Need to whitegood an entire house. Suggestions?

Ok, so I'm putting in a bid for a house in the next couple of days. Having left XH with all the whitegoods, and with the house needing a new kitchen, I'm going to have to buy EVERYTHING.

I went to Hardly Normal, Cheeeeeeep Peeeeters and PaylessForCash the other day, and they all seem to be fairly competitive with pricing. They're also all within spitting distance of each other in Nunawading, which is less than 3kms from (hopefully) where I'll be living.

I need:

Washing machine - 7kgs at least, probably front loader but PLEASE tell me why they're better than top loaders?
Dryer - small, as most of my stuff will be line dried...
Cooktop - not sure yet, please let me know how yours is... preferably gas, don't like electric.
Oven - electric - don't know brands
Fridge - NFI, don't need a huge one, just one that works...
Dishwasher - like the idea of the two-drawer option, as there's only me and the two kids, so a half-size one would be ok?

So tell me: the good, the bad and the ugly.

What do you have? Do you like it? What are the good/not so good things about the brands that you have? Would you buy it again?

Oh and also - if you're in Melbourne, do you know a kitchen guY?!?!?!

Thanks in advance!

ohh good luck with house!!!

our stove and oven are Blanco and was about $2200 i think about 5 years ago.

We just bought a new dishwasher a few weeks ago we got Bosch which was more than i thought we would pay but DH decided it was best. Was $1270 which was a special deal.

We actually have bought a fair few things from harvey norman and they are very good at weeling and dealing a price especially when a few products. (stove and oven and dishwasher also from there)

fisher pakyall upside down fridge is great

LG top loader washing machine is great

simspson dryer has been fine

How about auction places - I have seen great deals on whitegoods - especially if you have time to wait for a good deal/accumulate over time etc

Ooh fun! You could wait for the dryer and diswasher for a bit (use clotheshorses and your sink) if you needed to wait for a good deal for those. You can get dishwasher provision and then wait.
You could even wait for the oven if you don't use it heaps, but it'd probably work out cheaper to get that and the cooktop installed at the same time. :)

Have a look at Grays Online and also sign up to freecycle.

hun, we have fp dish drawer dishwasher - love it. fp aquasmart top loader - love it too! think we have a westinghouse 5kg dryer - it's great too

as to the oven and cooktop - if you're looking to save some dollars, i have here a brand new gas cooktop (four burner, still in packaging) and ex-display electric wall oven that i bought to put in the house i owned before DH and I got together - didn't end up getting the kitchen done cos his bro passed away and we moved in together - they're up for grabs (i was going to sell them but haven't dragged them out to get the exact details of brand and stuff to list them on ebay or something like that) - if you're interested, let me know!

fridge - we have fp as well (didn't realise we had so much fp stuff til we listed it!) - also an LG upside down fridge - both are really good - you can beak in a fortnight if you want!

For the kitchen in general, Stainless steel is a real PITA to clean.
Don't do it to yourself.

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Washing machine - 7kgs at least, probably front loader but PLEASE tell me why they're better than top loaders?

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Front loaders use less water, and are gentler on clothes. You also get far less lint on your clothing with them as a rule.
You generally pay more for detergent, but use less per cycle.
The pitch of the noise in the spin cycle can make them sound loud.
miele, bosch, maytag, electrolux or asko

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Dryer - small, as most of my stuff will be line dried...

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not sure, but they use a lot of power. condensers are good but exxy

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Cooktop - not sure yet, please let me know how yours is... preferably gas, don't like electric.

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Westinghouse are pretty good, my mum has one and I love it.
Ours is technika and I dont love it.
If I had unlimited funds Id get omega/smeg

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Oven - electric - don't know brands

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As above. St George are very good also.

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Fridge - NFI, don't need a huge one, just one that works...

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I have a huge french door bottom mount electrolux, but I am a self confessed fridge snob. I prefer bottom mount freezers as they tend to be bigger, plus you open the fridge more often, and I hate bending to the floor to get the vegies out.

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Dishwasher - like the idea of the two-drawer option, as there's only me and the two kids, so a half-size one would be ok?

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Not sure on half size depends how many dishes you have? We have 2 adults and 1 mess making kid, the other is b/f but we can easily do 2 loads some days.
Again, dont get a technika.

Washing machine - Front loader generally better on water consumption. More gentle on clothes, more effective cleaning system. Apparently the way the drum turns, causing the clothes to drop into the water over and over is more effective than 'agitating' them in a drum. Down side..... cycle takes a loooong time. But you get used to it!

Dryer - If not using often, i don't think it realy matters. Get a cheapie.

Cooktop & Oven- Go the ducks nuts, best money can buy, gas cook top with electric oven. nice big wide one! Sorry no help with brands, not grown up enough to have ever bought an oven. :p

Fridge - Although upside downs are convenient they take more energy to run. When the freezer is on top it assist in keeping the fridge cool. When the freezer is on the bottom the fridge works harder to stay at temp. We hae an electrolux, i bought it b/c of their reputation. If i could afford it i would LOVE a fridge that was plumbed in to provide ice and cool filtered water! Another fridge tip..... don't get the store extended warranty, they push them so they get their cut. Inside electroulux products is a pamphlet for their extended warranty. You have 12 months to get it, it is cheaper and you are more likely to get a replacement item if there is an issue. (A service engineer from electrolux told me that one!)

Dishwasher - I guess you could loan my hubby, he's the dishwasher around here. :p Sorry never had one, so no tips!


Have you checked out greys on line. Apparently great for whitegoods......

Just a suggestion if you only want a small dryer - we have a washing machine/dryer combo - 7kg washing, 3.5kg drying. Perfect for us, and hasn't skipped a beat yet!

Love my Bosch Dishwasher (it's still pretty new, and I think I want to marry it). Love my Bosch front loader. Love my Westinghouse upside down fridge/freezer.

NFI about dryers, just about to buy us a new one, as ours is on the blink. NFI about ovens and cooktops, though I tend to think European is good for most appliances, and I think the kitchen is something worth spending money on. I agree with you about gas cooktop and electric oven! I think most people do.

Forgot to leave reviews of our whitegoods:

Dishwasher - F&P two drawer. Love it. Not sure if one drawer would suffice. We have 3 adults and 1 toddler and we'd do about 2 loads per day. But a lot of that is mugs/glasses and plates. If we just filled the sink with water and put all the mugs in there for a quick wash, we could cut that down.

Oven - Neff. It's about 10 years old and still going strong. We're about to renovate the kitchen and I'm not bothering to buy a new one because it still works perfectly.

Stovetop - have bought a Neff for the new kitchen cos the oven was so good.

Rangehood - the biggie for me was the noise factor - test them out before you buy. Can't actually remember what brand we've bought for our new kitchen.

Fridge - have a Hoover upside-down. Have also had it for 10 years and still works perfectly so v reliable.

Washing machine - have an LG frontloader. The only thing I don't like about it is the wash cycles take AAAAAAGES compared to my old toploader. Like 2 hours compared to 45 mins. It does wash well though.

hey divvy
there is a clive peters clearance centre in Ringwood- along the main strip there!Its next to the main Clive Peters store along the Maroondah h/way. Maybe worth going in there and see what is around- they had heaps of stuff when we went there last time and there prices were heaps cheaper.

Also we bought a dryer not long ago and we rang a few different shops to find out their best prices. Between our highest and lowest prices there was $200 difference and they were the same shop, but a different location!!!! So when you find out what you are after, let your fingers do the walking and ring around!
mwah and good luck!

Ok, I have the good & the bad

The good ( I would buy all of these brands again):
Westinghouse dishwasher. Somehow it seems to fit almost everything that I own, I jam pack it full of dirty dirty dishes and everything comes out clean & sparkling.

Blanco electric oven & 4 burner gas cook top. I looove the gas cook top.

Fisher & Paykel dryer. We just went for the smaller/cheapest one we could find and this is it. We've had it for 4 over 4 years (probably used 1 or 2 times per week during winter and never used during summer) and it's fantastic. Easy to clean the lint filter and does the job well.

The bad:
LG 7kg front loader. Did well for the first 4 years but now dances around the room violently. I had it repaired and they advised me that LG front loaders are notorious for dancing around the room. However, they may have improved on this since so I guess just keep that in mind. I personally would not buy another LG again but I would buy another front loader for sure. I've never used a top loader so I can't really answer that question, sorry.

Good luck & I hope you get some really good deals.

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Ok, I have the good & the bad

LG 7kg front loader. Did well for the first 4 years but now dances around the room violently. I had it repaired and they advised me that LG front loaders are notorious for dancing around the room. However, they may have improved on this since so I guess just keep that in mind. I personally would not buy another LG again but I would buy another front loader for sure. I've never used a top loader so I can't really answer that question, sorry.

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I second the above, we had an LG front loader, never again.

Yeah, I have heard that about LG front loaders. I have always been advised that European front loaders are the only way to go. Made anywhere else, they simply use top loader technology and turn it on it's side :doh:

Oh yeah. I forgot too. :p May I present the budget options (we were a student and apprentice when we married).

Stove: (we rent, but it's not great, don't care what it is. If you own any pans/trays though, just bring the biggest one you want to be able to fit to make sure it does).

Fridge: We have a two door Simpson with no bells and whistles (so cheaper but big, and with 2 boys like us, consider the future as well, if they're big eaters you might want a decent freezer to fit leftovers). We used to have a Whirlpool and that was good too (it just got too small).

Washing Machine: It's an Indesit (cheaper Italian brand) front loader. No troubles, apart from the year it was playing up because I was pressing a button combination I wasn't supposed to (pressing the 'shorten cycle' button on the Quick wash cycle) - since I read the manual it's been clear sailing. :p

Dryer: Homemaker from K-mart. Works like any other dryer I've ever had, spins the clothes and creates heat to dry clothes...

Dishwasher: Forget that, just make sure your oven is big enough to hide the dirty dishes when guests come over. Sorry, I don't have one. :p

If you buy a top loading washing machine get one that has a small agitator on the bottom as this is gentler on clothes.
Retravision, keep an eye on your local paper for local specials, have some good prices at different stores at different times of the year. The one at Chirnside Park is really helpful and not pushy.
When buying a dishwasher ask about servicing as some parts are harder to get than others.

Why don't you try E&S Trading?

Washing machine - I have a 9kg FP top loader like BG I think it's the best. My last one was a FP as well and it lasted 10+years before it died in the 'bottom'
Dryer - I have a simpson sirocco 350. It's old and tiny, but I wouldn't be without it. Especially when it is freezing and there is no hope in hell things that I need are drying.
Cooktop - I have an Omega 5 hob gas cooktop. I love love love it. It's 12 months old and the best I've ever used. Omega is the step down from Smeg (we couldn't afford that). My mum has a smeg induction cooktop which is just as good as gas for temp control, but way more exxie and you have to make sure you have the appropriate pans so that you don't scratch it. I would never willingly go back to electric cooktop.
Oven - again, I have a Smeg. I have a 900mm though (it's 1/3 wider than your average oven). Love love love this too. It's controls are a bit finicky but it is a truely fantastic oven. Again, mum has the better model, but my oven is more user friendly.
Fridge - I've got a FP upside down one. Yep I know less energy efficient, but the drawers in the freezer sold us. Much easier than digging around in the back of a regular freezer, plus it's much much harder for Darcy to reach stuff in the fridge, whereas if we had one where the fridge was on the bottom, she could 'access all areas' IYKWIM?
Dishwasher - We looked at the FP drawers but every salesman told us not to. They are expensive and for what they do there are dishwashers out there that will wash just one rack. A regular dishwasher has more useable space too apparently. I have an Omega that does do just the top rack, works for us, but we rarely have less than a full load anyways. Dishwashers are also more water efficient per day than handwashing with s sink full of water a couple of times.

The new F&P top loaders are designed like a front loader, same water efficiency, better wash AND you dont get sore knees and back bending down to fill/empty it like you do with a front loader. They would be my pick for a washig machine.

We put Lofra cooking appliances in our kitchen and they have been awesome.

For a dishwasher you cant go past an ASKO for quality and economy.

Dryer...no idea...we have hubbies elcheapo simpson still that I dearly want to replace cos its too small but it just wont bloody die!!

Oh and for fridge/freezer, work out how much you think you will freeze....like will you bulk cook meals and freeze them etc. If so dont get a top/bottom arrangement cos the freezer part will be too small, we are paying for this mistake dearly....go for a side by side one.

And yeah if you go to any place wanting all those items at once and are paying cash I would expect them to fall over themselves to accomodate you pricewise.......

I would try and find newish items on ebay, to save some $$ if i were you.

Otherwise Grey online.

We have F&P Aquasmart washing machine. Best thing I ever bought. We also have a F&P twin draw dishwasher, never had any problems with it. It was in the house when we bought it 4 years ago. In that time I haven't had to do any repairs. I don't know how old it is though.

Thanks so much guys. I really appreciate it. Now just to get the house...

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I would try and find newish items on ebay, to save some $$ if i were you.

Otherwise Grey online.

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We have got some great things on ebay. Got a FP dishwasher for $120, its 7 yrs old but was at a business premises so not heavily used and works really well.
I would also try a 2nds warehouse, sometimes its the box that has been damaged, even if its minor scratches on the item I always figure that with kids its going to happen anyway!

Yay Div!
For my 2 cents worth i reckon it is worth putting your list of everything together and seeing if you can wangle a package deal on everything. We did that when we bought our stuff for our place 10 years ago and saved between 20 - 30%. We did pay cash though after saving our behinds off, not sure if this is an option for you given the time you have.

IMHO the cheapest place to go is the good guys, we go to one out in bayswater which is a bit of a hike but worth it pricewise even taking into account extra delivery fees.

We were students when we bought our bits and pieces and 10 years on my comments are:

Dishwasher and Washing machine - both Lg - both very ordinary and I would def not buy again. Have had problems with both from about the 5 year mark.
Dryer - we have a simpson - basic low end model - has been great (but like you I don't use it that much).
Looking at new dishwasher and love the look of asko models they seem quiet and very water efficient.
Fridge I have a fisher paykel top freezer bottom fridge one. Very happy with it we got it second hand when we moved in now about ready to changeover. I have been looking at those and my one issue with upside down is that you get much less fridge capacity than freezer on top in cases where externally the unit s are both the same size. I personally wanted the fridge capacity more than freezer but that's because I have already got a separate freezer.
Can't comment on the rest but will look on with interest as in my dream world I would love to renovate my kitchen soon!
Good luck
B xo

div greys online have kleenmaid stuff at the moment really really cheap!!

is it kleenmaid that have just recently gone kaput in australia?? if things are decidedly cheap, i'd be checking that you still get your warranty with them. i'd be worried about getting products cheap but having no back up kwim???

Yes BG! I'd be a tad worried about that with kleenmaid.

id doubt very much you'd get a warranty! trade off for getting it cheap ;)

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Love my Bosch Dishwasher (it's still pretty new, and I think I want to marry it). Love my Bosch front loader. Love my Westinghouse upside down fridge/freezer.

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another vote for Bosch here. Super durable and super tough

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Why don't you try E&S Trading?

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Is it me or does anyone else find them expensive for a store with the word 'Trading' in it. It's Harvey Norman or the Good Guys for me. They always discount if u ask them

Got the house... still looking at stuff.

E & S Trading have the WM (Bosch) at about $300 cheaper than anywhere else... also the scratch and dent at Cheep Peeters have the fridge at $600 off - it's got a dent in it...

I seem to be able to get most places to package me at about $5K, which is ok I guess... now have to get settlement date so I can work out where to get it all!

Thanks for your help!