General Enquiries And Questions

Hello all, I've spent some time over the last couple of days looking through this forum and found alot of the comments, comparisons and insights into who actually manufactures the various branded goods, build quality, and the various pitfalls I can avoid to be absolutely excellent. A big thankyou to everyone who has written the various pieces or commented on them.

I've just bought a flat in North London and am ripping out the kitchen and having a new one installed. Initially the fitters offered us what seemed to be a reasonable price on a full range of built in Hotpoint goods. I've decided, primarily because of the alleged level of aftercare service I believe them to have, and also because of some personal experience with their goods in the past to steer well clear and go out and source on my own and this is what I have chosen. If anyone can give me some advice on any of these products it would be greatly appreciated.

Zanussi Double Electric Oven, Stainless Steel, ZDQ695 (to be built in)
Zanussi Gas Hob, Stainless Steel, ZGF642 (to be built in)
Bosch Fridge Freezer KGU32124 (freestanding)
Siemens Dishwasher SE25T250
Zanussi Washer Drier ZWD1480W

The Fridge freezer, dishwasher and washerdrier (not ideal but for space reasons I can't have a seperate washer and drier) I have chosen off the back of recent Which reviews and general hunting around. The Zanussi Dual Oven and Hob I know alot less about if I am honest but the brand appears to be reliable.

Can anyone advise me if my choices are sensible or offer me better similarly mid-range priced alternatives?

Hi Chris

I would say you have made good choices. The oven and hob should last you well, the fridge freezer also and it comes with a two year guarantee.
The dishwasher comes with a free five year guarantee but I am informed that this offer expires on the 31st of this month . Washer dryer in the mid range is okay but you might want to take a look at the Bosch WVT2850GB probably a better built machine which in turn should give a longer lifespan. Also has a two year guarantee.

Don

Many thanks Don, Zanussi it is for the hob and oven. We now seem to be heading down the integrated route for the dishwasher, washer drier and fridge freezer. I will take your advice on the washer/drier and have looked at the machine you suggested. The closest I can get to that model that is integrated is the only integrated washer/drier in the Bosch range at least on their UK site, the WVTi 3240 and that seems to be out of my price range. So any other constructive suggestions you may have would be of help.

Sticking with Bosch for the integrated dishwasher I found the Bosch SGV 57T03 and the Bosch SHV55M03GB. There seems to be about £80 difference between the two of them and I am hoping inside the parts used are the same allowing me to go for the cheaper of the two.

Finally I'm back to square one with the fridge freezer though, I am looking at either the Zanussi ZI918/12K or the Zanussi ZI921/8FF which seem to be pretty much the same barring the increased fridge capacity. Although I have no brand loyalty to Zanussi or Bosch for that matter.

Sorry, I don't want to turn this into a kelkoo saga, I'm just cautious about forking out a large sum of cash for something I can pick up for 2/3's the price under another brand name made by the same manufacturer. Or end up with a kitchen appliance thats in bits 18 months down the line. Although I appreciate nothing is for sure.

Hi Chris
Do you really need to have the built in look as it does push the price up considerably? If the answer is yes then look at the Zanussi ZJD1219 washer dryer as another choice.
On the dishwasher front the only real difference I can see is the SHVMO3GB has a 5cm taller cavity which is okay if you have extra large dishes wheras the SGV57To3 has more programme selections, swings and roundabouts here and there is not a lot of difference in the price either.
Zanussi Zi918/12K would be my choice as it has the larger freezer capacity.

Good luck
Don

Hi Don,

Yes, it would seem that built in is the direction we have gone in. It's certainly the case of less is more here by the sounds of it and it's put a few hundred on the costs. Many thanks for your additional suggestions, after some further research I have decided to take your advice and am duly ordering early next week. Thanks for taking the time to read through and suggest alternative appliances. The more I have looked into this the more bewildering the ranges available have become to be honest. I'll certainly be recomending anyone I know to at least come and read this site, that for sure.

Chris

No problem Chris let us know how it all fits in.

Don

Hello. We currently have a Bosch built in dishwasher but it's bust after five years; where did you find stockists for the two built-in versions you mention and would you mind telling me how much as we shall need to replace it! Many thanks.

Hello, and apologies for the delay in coming back to you, we finally moved in last week, althoug the kitchen/appliances were installed barring the cooker some weeks ago now. All went according to plan and, although it is early days we are extremely happy with the kitchen, so many thanks to you all here for your help and advice. It made it alot easier for us.

To answer the question about the Bosch built in dishwasher I did the following:

Looked at WhichOnline and also spoke to people here, then, once I had decided what we were going to buy I used Kelkoo the price comparison service to find the lowest unit prices. I then phoned a company called Miller Brothers (not sure if I can put the link here but you can google it) they have about 30 stores across the country, I spoke to a store manager on the phone and waited until the end of the month. I don't know if they have monthly targets or not but it was worth a shot. Everything barring the cooker was in stock. Firstly I asked them to price match everything to the lowest quotes I could see online, then after they had agreed to that I asked for a further discount if I bought all 4 with them and free delivery. So on the price front I guess about £50 under the lowest price currently on Kelkoo.
On the plus side Miller Brothers delivered when they said they would, and the service was excellent. On the minus side the cooker I ordered was gas hob and twin electric oven (Smeg) and they delivered an all electric. The model number was out by one letter when the store placed the order with Smeg as far as we can tell. However, having been advised of the mistake they have sorted it out, lent us a new twin electric hob to tide us over and were very aplogetic and helpful. I would definately use the same method of obtaining the cheapest quotes online and then buying offline from a store again and, all things considered would go firstly to Miller Brothers.