Is "The North" still cheapest for everything kitchen?

Soarer

Morning all.

Hopefully this week we'll be going "sale agreed" on a new house, and will begin our quest to fit it out.
We're trading up, and hoping that this is gonna be our "house for life". As such, we want to try and do things properly.

The kitchen is obviously gonna be a massive outlay, and we're looking to at getting the best for cheapest.
HID is in charge of kitchen style, and I'm in charge of appliances.
She wants off-white/cream doors with wood accents, and a brown/black worktop...probably stone.
I want all appliances to be good to look at, be good at their jobs, and be "branded" (I'm a bit of a brand snob unfortunately!:o).

I've been doing some research, and have come to the following conclusions...
1. Designer appliances, like gaggenau, are fantastic, but they're miles out of our price range.
2. The cheapest of the expensive stuff, or is it the most expensive of the cheapest stuff, appear to be Neff and Miele, with Miele being the more expensive.
3. Most appliances seem to be rebranded versions of each other (with varying price tags) except for Miele, which is on it's own.

So I guess after all that, I've a few questions.
1. As the title of this thread asks...is "The North" still cheapest for kitchen stuff, or has "The South" finally pulled it's socks up?
2. Should I put aside my badge snobbery, or stick to my guns?
3. With kitchen appliances, as with other things, do you get what you pay for, or are some of the more expensive brands living off their reputation?
4. Do people mix-and-match appliances, or do they get everything from the one brand?

I'm based in Cork, and to save a few quid I'm willing to travel to collect.

All thoughts/opinions/recommendations gratefully received.

cnocbui

I sourced all but two appliances for our kitchen from the UK and in hindsight, I should probably have sourced the other two from the UK as well.

You don't have to go up North. Many UK online stores, like Redhill appliances, offer nationwide free delivery. So you can have them deliver items to a forward shipper like Trans Bridge Freight who will then deliver stuff to you over here. Even with the extra shipping charge the savings are usually well worth the trouble.

For a hob, I can highly recommend De Dietrich. We bought a combination induction/gas hob and it is has performed faultlessly for a decade. Induction is the bees knees for cooking, even if you have to side-line cookware that won't work with it and buy new stuff. Lidl regularly sell superb quality cookware that works with induction.

For a diswasher, you could not do better than a top of the range AEG. We bought one a few years ago and I could not recommend it highly enough. It is whisper quiet, in operation, and I do mean literally no louder than a whisper 41db I think. The latest ones are 39db, which is astonishing:eek:. The sound from the sink when they are emptying is the loudest noise they make, and then it is only fairly brief.

I would probably get a an AEG oven as well. We got a Kuppersbusch which although very good, was probably overpriced.

As for extractor hoods. I don't think you should limit yourself to name brands. I liked the looks of a De Dietrich island hood that had a circular glass canopy, but it was something like €1200 over here. I ended up getting something almost identical from kitchen appliances online for about £360. The brand was Salina or something but the quality was top notch - logic controls - soft start halogen lights.

I think someone told me once that all SS extractor hoods are made in the one factory in Italy and just re-branded. The hood I got was so similar to the DD one I could well believe it.

http://www.redhillappliances.co.uk/product/4349

http://www.appliancesonline.co.uk/

Bicycle

Great thread.

We're in the process of renovations at the moment as well.

However I've just contacted both companies listed above and one doesn't do Belling (Redhill) and the other site (Appliances on Line) doesn't deliver to the Republic.

I'm looking for a Belling Kensington E90 Range Cooker in Cream. The whole Kensington range are being upgraded at the moment and will be in stock in the Republic some time between Mid April and Mid May but the cream version will only be available in the UK for certainly some time.

Has anyone any further suggestions please?

TIA

cnocbui

Bicycle wrote: »

However I've just contacted both companies listed above and one doesn't do Belling (Redhill) and the other site (Appliances on Line) doesn't deliver to the Republic.
Has anyone any further suggestions please?

TIA

AOL are the people who put me on to Trans Bridge Freight. Neither company delivers to the republic but both companies delivered to TBF and then TBF arranged delivery to me.

http://transbridgefreight.co.uk/

paddy147

IIf you go to the likes of Power City,DID or others(even nordemende main dealers out in Citywest) and wave the cash in the sales mans face,then you can save ALOT of money.they will give you most of the stuff at near trade price,as they still get the commission on the sale,and especially if you getting the whole kitchen lot of stuff.

Trust me on that.

G.MAN

paddy147 wrote: »

IIf you go to the likes of Power City,DID or others(even nordemende main dealers out in Citywest) and wave the cash in the sales mans face,then you can save ALOT of money.they will give you most of the stuff at near trade price,as they still get the commission on the sale,and especially if you getting the whole kitchen lot of stuff.

Trust me on that.

100% correct. Theres no need to go north for Appliances anymore.No retailer is going to turn down a sale,so get them down to trade price.I know for example that Siemens have slashed the prices that they are selling to DID because they cant shift stock

Soarer

All very useful information guys, thanks.
Only thing is, how do you/I know what "near trade price" is?

paddy147

I was out looking in Power City the other day,and they actually do sell quite alot of good decent brand names and up to the date modern kitchen appliences.

The chap told me aswell to allways buy from the shop and not online,as the sales lads in the shop dont get the commision if you buy online,and also they will match or even beat the online price if you are buying a few items at once.They still get the commision no matter what deal you get off them,so its good for you and good for the sales guy too.

Cash is king,as the saying goes.

PC

Re www.appliancesonline.co.uk...they quote £802 for an Electrolux EOU63143 double oven...I paid €735 in D.I.D last week for the same oven...so where is the saving...???

loughy

Guys,

Just remember if you have a problem with any of your UK bought appliances, you may not be able to get them serviced here under warranty so make sure you look into this before you buy.

Just incase

antiskeptic

Soarer wrote: »

2. Should I put aside my badge snobbery, or stick to my guns?

My non-brand washing machine was bought in about 1994 and hasn't missed a beat since then. I've not even put a door seal on it. My Powerpoint (read: chinese generic) dishwasher is at nearly 5 years and bar for a single E4 error (which can affect any machine and is easy cleared) it's doing fine too.

I can't really see the point in paying for brand - unless you really are getting something that is known to give top drawer reliability

hed

I will hopefully be getting keys to my house in the next month or so.
I need to buy some kitchen appliances, but not all.
What brands or where would you recomend to look for Washing machines, dryer, tv, hoover. They are the main ones.

cnocbui

Washing machine - since you can't buy Asko products in this country I would say go for AEG/Electrolux or Bosch. Same goes for dryers, though only their low end models as blowing warm air over clothes is not exactly technically challenging.

TV - Panasonic Plasma.

rainbouw

I live close to the north and all i can say is that there are very few people loyal to the euro when we can just nip across the border and pick up all our hardware for a fraction of the price, and the retailers in the north know this as well so there are a lot of price wars going on between hardware stores, my advice to you is to get 2 Argos catalogues one from the south and one from the north, they are free and they will give you an accurate estimate as to how much you will save between the two countries. not telling you to buy from Argos but it will give a true sense of what the rest of ireland is missing.. beware stay away from gas hobs of any kind. the northern gas board has some kind of safety health and hazard thing going on that does not allow the republic use the hob without a special fitting and this has to be fitted by a registered gas company.

OldVickers

You don't need 2 Argos catalogues - use this site
http://www.cataloguecompare.com/

crossmolinalad

For a diswasher, you could not do better than a top of the range AEG. We bought one a few years ago and I could not recommend it highly enough. It is whisper quiet, in operation, and I do mean literally no louder than a whisper 41db I think. The latest ones are 39db, which is astonishing. The sound from the sink when they are emptying is the loudest noise they make, and then it is only fairly brief.


Give them their own trap and thats silent too

paddy147

If any of you had listened to the radio yesterday,then you would have heard that DID in Tallaght had a "up to 50% off warehouse sale this morning.Its to clear stock that they havent sold in the last few months.

Started at 10 am and finished at 6 pm today.

I bagged a brand spanking new Whirlpool intergrated dishwasher for 300 euro,should have been 570 euro.Samsung 26 inch HD TV for 240 euro,should have been 390 euro.
And also I got a brand new Belling 5 ring gas hob for 140 euro,should have been 280 euro.

Al brand new,in their wrapping and boxes and never opened.A bit of haggling on my part too.:D

So there are bargins to be had,without going anywhere near the North.You just got to keep your ears to the ground and your eyes open.

knighted_1

paddy147 wrote: »

If any of you had listened to the radio yesterday,then you would have heard that DID in Tallaght had a "up to 50% off warehouse sale this morning.Its to clear stock that they havent sold in the last few months.

Started at 10 am and finished at 6 pm today.

I bagged a brand spanking new Whirlpool intergrated dishwasher for 300 euro,should have been 570 euro.Samsung 26 inch HD TV for 240 euro,should have been 390 euro.
And also I got a brand new Belling 5 ring gas hob for 140 euro,should have been 280 euro.

Al brand new,in their wrapping and boxes and never opened.A bit of haggling on my part too.:D

So there are bargins to be had,without going anywhere near the North.You just got to keep your ears to the ground and your eyes open.

good on you -post the model numbers please should be on your reciept

paddy147

knighted_1 wrote: »

good on you -post the model numbers please should be on your reciept

Ive done my research,went to DID,Power City,Harvey Normans,Currys,also alot of the kitchen showroom places over the last month.Played 1 off the other to see how low each would go.

Then this morning,I got a very very good deal at the DID warehouse clearance sale.

I got one hell of a bargin today,so Im very very happy.

So happy in fact,that I might just go to Harvey Normans tomorrow and tell how much cheaper I got my stuff compared to their......eh "cheapest" price.

paddy147

Bargins to be had,and you dont have to drive up North and sit in traffic.

Thats the moral of the story.:)

knighted_1

paddy147 wrote: »

Ive done my research,went to DID,Power City,Harvey Normans,Currys,also alot of the kitchen showroom places over the last month.Played 1 off the other to see how low each would go.

Then this morning,I got a very very good deal at the DID warehouse clearance sale.

I got one hell of a bargin today,so Im very very happy.

So happy in fact,that I might just go to Harvey Normans tomorrow and tell how much cheaper I got my stuff compared to their......eh "cheapest" price.

good man but can you post the model numbers please they are on the left hand side of your reciept

exaisle

cnocbui wrote: »

Washing machine - since you can't buy Asko products in this country I would say go for AEG/Electrolux or Bosch. Same goes for dryers, though only their low end models as blowing warm air over clothes is not exactly technically challenging.

Not quite.....

Theres an AEG tumble dryer, T59840 that is a bit more expensive...it uses heat pump technology and will save substantially (possibly about 40% or more I think) on running costs.

Bosch do something similar...WTW84560 but as far as I recall its a bit dearer than the AEG.

E.

exaisle

paddy147 wrote: »

Ive done my research,went to DID,Power City,Harvey Normans,Currys,also alot of the kitchen showroom places over the last month.Played 1 off the other to see how low each would go.

Then this morning,I got a very very good deal at the DID warehouse clearance sale.

I got one hell of a bargin today,so Im very very happy.

So happy in fact,that I might just go to Harvey Normans tomorrow and tell how much cheaper I got my stuff compared to their......eh "cheapest" price.

Is it too much to ask you to tell us the model numbers? Youve been asked twice.....so either put up or shut up.

If you did your research in all of those places, why didnt you do some in the North or in the UK too?

paddy147

exaisle wrote: »

Is it too much to ask you to tell us the model numbers? Youve been asked twice.....so either put up or shut up.

If you did your research in all of those places, why didnt you do some in the North or in the UK too?

Jeez,you dont sound grumpy then,do you??
I think you need to look at and also improve your manners here mate.

I did my research and I didnt need to drive or go up North or the UK as I found my good deals here in Dublin,right on my doorstep.

Do your research and keep your ears and eyes open in the newspapers and also the radio and you will get a good deal here in Ireland.

It worked and still works for me.Also HAGGLE,flash the wad of 50 euro notes at the sales guy and he will soon crumble and do a deal with you,otherwize he loses his sale and also his commision bonus.Theres loads of these direct factory/warehouse sales on at the moment,you just got to know where to look and who to go to.

Happy hunting.
Regards.

exaisle

Paddy,
My point is....how do you know you got a good deal here if you didnt check out prices in the UK also?

I suspect that the reason you wont reveal the model numbers of what you bought is because you'd fairly soon discover that the good deal you got here isnt perhaps quite as good as you seem to think. I would (this time) respectfully request that you tell us what you bought and how much you paid. ("Put up or shut up" is just an expression - no offence meant)

I'll start the ball rolling. I bought three items a washing machine, a tumble dryer and a fridge freezer. All at the upper end of the energy efficiency scale, none that I know of available here. (I've converted from Sterling at .835 which was the rate on the day.)
Item Model Best NI Price Best UK Price
Washing Machine - Bosch WAS28469 €580.00 €499.00
Tumble Dryer - AEG T59840 €675.00 €623.00
FridgeFreezer -Neff K5870x3gb €770.00 €728.00


Total €2,025.00 €1,850.00

Curiously, the transport costs from Northern Ireland were about the same as from the uk. It cost £75stg from the suppliers in the UK to my door (15 miles sw of Dublin).

Anybody who wants details of where I got those prices can PM me. They are 100% accurate.

paddy147

exaisle wrote: »

Paddy,
My point is....how do you know you got a good deal here if you didnt check out prices in the UK also?

I suspect that the reason you wont reveal the model numbers of what you bought is because you'd fairly soon discover that the good deal you got here isnt perhaps quite as good as you seem to think. I would (this time) respectfully request that you tell us what you bought and how much you paid. ("Put up or shut up" is just an expression - no offence meant)

I'll start the ball rolling. I bought three items a washing machine, a tumble dryer and a fridge freezer. All at the upper end of the energy efficiency scale, none that I know of available here. (I've converted from Sterling at .835 which was the rate on the day.)
Item Model Best NI Price Best UK Price
Washing Machine - Bosch WAS28469 €580.00 €499.00
Tumble Dryer - AEG T59840 €675.00 €623.00
FridgeFreezer -Neff K5870x3gb €770.00 €728.00


Total €2,025.00 €1,850.00

Curiously, the transport costs from Northern Ireland were about the same as from the uk. It cost £75stg from the suppliers in the UK to my door (15 miles sw of Dublin).

Anybody who wants details of where I got those prices can PM me. They are 100% accurate.

Ive allready said that I did my research both NI and Uk and also here in Dublin.I got my good deals and I know that I did from looking around,looking on the internet and also ringing around too.I then an ad on the radio for a DID warehouse stock sale,so I went out,qued up out at DID,s storage warehouse,waited a while and got in there 1st before anyone else,I also haggled hard with the sales lads and I got some great bargins and saved alot of euro aswell.560 euros saved to be more exact.That was still 340 euro cheaper than I could have got from Up North.So I did my homework mate.

Also.....a little tip for you...... maybe use some common decent manners in the 1st place when you reply or post to someone.Then you might get somewhere.

I,ll leave you to it now.
Regards.

Soarer

To be fair Paddy, you should just post the model numbers and the price paid.

It was I started the thread, and if I can genuinely get things cheaper without going to the UK/NI, I'd be delighted. But people coming on saying they got a great deal, there are bargains to be had, etc. doesn't help anything.

For example, if an oven is €1000 and you haggle them down to €800, you think you've got a great deal. But if the same price in the UK is €700 before haggling, the original deal isn't so great.

Exaisle posted the prices and model numbers of the items he/she bought. He/She obviously feels that they've got a genuine bargain, and have put themselves up to be bettered.

You obviously feel you've got a good deal, and good on ya. But you're not helping anyone (certainly not me!) by keeping the details to yourself.

That's not why I started the thread.

siobhmarie

Hi, Can you post me the details of where you got those prices thanks

exaisle wrote: »

Paddy,
My point is....how do you know you got a good deal here if you didnt check out prices in the UK also?

I suspect that the reason you wont reveal the model numbers of what you bought is because you'd fairly soon discover that the good deal you got here isnt perhaps quite as good as you seem to think. I would (this time) respectfully request that you tell us what you bought and how much you paid. ("Put up or shut up" is just an expression - no offence meant)

I'll start the ball rolling. I bought three items a washing machine, a tumble dryer and a fridge freezer. All at the upper end of the energy efficiency scale, none that I know of available here. (I've converted from Sterling at .835 which was the rate on the day.)
Item Model Best NI Price Best UK Price
Washing Machine - Bosch WAS28469 €580.00 €499.00
Tumble Dryer - AEG T59840 €675.00 €623.00
FridgeFreezer -Neff K5870x3gb €770.00 €728.00


Total €2,025.00 €1,850.00

Curiously, the transport costs from Northern Ireland were about the same as from the uk. It cost £75stg from the suppliers in the UK to my door (15 miles sw of Dublin).

Anybody who wants details of where I got those prices can PM me. They are 100% accurate.

tipperary

We bought our stuff about 18 months ago. Got the range cooker from rangecookers.co.uk and definitely saved a good couple of hundred euro there. Belfast sink and taps also from UK (and TV actually). However, for stuff like washing machine, fridge, dishwasher etc there was no saving in getting from the north or UK. Got electrolux which has never let us down in the past. It's the same company as zanussi and AEG.

Audioslaven

Just wanted to post my own situation which is right on this thread. Priced in DID this evening for all the kitchen equipment and there is approx 250 euro in the difference between buying in the uk and buying in DID. I also have to factor in deliver charges from uk which could be 100 euro (guestimate) so the dif is 150. Now I am wondering is it worth saving 150 against having the company close by for any issues regards warranty etc.

I am favouring spending the 150 extra for the piece of mind when i am potentially spending over 4k. I priced against Appliances Online and Appliances Direct. I think the bomb has started to hit home in this country at last. I was expecting more of a difference.

paddy147

Audioslaven wrote: »

Just wanted to post my own situation which is right on this thread. Priced in DID this evening for all the kitchen equipment and there is approx 250 euro in the difference between buying in the uk and buying in DID. I also have to factor in deliver charges from uk which could be 100 euro (guestimate) so the dif is 150. Now I am wondering is it worth saving 150 against having the company close by for any issues regards warranty etc.

I am favouring spending the 150 extra for the piece of mind when i am potentially spending over 4k. I priced against Appliances Online and Appliances Direct. I think the bomb has started to hit home in this country at last. I was expecting more of a difference.

Play hardball with DID and also get a quote off of Power City and you will get the price down even more.

No sales man is going to turn you away with allmost 4,000 euro in your hand.

Flash the cash and get a deal that suits you.

I got alot of stuff at near trade price from Power City recently,a mechanic friend of mine put mer in touch with the manager of 1 of the Power City branches and he was more than happy to sell me what i wanted for a price that really did suit me.Got it all delievered to my doorstep next day for free.

You dont need to go to the UK or up North in this day and age.

Also the UK vat rate has gone up now,since the last Uk budget.