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

Lesley5

lil.smartie wrote: »

ikea = whirlpool with 5yr warranty

Kate

I got a new kitchen supplied & fitted by Ikea at the start of this year. All went reasonably well but I found the experise of the fitter was a major factor in sorting out the little glitches that I assume always occur. Therefore I would say that you should ask around for recommendations for a local fitter.

Anyway, my point is, two faults occurred with the appliances. One of the as hob rings wouldn't stay lit, and the microwave died with error "Err 3". I reported these to Ikea and a Whirlpool engineer arrived. He mentioned that these two appliances are supplied by Whirlpool and my others were Electrolux.
He fixed the hob easily but the microwave was a three week nightmare! They have "known faults", don't carry spares and take a week to get a part from Italy. If the engineer doesn't do a full fault finding test and has to order yet another part.......well, you can imagine the frustration!
They also don't supply a standby while yours is out of action.

My warning is, Ikea rebadge Whirlpool and Electrolux that I know about. MAKE SURE YOU DON'T CHOOSE WHIRLPOOL!!!

Stooby2

Yep not impressed by Whirlpool - we bought one of their large fridge/freezers and had no end of problems with it. Thankfully it was all covered under warranty, but it was very unreliable.

jennifernil

25 years back we bought (2 kitchens as we have a granny flat) Miele and Blomberg ovens, Juno and Bosch hobs, and AEG cooker hoods.

So far, we have replaced the Juno hob with a Bosch, and that's it.

We had existing fridges and freezers, but have been replacing as required with Bosch.

We also had a dishwasher and a washing machine, which have also been replaced with Bosch, so I suppose you could conclude that we have found Bosch good value and reliable!

My vacuum cleaners are Miele and Sebo, both excellent and reliable.

Arfa__

Can second the recommendation to avoid Electrolux stuff. But be warned they own loads of brands: Zanussi, AEG, Whirlpool, and make the Ikea and John Lewis own brand machines. They seem to have a universal bad reputation and from personal experience of a £600 AEG washer dryer dying after 3 years (drum spider and dryer PCB bust, £330 for parts alone), I won't go near the brand again. Was tempted by the Ikea 5 yr warranty, but then figured it was probably a cheap and crappy machine with money going on warranty. Didn't fancy, having to deal with Ikea or ServiceForce to sort out repairs when it dies...

Bosch have decent reputation, especially dishwashers. Dad has 15 year old one still going strong. Though I hear their washing machines are no longer made in Germany, many built at the Spanish plant that is Baley, and average Spanish brand.

Gone for a basic LG washing machine now. Seems ok so far. The Samsung's have a 5yr warranty over at JL, but a 2 week lead time. Otherwise for quality, seems you have to spend £700+ on a Miele - but then, that's the equivalent of two LG machines...

Our kitchen came with Baumatic appliances, all cheap and bit naff. But probably no worse than you'd expect for the price. Dishwasher died first after 4-5 years (including a PCB replacement in that time). Fridge/Freezer lasted well, but shelves were too narrow for supports, so kept falling down and hinges on door dug into plastic, making an oval hole, causing the door to hang at angle and never stay shut properly. Oven grill has also recently died, but that is 9 yrs old. Hob has been fine, but if it gets wet, you get small electric shocks off gas lighter circuit!

These days, it does seem that if you want something to last, you've got to spend big money. Otherwise, it can be bit hit and miss. Sometimes a cheap/basic appliance will last years and far exceed the lifespan of a posher mid range one. Planned obsolescence and scare-mongering into extended warranties is the name of game. Also weigh up that, constant replacement of goods keeps you up to date with latest efficiencies and features. It's almost better to just go for cheapest with features you need, assume it'll only last a couple of years and stick some cash aside as contingency to replace stuff. Terrible for the environment, but good for the economy...

innovate

Dishwasher: Miele, same machine for 11 years. It's superb, not a single fault....apart from a major flood caused by the idiot plumber who didn't connect the water inlet properly. That wasn't Miele's fault.

Washer/dryer: Neff. Never broke down in 6+ years, but I would not ever buy a combined washer dryer again, regardless of make. The capacity for the dryer is way to small for anything but a couple of towels, and you can spend days washing and drying because drying can take a couple of hours and you can't wash anything whilst it's drying....

Hob: Siemens ceramic hob. Love the electronic controls and the looks, and it cooks everything alright. Very easy to keep looking like new because there are no raised controls.

Oven: again, Siemens. A pyrolytic self-clean one. It was expensive but the self-clean is miraculous. I would never buy any oven without the self-clean now. Bakes and cooks everything evenly, and you don't need a PhD to operate the controls.

Fridge/freezer (larder size): Bosch. Says the freezer is frost-free but I had to de-frost it a couple of times in the last 6 years. The fridge is ok.

Microwave: haven't had one for the last 10 or so years and haven't really missed it. But as soon as I can, I will buy a proper steam-oven, which will do all and more than a microwave.

Extractor hood: got some no-name thing that is basically a waste of space. It is incredibly noisy but extracts just about nothing. Am shopping for a replacement one atm - anyone got any tips?

Vaccuum cleaner: Vorwerk. Expensive stuff at first but seems to last forever - mine is over 20 years old and the only thing I ever had to buy for it was filter bags. It does carpets and hard floors, and comes with all the attachments you can think of. It does look a little retro by now, though, lol! You can't buy them in shops, only from http://www.vkdirect.co.uk/, I think.

All my appliances are built-in. If I could do it again, and had the space, I would want a freestanding separate washing machine and dryer in a utility area, a gigantic larder fridge, and a separate larder freezer. I bought the vaccum cleaner from a travelling salesman (!!!), the dishwasher and the washer/dryer in an online discount store, and the rest from a small local firm. They matched the best online prices and their prices included installation and disposal of my old appliances - fantastic deal!

Problem with online rock-bottom prices is that you are often left with the problem of what to do with your old appliances. The disposal will almost definitely cost extra money, especially where fridges and freezers are involved. The other problem is you have to find a qualified and reliable installer. To find the best deal, I would always shop around with smaller local firms as well as on the web.