Is this a new twist on expiring after warranty is out?

[tiv48]

my brother still works as an engineer for a white goods shop specialising in high end goods (Neff/BOSH/ Miele ) he recons that the later ones are not that reliable
with soft ware problems and in one case bad processor board layout .
mind you he used to work as a service engineer for DYSON so most things are more reliable than there counter rotating washing m/c
Rob T

[Refugee]

The worst I have ever seen was a 1980s Coulston washer/drier.
Three door timers under warranty. It was given to me as scrap after my parents inherited it from my grand mother shortly after the 1 year warranty ran out. My grand mother hung onto her gas mangle for dear life for years even when the flat was all electric. Who could blame her. She was right.
I took the part off and it had been so hot that it crumbled like a crisp and had contacts that could not have been rated at more than 5 amps with a 2000W dryer running from it in addition to the thermal timer element.
The price for a replacement was more than a mate of mine had just paid for a real motorised ford car door lock in the same month.
I did not buy one. It got fixed with a V5 micro-switch and the machine was sold with a note that the door timer had been removed due to a fire risk. The work mate I sold it to never came back with any problems.
All that rubbish just because a safety officer thinks that some idiot might open the door while it is spinning and thrust there arm in rapidly enough that the drum will still be rotating.
The risk of a power interruption during the boil wash is much greater so you are still at a much greater risk of getting scolded feet.
We were lucky when the 1960s machine we had broke down as the water had cooled down before the door was opened. When I fixed it for the same fault 20 years later I got the pump to spin without opening the door and there was no mess.

[Radio Fixer]

The trouble with John Lewis on line you have to have whats there ! Just rang about my shopping list of appliances as they only had one item. Chap said basically "what you see is what you can have". So goodbye!

We have used A.O. (Appliances online) who have a much greater range and stock and the prices are good. Bought from them before and they were excellent. So it looks as if they will get the business.

Gary

[pwdrive]

I think in the end you makes yer choice, pays yer money and keep yer fingers crossed, it's the throw away age with a lot of this stuff.
I remember my parents scrimping and scraping to pay the HP payments on the washing machine and just about everything else.

Lawrence.

[Joe]

That's my thinking, Lawrence. I got the cheapest washer I could and when it goes wrong I'll bodge it up myself, if I can, or just get another.

- Joe

[pwdrive]

All things are relavent.

Years ago we couldn't afford obtainable new spares.

Now we can but the spares aren't available.

Common denominator = a visit to the scrap pile, not a lot has changed.

Lawrence.

[Joe]

Even when spares are available they're so expensive as to make a lot of repairs uneconomic, especially for 'normal' people who have to pay to have them fitted.

- Joe

[camallison]

I think that Neff is using the wrong vowel. They are overhyped, overpriced and overcomplicated. I've met a few of their domestic appliances and the biggest problem is that you seem to need a degree in Neffness to be able to use them. You shouldn't need to RTFM to use an oven.

For major appliances I'll probably choose between Bosch, Miele (very good but expensive), AEG or Siemens. Zanussi washing machines are pretty good too.

The moral of this story is to buy from John Lewis when reasonable to do so. While you get the occasional horror story their reputation for customer service is excellent.

PS: Seems that Hoover have taken over the remains of Baumatic http://www.which.co.uk/news/2013/11/hoov...nd-341021/

Something that makes very good reading is this site:

http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help/about...ation.html

Just click on the name of the appliance manufacturer and you might just be surprised! For example, AEG .... really Electroloux rebadged. Neff - part of the Bosch Group and hence BSH Group. Having had the replacement Neff oven for a day so far, I find the instructions and controls very straightforward. They rate alongside Bosch and Siemens appliances we have had in the past.

Colin

[Radio Fixer]

Maybe AEG isn't Electrolux rebadged ... I hope so. It was said to me that they were the more upmarket range like Audi is to Volkswagon.

Whether the quality is really better, and that's what we try to buy, I don't know.

But I'm weary of trying to choose and source all the items we want, delivered when we need them, so that's it.

Glad you are happy with your Neff

Gary

[Yorkie]

Maybe AEG isn't Electrolux rebadged ... I hope so. It was said to me that they were the more upmarket range like Audi is to Volkswagon.

Whether the quality is really better, and that's what we try to buy, I don't know.

But I'm weary of trying to choose and source all the items we want, delivered when we need them, so that's it.

Glad you are happy with your Neff

Gary

Though AEG is a German company, perceived by many to be a 'high end' brand along with other German brands, such perceptions are highly subjective and irrational as we have nothing on which to base our judgments, which are emotional rather than (as we all like to think), objective and rational. For some years AEG has been owned by Electrolux who own a basketful of brands (including for example, Flymo mowers), and also makes John Lewis badged appliances. In common with other German Brands, due to high and rising labour costs, AEG moved production away from Germany some time ago.

Whatever the brand, white goods are just as likely to be made in countries such as Poland and Turkey or further afield. As labour costs and terms and conditions of employment in those countries (Poland especially, as an EU member) will continue to rise, it is inevitable that production will be moved elsewhere. Competition is about putting your competitors out of business while maximising profits and minimising operating costs. The board of any company must act in the best interests of the shareholders. It's why Dyson shifted production from the UK to China - only leaving R&D here.

Really, forget the brands - when buying white goods all that matters is the features and benefits, does it look nice, will it fit the space, and how much is it compared to similar appliances? The brand name has little to do with whether or not it will conk out on us - there are no small firms making white goods - only large conglomerates. Whether it's Siemens, AEG or Beko will have little bearing on its longevity or reliability.

At least 20% of the price of a BMW, Mercedes or Range Rover is in the 'brand value'. They charge what the market can stand, and for premium brands, people are prepared to pay a premium price. That's why Toyota invented the Lexus brand and now Vauxhall have invented Infiniti. Those brands can charge far more for their cars that people who buy them would have been prepared to pay for a Toyota or a Vauxhall, yet such brands offer little in the way of features and benefits which differentiate the car rather than differentiating the brand.

All a scarf has to do is to keep you warm and look presentable. Worth a tenner at most - certainly not more than £20.00. But Paul Smith scarves cost over £100, because fashion conscious people with high disposable incomes know a Paul Smith scarf when they see someone wearing one, and are just not going to buy one from M&S, Primark or Matalan as their peer group will know it's not a Paul Smith. Hence, they pay a high premium to buy into the brand.