I was thinking the other day about how lucky I’ve been with my kitchen appliances. I’d expected to spend hours on the phone with various customer services trying to find out where my oven/fridge/washing machine was, or why the wrong one had been delivered, or why it was missing a crucial part or so on. This isn’t (only) because I am a pessimist, but is borne out of painful experience; both personal (Dixons, I’m looking at you), and professional (in an office management role).
But really, thinking about it, it wasn’t that I was just lucky, I also did a HUGE amount of research. After all, there is so much to consider with any appliance, and a hefty amount of money involved. Some general things to think about:
Technical and Functional Specifications. What is the minimum that you need your appliance to do or be, and what are the extra ‘nice to haves’ that you’d like if you can afford them? For example, I decided in all cases that I wanted appliances with good energy efficiency rates. As close to A++ as possible (the highest energy efficiency rating). This was my baseline, and enabled me to filter out any appliances which didn’t conform. There is a lot to consider here, take some time to research your options and any terms you don’t understand. (Also check the amperage!)
Appearance. Obviously, you want the appliance to fit into your colour scheme and style!
Integrated/Free-standing. Do you want the appliance to stay hidden behind a cupboard door? This helps keep a sleeker look, but limits size choices, for example. In my case, I wanted a large fridge and freezer, and a large double oven (I like to cook a lot) and felt too restricted by the available integrated choices.
Size/Height. Most standard appliances fit into 600mm blocks so that they can be easily arranged in a fitted kitchen, but there is some variation with this. For instances, freestanding cookers are sometimes somewhere between 500mm and 600mm, so if you don’t want a large gap, or do want room to move, or to fit a cooker in a space with an overhanging worktop, make sure you have the right size. Also, it seemed that some free-standing appliances had more flexibility with adjusting the height than others, another thing worth checking.
DOING THE RESEARCH
So, how did I go about checking all of this out? In all cases, I initially just browsed around various sellers’ sites to see what was out there. I soon came across a few sites that I kept coming back to.
I found Appliances Online particularly useful for their reviews and clear listing of specifications. The site has useful filters and is easy to navigate. In the end I didn’t actually order anything with them though, as they weren’t always the cheapest, so I can’t speak for their overall service.
The Google product search was also useful for product reviews, is good for price comparison (it seems to be fairly exhaustive and reliable) and also for the seller reviews, which I found really helpful when deciding who to buy from. A tip, use the product code (like RFA52P or similar) to search on, makes searches more precise.
The site that I did eventually order my washing machine and cooker from was Electrical123.com, who were usually the cheapest with delivery. I know, the name is rubbish and sounds distinctly cowboy, but after looking up lots of seller reviews for reassurance I went with them first for the washing machine. I was hugely impressed. You pick a date for delivery, and then the day before they message you by text to let you know the three hour window in which they will arrive. Both times they were slightly early for this slot, which actually suited me better. I’ve had no problems with the appliances I ordered with them.
I ordered the fridge from John Lewis, having been surprised to find that they were the cheapest, and this was also a pleasingly painless experience.
I didn’t just go on the online reviews and pictures, though, I also visited various stores (Comet, Currys etc) which stocked the appliances I was interested in to see them in person. I also wanted to check I wasn’t missing out on any instore deals (I wasn’t, the best deals were always online). I took tons of photos in the stores so that I could remember details, including the price and information stickers, which I also found really helpful afterwards.
As always, please feel free to share any other tips or useful sites in the comments.
Fixing It Up 