Which welder?

So I fancy having a go at doing some welding, always fancied doing it and I would like to do some things like recovery points once I've had a little practise.

What sort of welders does everyone use?
A chap from work who used to be a welder suggested getting a gas mig but I'm struggling to find one powerful enough to weld half decent size bits of steel for things like recovery points that doesn't cost the earth (i.e. £200+) and need a specialist power supply.
Arc seems to be much much cheaper but I understand is very hard to use...

Any thoughts?

Clarke 151te and Machine Mart have offers on over the next few days, iirc.

Problem with cheap MIG welders is that they're cheap!

But Arc welders can be good even when cheap, but like you say hard too use but with practice you can get some pretty decent welds, first place I worked at we mainly used MIG and TIG but when out on site we used Arc as much easier to use without the gas and the welders them self's tend to be quite small.

Might be worth checking for second hand MIG welders on eBay though get one with an amp rating of up to 160ish and you'll be able to weld most things! You can even get stainless wire rolls for welding stainless steel.

A second hand mig is the best option, ideally a known brand. Something in the 150 to 180A range will weld everything you are ever likely to want to. Find one that has a Euro Torch. This means that you can replace the torch and it's components easily.

I have a Cemont 180A welder that is pretty good and Second hand cost me £180 a few years ago. It has welded everything I've needed and makes a nice job of it. Before that I had a Clarke 150A set. Although the Cemont is not that much more powerful, it is so much easier to put down a good weld.

Buy an auto darkening face shield too. I used to have a cheap £30 one which was fine. I now have an ESAB one which is fab, but does exactly the same job at the end of the day.

Si

For heavy stuff, in the price range you mention, get an arc welder. I find the easiest to use. But for car body thickness, get a nice mig. Gas less, I find a waste of time. If you've got somewhere under cover or a garage, get gas.
Same as anything else in life, get what you pay for.
Morrisons mince beef (yuk) or M&S mince beef.

As above really, more expensive machines make it easier to produce neater good looking work - I learnt to arc weld when I was a student and still use my big car ramps I made then-(over 30 years ago)
I've had several SIP/Machine mart welders 120 amp ish range using little ( expensive) cylinders of Argon mix as well as CO2 and despite my best efforts struggled to get decent looking welds - stuff was strong enough but just didn't look great. Now at work we have a Cebora Jaguar with a Euro torch which happily welds thick walled box and with a huge argo shield bottle the welds look beautiful.
The overheads of gas rental and servicing the machine are met by work so it is a win win situation, (well I'm winning! )
I would advise buying best set up possible which at home might mean a fresh electric supply direct from the consumer unit, also need to think about a decent second hand set or pumping some more cash into the budget- it's not worth mucking about at the bottom end of the market and being disappointed either with your efforts or the duty cycle of the machine if you have a big job on the go.

There are a couple of firms now doing cylinders of argon for about £40 without the expensive BOC bottle rental charges which would be worth a look -see ads in car mags. Auto darkening shield shoulds be the automatic choice, I always wear a hat to absorb stray sparks which tend to be a distraction
HTH
Mike

Following the gastrinomic analogy above I 'd say it is Botswana beef deep fried in lard or Aberdeen Angus fillet charcoal grilled. Roll on summer!