Ovens, fridges, dishwashers etc - which brands do you rate?

[kmini]

Morning

We are buying new large appliances for our new build.

Would love to hear positive and negative thoughts on the medium priced appliance brands for:

• Oven/combination oven microwave

-fridge freezer - ideally American style

• dishwasher
• induction hob

-washer -dryer

Any thoughts very much appreciated

I've just realised in the past few days that my snobbery towards microwaves might put me in a sticky situation.

I've never had a microwave and always managed with warming in oven or hob.

So I didn't spec one on this kitchen.
I don't like the built in ones as they are unnecessarily large on the outside and small on the inside.

However with a baby on the way I'm starting to think I might regret that 😬

"However with a baby on the way I'm starting to think I might regret that"

Yes, you will .

I have never understood the snobbery about microwaves. I wouldn't be without one. I am a pretty competent cook and baker and use my microwave for:

Melting butter
Melting chocolate
Making chocolate fudge icing
Making the odd mug cake (Actually it is DD who does this)
Making porridge
Making custard if using custard powder
Reheating/defrosting frozen meals that I have cooked
Heating baked beans
Reheating tea/coffee that has cooled down too much before I finish drinking them
Making popcorn
Disinfecting dishcloths and wash up sponges
Softening butter for baking
Warming tortillas
Toasting nuts and sunflower seeds
starting off baked potatoes to reduce cooking time in the oven
Heating wheat bags

I think the snobbery is from people who don't know how to make microwaves work for them.

Thanks for all your thoughts! Keep them coming.

Anyone had any bad experiences with combination oven microwaves?

Miele. Preferably when on offer with the extended warranty (often up to 10 years).

lamastonished no idea either.
I think I just dislike the look of them taking up space etc.

That's a long list of reasons to have one though 😂

I had better start thinking about one

Have to say Miele hasn't been great here. The tumble dryer has had two repairs after 2 years ( not covered in warranty), and washing machine is fine but at £1300 it washes no better than our last £500 one

That's disappointing,I've had my Miele washer for 16 years and still going strong,no repairs and only replaced my drier after 15 years. Fridge and freezer both 10 years old. Dishwasher was third hand by the time we got it and it still lasted us about 8 years- we worked out it could've been 20 years plus in total. Our hoovers are 10 years old and still going strong

Miele or Bosch loggix.

"That's a long list of reasons to have one though"

That's why it gets used a lot

I also use the kitchen timer on it a lot.

Oven/Fitted Microwave/induction hob - all Bosch > 6 years old and happy with them (replaced whole kitchen and kept oven!)

Fridges/freezer/tumble dryer - Zanussi - again > 6 years old and going strong. dm buys bosch fridge/freezer/dishwasher and none have lasted.

Washing machine - 2 years old Samsung - still like it

Extractor - Whirlpool - guess its still working but isn't amazing

Dishwasher - our 18 months old Siemens, recommend by Which? is crap

We've got Bosch fridge freezer, induction hob and built in oven and are happy with them. The microwave is Panasonic and the washer dryer is Hotpoint and no problems there either.

we're just about to have our kitchen fitted and I have to pick from Siemens or Miele. However, I have always had BOSCH as my firm favourite, the workhorses of dishwashers and washing machines. Think I will probably go with Siemens. As PP mentioned don't bother with SMEG. Very poor quality for the money. will never waste my money on SMEG again...actually just about to write a letter of complaint to them.

We got Siemens and Neff when we redid our kitchen last year. We're generally happy with the quality, but what drives us mad about all of it is the compulsory beeping. The Neff fridge freezer is the worst for this - it beeps loudly after a door has been open for a minute, say if you're filling it with shopping or thinking of what to cook. You can temporarily switch it off, but only after it's beeped already, and only then for another few minutes. There is NO way of making the beep quieter or extending the time before it beeps. We HATE it.
The Siemens induction hob is great performance, heats up as quick as gas, but is as needy as a pp describes - also beeps at theslightest thing etc. so non-beeping devices would be my main recommendation.
The Neff oven plus oven/microwave is brill - I love it, and it's less beepy than the others. It's one of those doors which slide in, like on bake-off. Best thing ever! We didn't have a double oven before and I can really recommend that. We also have a Bosch dishwasher from the old kitchen which is incredibly reliable. Washing machine is Siemens. Admittedly we live inGermany, but I would always go for German technology, just not German ideas aboutbeeping.

Our Bosch washing machine is dead after three years. It was shit at washing too. Our previous bargain basement Hotpoint lasted 13 years.

Oven and hob are Siemens, only 18 months old but pleased so far.

Reluctant to shell out best part of £1000 on a Miele washer as you could buy several cheaper washing machines for that. You could replace a washing machine every 4 years and still be quids in if you don't get more than 15 years out of your Miele.

Also, a brand that's 15 years old now only tells you that the build quality was great 15 years ago...

Bosch washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher here all still going strong after 14 years with just a single minor repair to the washing machine last year (£85).

I have a Samsung American style fridge freezer that I love but can't comment on longevity because it's only a couple of months old.

Not recommended: the Liebherr fridge freezer that the Samsung replaced. Didn't ever maintain the temperature properly despite massive repair under warranty. Also constantly leaked condensation into the vegetable drawers.

If I could afford the Brand I would buy Miele. My Optima Hoover washing/tumble dryer is ten years old. My Beko double oven cooker is six years old. My Zanussi fridge freezer is twenty-five years old. I have had no problem with those so far.

Def no to a combi microwave/oven. They aren't good at either (in my experience). We have a really posh one (wolf) and it's just not worth it. Go for a normal microwave and separate oven unless you are really tight on space.

Avoid SMEG - all show and no go!! Both the dishwasher and oven needed v expensive repairs. We ended up getting rid of both!

Dont waste your money on Miele, i had a housefull of it and it all went wrong, as did my mothers and our friends too. Customer service is costly and appauling too.

Stick with Bosch, they have never been wrong and have lasted for years and years.

Had our kitchen done nearly 2 years ago and got all Bosch. Had a special offer through a corporate deal via my employer - got it all there, John Lewis and an independent appliances place in Cornwall. I did a LOT of shopping around to make sure I was buying at the cheapest price.

Pleased with all of them so far - integrated fridge/freezer, washing machine, single oven, microwave combi, induction hob, wok burner, extractor.

The microwave had an issue after only a few weeks but engineer came out promptly and all covered by warranty. Fine since. We mainly use microwave combi for the microwave and grill rather than a 2nd full oven although it's v useful at Christmas. It still freaks me out that it's fine to have metal in a microwave

The only downside is how much smaller integrated fridge freezers are than free standing but that's a general not just Bosch's fault!

Problems with combination microwaves- yesssssssss!

I bought a Samsung Smart Oven (convection, 900watt microwave, grill, set cooking programmes, you get the drift) as a second smaller oven for the balcony/utility room. We have air conditioning so baking in summer is counter productive.

After 25 months the convection oven bit stopped working. No matter how gentle I am it just cuts out and messes up the whole process. Any cake rising etc. is irretrievable. So now it's just a glorified microwave and I have a cheap toaster oven for actual baking. Not recommended.

About multi-appliance brands. Whirlpool seem to have improved their game. We kitted out a student let with all Whirlpool freestanding appliances and I'm impressed with the 6th Sense Zen washing machine- quick cycles, low consumption and very quiet. The prices were good too.

However Bosch is usually my brand of choice.

Miele for dishwasher and induction hob. The dishwasher is really, really quiet. This is a massive deal for me and I bought Miele because they are the quietest! We paid a lot of money for it but it is very effective at cleaning and just brilliant. The hob is fast, clean and easy to use. No problems that somepeoplehave experienced. Touch controls. No knobs - so cleaning is very easy. Miele for coffee machine.

I have two Kuppersbusch ovens. Again very reliable and top quality build. I have a Neff Combi oven/microwave built in. Not so well built as the Kuppersbusch but it works well.

Dryer is currently Miele and Washing machine is Siemens. I have had the WM for about 15 years.

My two fridges and freezer are built in - Leibherr. Again, about 15 years old. Not sure if they do free standing but their built in a fantastic. I prefer the look of sleek cupboards and no gaps! Two fridges gives a lot of storage; more than American style.

I just seem to buy German! When I bought an Indesit washer/dryer for a flat recently, it went wrong in 18 months. Call out fees and repair quote from Indesit was astronomical. They said it was our fault it went wrong. It was not. Local guy was much cheaper but 18 months!!! I will never go near them again.

Am in a similar position to you, just having a kitchen fitted in a new (to us) house. The only thing that is staying from the last one is my Fisher and Paykel fridge/freezer it is brilliant, my favourite thing being that ice cream comes out at the perfect consistency every time.

In last house (new build so all new stuff) we had a lot of whirlpool appliances which were rubbish, dishwasher had to be replaced after less than 18 months.

This time have gone for a combination of Siemens and Gorenje in oven and hob and the LG for washing. I would love to be able to afford the Fisher and Paykel dishwasher drawers but am quickly running out of budget so will probably go for bosch which dh swears by.