Recently, I realised that a lot of people do not actually know the typical prices of electrical goods. Thus, some would spend way too much for something which they may not yet need or may never need. When they need they may no longer be staying at the same place and may be moving to a new place. We look at a few today.
Washing Machine. Please buy fully automatic. Semi-Automatic is not worth your time and money. The cheapest you can buy should be a 6kg top loading washing machine for around RM500. Try opening the top part, does it look flimsy? If yes, don’t buy. Can you see inside? If not, don’t buy. Is the 6kg machine over RM600? If yes, don’t buy. I would recommend that you buy an established brand. By established brand, I do not mean just Panasonic or Sharp but also includes Korean brands like Samsung, LG and even brands which have been around for a very long time like Elba, Morgan etc. If there are 4-5 of you, I think you should look at minimum 8.5kg instead of the minimum 6kg. I have owned Haier (6kg), LG (6.5kg), Samsung (6.5kg) and most recently Sharp (8kg). My next one may be Morgan. We shall see. Oh yeah, if there’s a display unit at 30% sales, buy immediately if everything looks ok. I have never seen display units being used to show washing before……..
TV. I have done an article earlier. Here. Why Plasma TV instead of Smart LED for my new condo
Cooker Hood. I have personally owned two. One is Elba which I have used for 4 years before renting my apartment out and the tenant continued to use it for 5 years more before I sold off the apartment recently. Price? RM599, bought at a special clearance sale. Then, due to people saying Electrolux is better, I bought one for RM1299 from Harvey Norman. Seriously, I feel in terms of the overall build quality, it is definitely better than my earlier ELBA. However, if I could choose again, I am find with ELBA. After all, whether the food is delicious or not is not due to the cooker but the cook. However, I do not recommend buying any unknown brands. Typical price for cooker hoods are RM700 – RM1200. I will not pay anything higher for this even if I am buying a RM1 million condo.
Oven. I do not like microwave oven. However, for usual oven, you should buy one which is big enough for all your future needs. If can, buy a 40 litre one. This allows you to bake two cheesecakes at the same time, do your roast turkey every year end and any other cookies etc easily. Built in looks great but practicality wise I’d choose one which I can bring anywhere. My current unit was given to me free by my colleagues when I moved in to my new condo many years ago. It works well till today, Jusco Selection is the brand. Most importantly, try out the switches and open the glass door and look at its edges. A better build quality typically gives you more assurance. Again, this should not exceed RM500 unless you just want to feel good.
Aircon. Seriously, if it’s 1 horsepower, don’t talk about inverter technology. However, terms such as Plasmacluster or Ionizer is a must. The air quality is bad. Haze is here. I am currently using a Morgan 1hp aircon. My Sharp Plasmacluster is definitely better than the Morgan one but the Morgan one is only RM599. 🙂 For air-con, typical prices for 1hp should be between RM700 – RM1,000. Anything higher means the shop is overcharging you or the model you are buying is the latest model. Brands I have used and like include Panasonic, Sharp. My Morgan is still working fine, just that the control is harder to understand and it is not as fast cooling as my Sharp. Then again, RM599?? Haha.
Fridge. Buy one which is big enough to last your family growth for a few years. Try to buy one which is 400 litres or higher. Typically this would be between RM1400 – RM1800. Sometimes, if you are lucky you may just get one even cheaper due to certain promotions etc. I do not find any huge difference between all the different brands I have used, so I think it should be ok for any brand. In fact I feel the Elba Fridge that my aunty is using is better than the Samsung that my mom is having. I am using a Toshiba and a Sharp now. If something goes wrong with your fridge, I am sorry, you are just unlucky.
There are a lot of occasions where you may find a good value which is below the prices mentioned above. If you do, buy it. Do not go to 10 shops to look for one and you found one which is RM100 cheaper than the most expensive one. Your time is definitely worth more than that. For established brands, none of them make their appliances to be faulty within a few years. Thus, I have no qualms about buying any brand, even if it is a local brand as long as the build quality is good and they gave the same number of warranty years as the international ones which may still be produced in China anyway.
written on 15 march 2014
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