exchange this seems to indicate a lack of confidence in the product they sell.

Follow up 15/01/2022. Having taken the advice given by Product Review regarding my consumer rights, I armed myself with the purchase receipt and the record I kept of my repair experience, returned with the mower to Bunnings expecting a confrontation. I asked for an exchange or a refund, after explaining my past experience in detail and inspecting the mower the manager agreed without hesitation, since Bunnings did not have an alternative mower without the Briggs and Stratton engine I happily accepted the refund.