Dishwashers!!

[millimollimandi]

OK, more a WWYD, but I am curious - I don't have an opinion on who is right or wrong but interested in WWYD.
We need a new dishwasher. Ours is unrepairable after 11 years. We are OK financially and in the last few years when stuff has needed replacing we have gone high(ish) end and paid for a superior product. We have learnt over the years that you do (in general) get what you pay for. We have been hand washing up for about 9 months until we could be arsed to sort out the dishwasher (relevant).
Ok, a disagreement between me and my DH.
One of us wants to buy an expensive dishwasher with a 2 year guarantee. Say for arguments sake £1000. The other wants to buy a cheap one - say £200 - and take out insurance from the seller for another £200 which gives a 5 year parts and labour warranty. The one that wants to buy the expensive one says it would be too much hassle if the machine went wrong to get someone in to repair it. The other says we have been hand washing up for months with no problem. A dishwasher isn't like a washing machine in that isn't an essential. Getting an expensive one with warranty isn't an option as the cost of warranty goes up exponentially, so would be prohibitively expensive. WWYD?

[splishsplashsploshsplishsplash]

Our hotpoint died this year after 10 years. We replaced with a £200 one from Argos as we're a couple of years off an extension and will get an integrated one then. I'm so impressed with it for £200, way better than I expected and made me realise my last one was quite rubbish compared!

[BinkySodPlop]

I was advised a few years ago by a plumber that extended warranties were not worth it, as you would probably pay more in premiums than a repair, especially for something like a dishwasher, where it's not essential, and you wouldn't need an emergency call-out fee etc.. Also, a lot of the policies don't cover you for everything (the things that typically go wrong / are expensive!).

As an aside, I adore my new Beko - a replacement of my old Bosch which was over 10 years old. I sometimes wonder what the trade-off is in keeping an old, possibly inefficient, appliance for a very long time verses replacing at say 7 years, with a model which uses less electricity, water and chemicals....

[BroomstickOfLove]

I'd get a Beko one from ao.com.

[MT2017]

Ours is an inbuilt Neff and has been going for 17 years. We had not expected it to last that long!

[Rachelover40]

Bosch are good but others are too, read the reviews. We got our Bosch from Argos, they delivered quickly, plumbed in and took the old one away.

I lurve my dishwasher.

[Wynston]

Smiling at the fact my mum has an aeg dishwasher that was her mums........it must be over 30years old..........to be fair its rarely used-mum seems to store things in it!

[StripyHorse]

We always go fairly basic with white goods. Think our first dishwasher (Beko?) Lasted about 12 years, possibly more. For £1000 I would want it to load / unload itself. Agree with PP that putting the money you would spend on cover in a savings account is a great idea.

[DontCallMeShitley]

It used to be that there was very little that could go wrong with a dishwasher.

They are more complicated now and I would buy something simple with minimal buttons, bells and whistles regardless of make or price. However I tend to go with middle of the range white goods.

I would say, if possible get a stainless steel interior, plastic will hold odours more. That did limit my choice but I was determined not to have plastic. I got a Bosch.

[BlueWonder]

Our SMEG dishwasher cost £199 and has just completed 18 years without breaking down or maintenance. Used most days. Similar ones now about £350.

I wouldn't waste £££ on a super- expensive one, or an extended warranty. Do John Lewis still do the free five year warranty? Sometimes Curry's do as well if they have a manufacturer promotion.

[Floralnomad]

I’ve got a Curry’s essential dishwasher , so really cheap , it’s got more than sufficient programmes and we’ve had it for at least 10 yrs and it’s fine , so I’d go cheap and not bother with the extra warranty .

[Toneitdown]

If I could afford a top of the line dishwasher then I would get one. But DH and I both despise washing up, it is pretty much the only thing that ever caused proper arguments between us, and we have a big family and do loads of cooking and baking, batch making preserves and sauces etc so the dishwasher gets loads of use.

If you have been ok hand washing up for the last 9 months then it does seem like it might not be necessary for you to get an expensive dishwasher. Maybe just go for the cheapie and have no expectation that will outlast it's warranty.

[BarbaraofSeville]

As I've already said, we bought the cheapest Bosch one last time we needed a dishwasher. However, I'm not sure I'd go so basic again as it really is quite basic and I do miss the intensive wash programme. (good for greasy and dried on stuff) and time left display so next time I'll make sure it has those.

We are also heavily dependent on the dishwasher and part of the selection criteria last time was what could be delivered the next day from where.

Didn’t know that they don't all have a stainless steel interior, both ours have so that's something else to look out for. Not long after we got this one, I saw an advert for a Bosch that claimed to be really good at drying plastic boxes properly, which is one of my bugbears, so I'm almost willing it to break so we can get that feature.

But even though it's basic you can attach an extra spray hose at the back and run it without the top basket which is good for big things like the oven door glass or kitchen bins.

[Jarstastic]

If you do anything open plan, check the decibels.

[PurpleFlower1983]

I would assume it’s something like Miele for a grand which generally are excellent but I would imagine a £400-600 Bosch or Siemens would be just as good. I don’t think I would spend only £200 though, my mum and dad had a cheap one thrown in with their kitchen and it’s really flimsy.

[Cwtches123]

Beko cheap one going strong hear. I would buy another Beko and replace it when it eventually dies.
Extended warranties are not worth it.

[ShatnersWig]

A £200 dishwasher won’t last 11 years, I’ll bet. We have been in this house 11 years and have had 3 since we moved here, Bosch ones as well

LatteLove what on earth are you doing to your dishwashers?? I moved into my flat 9 years ago this month. Previous owner left behind an 18-month old Bosch dishwasher. Still going perfectly wonderfully thank you very much.

[Celaeno]

I think you would be mad to spend 1k on a dishwasher. Tbh the more electronic frills it has, the more there is to go wrong. So even if the basic functions of actually washing the dishes works, you just need something in the more complex electronic control board to turn faulty and your programmes won’t run properly.

I would get a fairly standard one, maybe not the cheapest but something in that range. And I would never buy an extended warranty. Put the money that would cost into a savings account and just replace the dishwasher when it needs it.

[hiddenmnetter]

Those saying get the £200 because if it lasts 2-3 years then it will have the £1k best unless it lasts 10-15 years are missing an important point: the £1k dishwasher is far more likely to properly clean and dry dishes. Nothing more infuriating than unstacking the dishwasher with dirty dishes. Just have to wash it all by hand again!!

In reality in terms of bang for buck, get a second hand decent quality- Bosch or the like. If you luck out you might get a Miele. My MIL got a Bosch serie 4 about 8 years old for £50. Runs a treat. At £50 who cares if it packs in?

If you want new though, I agree with those suggesting the mid-range: at around £500-£600 you’ll get a well designed dishwasher that should give you at least 5 years service. An AO warranty is a 3rd party D&G warranty which is decent although engineer times are slow (took 2 weeks to come out for our dryer) BUT if they can’t fix it you get a replacement.

If you are purchasing in the £500-£600 range generally the warranty will cost less than that after 5 years, so if it goes kaput you effectively have saved for the replacement in the interim.

Sorry for the long post!

[Floralnomad]

My cheap dishwasher cleans and dries the dishes just fine , cheap doesn’t mean ineffective .

[Celaeno]

Agree flora. Often you’re payIng for ‘frills’ with the more expensive products, which just means there’s more to go wrong.
The question to ask yourself OP is, provided the dishwasher cleans and dries effectively, do you want a few basic programmes (ie: a deep clean for greasy stuff, a standard wash and a rapid wash) or do you want about 20 different options?

Ime most people use about 3 different programmes so buying something for 1k is just a waste of money. I usually use the eco programme on my dishwasher. Occasionally I’ll use deep clean if I’ve done say a Sunday roast and have lots of greasy stuff. I paid £300 for mine and tbh I can’t see how I’d gain by spending £700 more. I expect I’d just get a load more optional functions which I wouldn’t need (and therefore more to potentially go wrong) I’ve had my dishwasher for 8 years, never have a problem with it. I highly doubt you’ll get your moneys worth by spending more than a few hundred

[Otherpeoplesteens]

A lot of cheaper Bosch appliances are actually white label goods made by Arçelik, so you would be paying Bosch money for, literally, a Beko machine. Look for the Made in Turkey label tucked away out of sight.

Our last dishwasher was a Whirlpool costing £250 from Comet in 2001, purchased because it was the second cheapest in the store. It lasted just short of 15 years without a glitch until the mechanical dial thing which slowly turned around and moved it to different phases of the cycle simply wore out and couldn't be replaced.

We replaced it with a Miele partly because it was a good buy (big cashback offer at John Lewis) but because it used less water and energy than almost anything else, and because it is much, much quieter. After the cashback it only worked out about £450 in 2016. One of the things about Miele appliances is that they are designed to be repairable for ever, and Miele undertake to supply spare parts for everything they make for ever. I read once that they even have someone who hand-made parts for an 80 year old vacuum cleaner by copying the ones in their own museum.

For me, it would depend on what kind of water you have. We are in Manchester with soft water, so I am happy to pay more to keep better things running for longer because it won't get killed by limescale. If you're in a hard water area then without a water softener machines can get killed off pretty quickly.

[LesLavandes]

Buy a good brand - Neff, Siemens, Miele but bottom of range

[stucknoue]

In my experience the expensive ones do not last longer and repairs outside of warranty are rarely worth it. Mine is a beko, now 7 years old, was £250

[Winterlife]

I had a KitchenAid, US made, that lasted 18 years. It was inexpensive. I now have a Miele, middle of the line price wise, no issues, and it’s 4 years old.

[LakieLady]

A lot of cheaper Bosch appliances are actually white label goods made by Arçelik

Was it very wrong of me to read that as Arselick and snigger?

Anyway, my first dishwasher was the cheapest on the market at the time, and it lasted 18 years without going wrong. The new one is Currys Essentials, and works fine.

However, I have a serious hankering for a Miele after staying in a holiday cottage that had one: whisper-quiet, brilliantly effective, felt very well-built and I love the cutlery tray in the top rather than the annoying basket in the bottom.