Buying Kitchen Appliances? Can anyone confirm what the Rep told me?

moneysavvy35

Hi All

I posted a few weeks ago about advice on getting a new kitchen fitted by my Housing Association, who are using 'Howdens' I also explained I'm getting a dishwasher and built in oven & hob.

OK so I know I need to stay away from the 'Lamona' range that Howdens supply, but this is what the guy told me in terms of Kitchen Appliances and Brands

"whenever you buy any appliances from the shops most of these things are made in somewhere like turkey - if they make 90 ovens 30 (say) will go to Bosch, 30 will go to Hotpoint and 30 will go to Indesit (or some other make basically) all your really paying for is the brand cause technically thier all made by the same factory - all the parts and stuff within the appliance will more than likely be the same"

The above in quotes was what the guy said to me - is this true?

he did say that I could probably get the dishwasher and oven/hob cheaper elsewhere as I made it clear I would not be buying the lomana stuff. I am aware of sites such as ao.com through this forum so will be looking on thier, but just wanted to check am I really just paying for a name? I would have thought the quality in the brands name (espiecially in appliances) would mean something? No?

thanks in advance

Doozergirl

A lot of companies are linked. AEG and Electrolux, Hoover and Candy, Hotpoint and Indesit, I'm sure there are more than that!

Lamona do seem to have a reputation for being unreliable - the main problem is that even if you wanted to risk it, there is also no after service and no warranty. I will not buy Lamona as I wouldn't put it in my own house and I have no urge to deal with problems for my customers afterwards because Howdens cba!

In terms of value and a good length of warranty, I would consider Ikea. Ikea appliances are openly made by Whirlpool and they come withba five year warranty as standard. I have five kitchen appliances, all great value, no breakdowns in two years but I'm covered for another three anyway

ryder72

Thats a load of tosh.

A lot of entry level BSH dishwashers are made in Turkey but to standards set by BSH. Some microwaves are also bought in but from Panasonic.

This nonsense of 'its made in Turkey' so its bad just doesnt stack up. Their products are also made in Hungary, Spain, France, UK. Does that automatically make them better than Turkish made products? Its BSH that set the quality standards so where its made is quite irrelevant.

A quality branded appliance will most likely last longer, give you better customer support if needed and perform better too.

Dan-Dan

Doozergirl wrote: »

A lot of companies are linked. AEG and Electrolux, Hoover and Candy, Hotpoint and Indesit, I'm sure there are more than that!

Lamona do seem to have a reputation for being unreliable - the main problem is that even if you wanted to risk it, there is also no after service and no warranty. I will not buy Lamona as I wouldn't put it in my own house and I have no urge to deal with problems for my customers afterwards because Howdens cba!

In terms of value and a good length of warranty, I would consider Ikea. Ikea appliances are openly made by Whirlpool and they come withba five year warranty as standard. I have five kitchen appliances, all great value, no breakdowns in two years but I'm covered for another three anyway

All Lamona applicances have a warranty period of 2 years and 5 for the oven glass?

Divdov

My mother recently installed a new Howdens kitchen and was advised to buy the Lamona white goods as they fitted well and were reliable. That is 50% true, they fit well. But the reliability and after sales care are TERRIBLE! The dishwasher had to be replaced immediately as it didn't work. The engineer called out tried to blame the damaged pipe (the fault) on the guy who fitted the kitchen, but the damage was internal so had nothing to do with the fitter.
Secondly, after a few weeks the dishwasher drawer would not close, so the machine would not close. They did come and replace this.
Right from the start the display on the microwave is so dim it is virtually unreadable. It's nothing to do with the light level in the room as it is positioned next to the oven, which has a clearly visible display. When my mother asked for it to be replaced, the guy who came said is was supposed to look like that, and also tried to blame it on the fitter again.
The induction hob is the loudest I have ever heard, and not particularly quick either.
I know some people knock the Ikea kitchens, but we have an oven, hob and microwave from there and they are a hundred times better than the awful ones from Lamona. I cannot comment on Ikea's after sales service as we've not needed it as everything works perfectly (kitchen has been in place for 2 years)
On a budget I would recommend Ikea over Howdens any day if the week!

rustyboy21

Got our kitchen from Ikea and all the appliances from local Euronics store. Better priced than Curry's , extended warranties on some product FOC and fitted by a mate in the business.


All in all really pleased.