£799 Combi oven - how long should it reasonably last?

ValueMonster

I bought an AEG - KME761000M on the 18th May 2021 for £799.

The main panel has failed twice and has been repaired twice under warranty. The door steams up.

Now the microwave has died and it is out of warranty so AEG won't fix it without payment.

How long would you reasonably expect a (near) 800 quid combi oven to last? We don't use it especially often.
Presumably I could now go to the retailer (Currys) but it feels somewhat unfair that they have to carry the can for such a poor quality product.

Any thoughts or similar experiences appreciated.

VM

ps can anyone recommend a decent combi oven! 

eskbanker

It's not unreasonable to expect a life of more than three years for a combi oven, but your consumer rights are against the retailer rather than the manufacturer....

Okell

ValueMonster said:

... Presumably I could now go to the retailer (Currys) but it feels somewhat unfair that they have to carry the can for such a poor quality product...

Why would it be unfair on Currys?  If they decide to sell poor quality products why shouldn't they carry the can?

You say the main panel has failed twice and twice been repaired under warranty by AEG.  On either of those occasions did you first go to Currys and they referred you to AEG, or did you go straight to AEG?  Meaning that Currys have never known about the previous failures?

I'd expect at least 5 - 10 years

ValueMonster

Okell said:

ValueMonster said:

... Presumably I could now go to the retailer (Currys) but it feels somewhat unfair that they have to carry the can for such a poor quality product...

Why would it be unfair on Currys?  If they decide to sell poor quality products why shouldn't they carry the can?

or did you go straight to AEG?  Meaning that Currys have never known about the previous failures?

I'd expect at least 5 - 10 years

Interesting points thanks.

I did go straight to AEG. 

Okell

Well having gone straight to AEG means you now need to start from scratch with Currys.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 (legislation.gov.uk) basically allows the retailer* one single attempt at repairing or replacing a faulty item.  If it fails a second time you can demand a refund.

If you'd gone to Currys in the first place when it failed the first time and they had either (a) repaired or replaced it themselves or (b) referred you to AEG, you could have got a refund when it failed the second time.

You can go to Currys now with "the door steams up", but because you are now over 6 months from purchase the onus is on you to establish both (a) that the door steaming up is a fault - I'm  not sure it is - and (b) that it was caused by some "defect" that was inherent when you bought it

Even if you can successfully do both of those, because it's over 6 months since you bought it, Currys will be entitled to deduct from your refund an amount to reflect the "use" you've had of the oven.  That would be for you and Currys to negotiate.


* Consumer protection legislation only gives you rights against the retailer, not the manufacturer.  Any rights you have against the manufacturer under a warranty given by the manufacturer are entirely dependent on the T&Cs of that warranty.  Nothing else.

Aylesbury_Duck

Don't forget that Currys chose to sell that model.  It's up to them to do their research to make sure that the products they're supplied with are of good quality.  They're making a margin on the transaction as well, so there's nothing unfair about pursuing them.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

9 to 15 years for an oven from this source:

https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/A-Guide-to-product-lifespans.pdf

I'd say £800 is towards to the top end of standard ovens but don't know if it being a combi pushes up the price in general. 

ValueMonster

Okell said:

Well having gone straight to AEG means you now need to start from scratch with Currys.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 (legislation.gov.uk) basically allows the retailer* one single attempt at repairing or replacing a faulty item.  If it fails a second time you can demand a refund.

If you'd gone to Currys in the first place when it failed the first time and they had either (a) repaired or replaced it themselves or (b) referred you to AEG, you could have got a refund when it failed the second time.

You can go to Currys now with "the door steams up", but because you are now over 6 months from purchase the onus is on you to establish both (a) that the door steaming up is a fault - I'm  not sure it is - and (b) that it was caused by some "defect" that was inherent when you bought it

Even if you can successfully do both of those, because it's over 6 months since you bought it, Currys will be entitled to deduct from your refund an amount to reflect the "use" you've had of the oven.  That would be for you and Currys to negotiate.


* Consumer protection legislation only gives you rights against the retailer, not the manufacturer.  Any rights you have against the manufacturer under a warranty given by the manufacturer are entirely dependent on the T&Cs of that warranty.  Nothing else.

"If it fails a second time you can demand a refund." That is well worth knowing - thank you.

"both (a) that the door steaming up is a fault - I'm  not sure it is - and (b) that it was caused by some "defect" that was inherent when you bought it" I've probably undersold this. The internal / not user serviceable section of the door steams up, water drips out the door and visibility is obscured. 

That being said it is the microwave function of the combi oven not heating that is our prime concern.

"Currys will be entitled to deduct from your refund an amount to reflect the "use"" Another useful bit of information and another reason to go via the retailer.

We'll try Currys tomorrow and see what they say. 

ValueMonster

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

9 to 15 years for an oven from this source:

I'd say £800 is towards to the top end of standard ovens but don't know if it being a combi pushes up the price in general. 

Thanks for the pdf - that is an excellent source of material to quote for what is a "reasonable" lifespan for the device.

I think combis might be more. On Currys today they seem to go from £629 to £1769  ! Today's prices have had 3 years of inflation since I bought of course.

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Don't forget that Currys chose to sell that model.  It's up to them to do their research to make sure that the products they're supplied with are of good quality.  They're making a margin on the transaction as well, so there's nothing unfair about pursuing them.

 True and they perhaps have something in the contract for expected failure rates.