Buying from Germany for discounts

HappyIdiotTalk

I lost my mum to cancer relatively recently, and she left me a bit of money which we've decided should be used to finally update our kitchen, which needed doing a decade ago, but we've never had the money to do it.

Anyway, I've decided to treat myself to a top of the range Miele oven which takes all the guesswork out of cooking, cleans itself and generally really cool. But its shockingly expensive, particularly so in the UK - about £2900! :eek::eek: But its supposedly good for 20 years so will be worth it in the long run.

However I've found that I can get £1000 off the price if I import it from Germany according skinflint.co.uk:
http://skinflint.co.uk/eu/miele-h6860bp-clst-a954103.html

My question is, is it wise and safe to buy it this way? I'm a bit nervous about aftersales support from a German store if anything goes wrong or is missing when it arrives. Advice?

Tealblue

You've certainly swallowed the advertising hook, line and sinker! There are plenty of cheaper models which are just as good, including Miele ovens stocked by John Lewis - and if anything goes wrong and it has to be returned...

HappyIdiotTalk

Yeah it is super expensive, so its so so good. Check out this review by the Gadget Show.
http://gadgetshow.channel5.com/gadget/series-18-christmas-special-ovens

That said I'm starting to go off the idea because of the expense. And I am going to check out the Electrolux they also reviewed which is much cheaper, and nearly as good.

If you have any recommendations, please post them up.

Cheers.

Pun

HappyIdiotTalk wrote: »

Yeah it is super expensive, so its so so good.

Super expensive is no guarantee of anything - except a high price tag! You sound like an advertiser's dream... wake up!!

fred246

In 2012 we needed a new washing machine. Ended up paying £630 for a Miele with a full 10 years parts and labour warranty. £63 a year sounded good to me. The problem is it is SO nice I don't know what I'll do after 2022. It's so quiet and efficient. You have to check the lights to see if it's on whereas the last one used to rattle around. I have a feeling I won't be able to go to another brand.

baby_frogmella

Pun wrote: »

Super expensive is no guarantee of anything - except a high price tag! You sound like an advertiser's dream... wake up!!

I take it you've never bought a Miele appliance? No, i thought not. Stick to your Beko appliances :rotfl:

OP,
Go for it and i don't think warranty would be an issue as Miele's warranty is europe wide so their UK arm would take over any necessary repairs. One thing to be aware of though....the menu languages on Miele appliances are localised so you would obviously get German and if my Miele washing machine is anything to go by, the user is NOT able to change this. I'm sure a Miele service guy could change this via his software but Miele charge £100+ per visit for non-warranty repairs. If you're fluent in German then its a non issue

Pun

baby_frogmella wrote: »

I take it you've never bought a Miele appliance? No, i thought not. Stick to your Beko appliances :rotfl:

Oh, but I have sweetie - so I do know what I'm talking about!

Middlestitch

Miele appliances are generally excellent whatever their price - the more expensive ones just have extra bells and whistles.

Have you thought about buying a less expensive Miele oven and spending some money on a really good course of cookery lessons? That should give you the best of both worlds - no oven can truly 'take the guesswork out of cooking' as every experienced chef and baker in the land will testify, but skill and knowledge on the cook's behalf coupled with a quality oven should do the trick.

kah22

Like yourself I’m upgrading my kitchen, actually building a new one, and like yourself I’m after some gear.

As a Which? member my first stop is always to read their reviews and that of other members, I also look at the likes of Amazon reviews.

I’ve opted for an Neff Double Oven and a Neff Convection Hob. I’d have liked to have went for a built in microwave but it was just to costly so I’ve opted for a stand alone one.

The Which? Best Buy list has only three double ovens listed:
Siemens HB55MB551B rated 77 percent, cost £939.
Neff U15M52N3GB rated 77 percent, cost £679
and finally Bosch HBM56B551B rated 76 percent, cost £864
(Siemens, Neff and Bosch are all made in the one factory!)

The Hob I’ve opted for is a Neff Induction Hob T40B30X2. Which? give eleven induction hobs a best buy rating, with scores from 83 percent down to 67 percent and prices ranging from about £240 to about £550.

The Neff T40B30X2 comes fourth on their list of Best Buys scoring 81 percent and a typical price of £400. The Whirlpool ACM847BA was their number one with a rating of 83 percent and costing £339.

(A word of advice if you think of a Neff Hob the Neff T40B31X2GB hob operates with a 13AMP plug while the T40B30X2 is hard wired. It might be easy to get the two mixed up. I’m assuming the T40B31X2GB can’t really be as powerful as the T40B30X2)

As for the microwave I’m opting for a combi (could do with something less but thought I’d treat myself) Which? have about 26 on their best buy table the Panasonic NN-CT552W comes in second with a score of 76 percent and a guide price of £124. The cheapest Neff stand alone was £437, to rich for my blood!

I’ve carried out some research online and to be honest there doesn’t seem to be a big price difference between large online retailers: Currys, JL, and Amazon so what I’ve done is visit one of my local electrical retailers given them the list and asked for a best price for a cash sale. I live in a small town so I know the reputation of the retailer, it’s good and that’s worth a few pound. Given that he can come close to what I’d get from the like of Curry’s or JL then it’s a no brainer for me; I’ll go local.

If you are really intent on getting a Meile the only one that shows up in the Which? Best Buy tables is the Miele H2361BP it's a single built in oven with a Which? Best Buy score of 77 percent and JL sells them at £833. Of the single ovens in the Best Buy table it only comes 10th out of 14 ovens tested. Should add that it looks as though they've only tested one Niele

If I can be of any further help please ask