Kitchen appliances.... (MEGA-THREAD possibility?)

BigAlC

Hi guys and gals,

I'm now a home owner (woot!) and as such, the usual list of things to do is now growing and ever present in my mind.

So, naturally Kitchen appliances are right up there on the list and as such I thought it might be good to get an idea of what everyone thinks of their appliances, or can put across a history of what has and hasn't worked for them?

I was thinking something along these lines? Just a few lines about appliances you have experience of to educate us not so appliance savvy people....

The good.

The bad.

Reliabilty.

Bang per buck.

Price.

Servicability.

Aesthetics.

I know it would help me a great deal as it's a minefield of different makes/models (although are they really different?) so time earned experiences are golden in such purchases.

Many thanks in advance. :j

sunshinetours

Problem is any such reports are purely annecdotal and don't reflect the overall averages especially as thsoe with problems are more likely to shout than those who don't have them. Any white goods can have problems and its often more important what the back up is lik when you do have an issu

Plenty of info if you search different makes on here. Higher end stuff like Miele generally gets better reports but very expensive if they go wrong out of warranty.

We have gradually been changing most of our white goods to Siemens and getting their promotional 5 year warranties. Back up has been required once on our washing machine recently and problem and whole process very painless and I was pretty impressed actually.

Buy the best you can afford often is advice and generally IMO still stands

BigAlC

Oh of course, but user experience whether bad or good allows you to then weed out where to aim for I.E. if more people complained about hotpoint, whirlpool and indesit for example, then you look at the ones not mentioned.

As mentioned before though, any feedback is useful to the less well informed.:)

vivatifosi

Find out whether your local library stocks Which? Magazine. I work at a library and mine does. They have lists of the most reliable equipment - which varies according to what the appliance is - and they'll be happy to point you in the right direction. Some libraries also have access to Which? online resources.

lil.smartie

ikea = whirlpool with 5yr warranty

Kate

tonto33

Lg are good appliances, smeg are better and miele is the best

Coveredinbees!!!!

from my experience of smeg I would say you are paying a lot for a badge.

lil_old_me

I have a miele fridge and I hate it. Its always freezing things at the back.

fluffpot

yes my miele fridge has just been replaced with another brand as it was rubbish. BUT my miele vacuum cleaner is still going strong - would defo replace like with like here

RandomDan

Nowdays there is no excuse not to be informed about kitchen appliances. Go to web vendors and read reviews or just look at the star ratings.

I moved into my new place and needed a new washing machine. I cannot get enthusiastic about washing machines, I am male. I had a budget, I trawled many websites and looked for the highest consumer rated version on a website that delivered saturdays for my budget. Cross referenced by googling "Washingmachinebrandwhatever review", decided I was happy then bought it. Read lots and lots of various online reviews.

I can't tell you off the top of my head what brand it is; it is white and just sits in the corner of my kitchen, but it seems ace.

BlueC

The advice to look at the Which? reports is good - don't take it as bible but it gives you a reasonable clue especially in terms of longer term reliability. Personally, I'd always go German. Siemens, Bosch, Neff are all the same company and all excellent at a reasonable price point - not cheap but not top whack. Smeg are style over substance, they are the Alfa Romeo of appliances. You can find some cracking deals online if you've got your wits about you.

As an aside, I'm pretty sure Miele don't make their own fridges. But their washing machines and vacuum cleaners are excellent.

FWIW, after much research I bought a Miele washing machine and everything else is Siemens.