Advice on buying weights?

Hello guys, I'm new to the forum and a beginner to weight training and just wanted some advice.
 
I am looking to buy some weights (dumbbells and a bar) but i have no idea as to what to look for? Don't want to buy one and last a few months. I was looking in retailers and come across the one in Argos, but i've hurd that because the weight is held in by a massive nut in essence, that gets loose over time and the weights come off easily. 
 
What make/model is the best?
 
Thanks,
 
Sam.

Hi Sam,
The second hand marked is a good place to start,
local paper, ebay,gumtree etc.
Go for cast iron not those dreadful vinyl weights.
Amazon has some good deals atm and many have free delivery !
Hope this helps

The steel spinlock weights from Argos are fine, I started off with them 10 years ago and still have them now with no problems.

Personaly i prefer the 2inch olympic bars/weights,get em with the spring collars,those spinlocks will drive you bloody crazy after a while.nowt wrong with them,ive got alot of 1 inch cast iron stuff,and a couple spin lock bars,i keep em all preloaded for warmups,and isolation stuff.
Redline is right though,you save a fortune getting second hand.
 

BTW large Tesco stores have a 17Kg Cast Iron dumbbell set,
for £18 !

Oh cool, thanks.
 
Had a look on gumtree no luck. I'll have a look in the local paper tomorrow, if not then brand new it is. Thanks alot for your help.
 
Sam.

Another quick question guys, what length bar is the norm? I have been looking and the ones i can see are 5, 6 and 7 foot.

most standard sets seem to come with a 6 ft bar whereas olympic come with a 7ft.if your getting a power rack your need a 7 ft bar.

If you want something thats going to last and intend on using it a long time you'll grow out of an Argos bar and bench quickly.
 
Have a look on strengthshop.co.uk or powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/com and get yourself a decent bench, power rack and olympic weight set. It will cost quite a bit more than something from Argos but will be much better!

Thanks once again for all your advice.