Kitchen appliances - recommended brands?

TheVoice

TheVoice

TheVoice

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Glasgow
My parents are in the process of designing, re-designing, and re-re-designing their new kitchen at the moment; my Mum's finding it all a bit overwhelming having to select from dozens of choices for every little thing, so I've offered to help choose some appliances because it seems like the least-uninteresting part I can help with!

They've been specced stuff by Magnet already but were told they can supply their own appliances if desired. The Magnet-supplied stuff is AEG (hob, oven, integrated microwave and dishwasher), not a brand I'm familiar with; are they any good? Looking at prices they seem equal (if not more expensive) than Bosch etc but I'm wondering whether other brands will offer a better product for the same sort of money.

I've read some of the previous threads on here about the Zanussi, Hotpoint etc and seems they're not held in high regard any more so I'll be avoiding those. I've seen Miele recommended particularly for washing machines/tumble dryers - which they also need to get - but they're too expensive. LG washing machines/dryers any good? She wants silver which really limits the choices really; Bosch only do white or black, Samsung do silver washing machines but no matching tumble dryers, and the likes of Miele etc only do white.

Anyone able to suggest other brands to look at, and brands to definitely avoid? If I end up selecting stuff that turns out to be rubbish I'll feel terrible (and be blamed for it) so I'd like to get it right for them. Usually I'd go looking for reviews and the like but there's so many different variations of models that it's impossible to know what to look for and I doubt most people know which specific oven they have anyway.

Thanks.
 
Avoid Hotpoint for pretty much everything unless you're on a budget where I got to admit their features to cost ratio is pretty good.

My Zanussi washer dryer has been going strong since 2006 so can't be that bad?
 
AtticusFinch said:
Bosch - for everything
Click to expand...

Wrong, Neff or Miele and pick up a kitchenaid mixer, and a panasonic bread maker while you're there.

Edit, saw budget.

Neff oven and hob, Bosch washing machine, Panasonic Fridge freezer

Never had a dishwasher (don't see the point) but I'd probably go Bosch for one of them. And a cheap microwave to boot (they all do the same thing).
 
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It is worth stretching to Miele appliances if you can. It'll pay you back in the long run and the warranties/support are amazing - not that you'll need to use them. I can also recommend Fisher Paykel dishwashers. Their drawer system is so useful and they do them in silver. Only dishwashers I've known to take tall stemmed wine glasses in a straightforward manner.
 
Doesn't really matter what you get, things break, in my opinion it's how it's handle from that point that matters. I'm an electrolux engineer and most of our stuff is okay, obviously i only see the broke, or that customer thinks is broke stuff. If you want an honest opinion post the models and i'll tell you if i know of any issues.
 
I kitted my whole kitchen out with baumatic, 5 burner hob, double oven, 50 \ 50 integrated fridge freezer, integrated dishwasher, freestanding microwave, a massive griddle for the hob and a glass splash back.

All that for £1,200.00

All been in for 4 years and we've replaced the dishwasher because it wore out, the rest is still going strong.
 
AtticusFinch said:
Bosch - for everything
Click to expand...

Since Bosch started making most of thier goods in china quality seems to be going downhill, a built in microwave i fitted in January has just gone **** up and the 800mm hob in the same kitchen seems to be developing an intermitent fault as well.
I fit kitchens for a living and the only really reliable stuff seems to be the high end Miele, Neff, Smeg etc. anything else is just hit or miss, an appliance might last 10 years or might last 6 weeks.
 
Bosch is about mid-range now, rather than high end.
I bought a Bosch washer/dryer a few years ago and found the 'Made in China' label slightly amusing while also frustrating. It's quiet in operation and the tumble dryer feature works well but it has a couple of annoyances. Firstly, it's quite sensitive to load which in a way is good because the machine is protected but annoying in that you then have to manually spin two loads (after taking half of dripping wet load out because it wont spin). Secondly to clean the filter, even though there is a drain tube it only seems to drain 50% of the water out so when you unscrew the filter, and because the filter is very low, the rest of the water just pi**es out over the floor. The only way to catch it is with a towel to soak it up as it's too low and not placed in such a way to put a dish or anything under to catch. So, bit of a bad design.

If you have the money I'd go with Miele goods. Neff sounds like Naff, and Smeg reminds me of Red Dwarf which is good but not when Smeg(ma) is the name of the stuff.........
 
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Can you get a Costco membership? If you can, I'd recommend joining, and seeing what they have to offer.

They sell quality stuff at good prices, and their customer service is beyond excellent.
 
Thanks all, lots of good info to work with. I've shown my Mum some Neff stuff, she likes the slide & hide oven door and they look good, think she's just trying to convince herself they're worth the extra.

Miele is too much of a stretch unfortunately. You'd think the budget for the kitchen would allow it but alas, Magnet seem to be finding other ways to spend it.

Once I/they have finalised - or at least narrowed-down - some choices I'll post them up.
 
AEG and Zanussi are one and the same, AEG being the premium of the two.

Refrigeration, buy Korean.

Washing machines, LG without any shadow of a doubt.
 
Fridge is already sorted fortunately, they have a Samsung American-style one already which will fit-in nicely. They need a cooker, built-in microwave, induction hob, cooker hood, dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer.
 
for the money, features and warranty, Ikea!
It's all manufactured by the likes of whirlpool, then just sold as "ikea"
5 year warranty on most of the gear.
 
Ikea stuff is electrolux as well, heard they had issues with whirlpool whom used to make all their stuff, now split over several manufactures :)
 
~Divine~Wind~ said:
for the money, features and warranty, Ikea!
It's all manufactured by the likes of whirlpool, then just sold as "ikea"
5 year warranty on most of the gear.
Click to expand...

No Ikea near here so I think they're out of the runnings. Nearest one is Glasgow.

The almost-confirmed list so far:

Dishwasher - Bosch SMI69T25GB Semi-Integrated Dishwasher, Brushed Steel

Oven - Neff B45E54N3GB Single Electric Oven, Stainless Steel

Microwave/grill - Neff C54R70N3GB Built-In Microwave with Grill, Stainless Steel

Chimney hood - Neff D89EH52N0B 90cm Stainless Steel Chimney Hood With Flat Glass Canopy

Washing machine and tumble dryer - LG TrueSteam RC8066CS2Z Condenser Tumble Dryer - Silver + TrueSteam F14A8TDSA5 Washing Machine - Silver
(Although after being adamant she wants a silver washing machine and tumble dryer, she's now looking at white Samsung ones...)

Just need to find an induction hob, the one my Mum chose initially has as 13A plug on it so I assume it won't be very powerful compared to a proper one.

I know John Lewis price match, but does anyone know if they're flexible with the price when buying multiple appliances from them? If they're able to knock a bit of money off the whole lot it'd be nice. Any other retailers/websites worth looking at? AO.com and Appliance City both seem decent, anyone had experiences with those?
 
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AO are very good bought my side by side from them, can't help with any of the other bits except 13amp on an induction must just be one maybe two plates
 
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