Our washing machine is on it's way out and deciding wether to try and eek it out until the move or to buy a new one now.
I vaguely remember hearing that front loaders are more expensive over there but wash better is this right or am I making it up as I go along? <_<

Also if we buy new here is it right that we would have to pay tax on it when we ship it over because it is new??? :sigh:

Any ideas anyone?

Terri.xxx

Oh dear just realised I can't spell washing machine either :P

Hi there
Yes, front loaders are only just catching on over here but I think they wash miles better than top loaders. I bought a front loader here to get us over the time delay before our stuff arrived as one thing I can't manage without is a washing machine. But when our stuff came through, I have reverted to using our one from the uk. I just think it washes better and it has a time delay, etc etc.
Nobody mentioned anything about paying tax on any of our goods when they arrived. How are they to know when you bought it? But I may be wrong!
It might be worth you looking on a couple of websites, not sure if they have websites but a couple of shops that sell wash machines here are The Good Guys and Keith Bowden Electrical.
All the best
Rach :D

I've found the Keith Bowden Website

http://www.kbe.com.au/

Can't help you on the other one.

Sasha :)

Keith Bowden are more expensive than the Good Guys. Also found a couple of factory seconds shops here.
Rach
Sorry gotta dash and get kids up for school!

hi i bought a front loader its a good make has time delay, rapid wash econony wash and lots of other functions and 1000 spin and i think paid 750 dollars as bought it together with my fridge and paid cash so got a good deal, i think they wanted 950 for it orignally but its amazing what they do for cash and this wasnt in the good guys shop either cant remember store name, but its worth looking around cause the fridge i wanted in the good guys was 100 dollars more expensive even after bargining with them for cash price!!!!!! but im going to say this unfortunally but how much would u spend in the uk on a washer then double it up hope this helps plus like rach says u have to pay tax on new items here if they are new at customs but it is swings and roundabouts on what u want to do
sarah

montia, if you do buy a european front loader,make sure when you ship it ,that the machine bowl is properly secured,lost count of the number of machines,we haved pulled out of containers with the bowls damaged beyond repair. The cost of fixing some makes is more than the machine is worth.................mm

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I suppose if I get a new one now it's not going to be new once we go anyway as it's taking so b****y long. (Not known for my patience I'm afraid :angry: ).

I'm going to do some more research about new things though as we also need new bikes and if we buy them here we were thinking of leaving them wrapped so to speak so not having the worry of cleaning them before shipping but not sure if thats a good idea now??

Thanks Terri.xxx :loopy:

MM, we gave our packers the instruction manual for our washing machine, and the carefully hoarded bolts to secure the drum, but they still packed it without using them.... fortunately it didn't come to any harm, though we were pretty fed up with them. Mostly they did us a great job but there were just one or two points like this where we felt they fell short.

Re paying tax, GST here is like VAT in uk and is 10%. You are *supposed* to declare anything purchased in the last 12 months in UK and pay the GST 10% tax on the purchase price on its way in here. We generally didn't buy much as we knew the situation, but didn't declare the couple of things we technically ought to and no-one questioned it.

Elaine

yes elaine we see this too often out of the UK, it only takes 5 mins to fit them. ..mm

You need to consider how you might get parts (depending on the make).
Our washer (hoover or hotpoint.....might even be a zanussi...can't remember) broke down, and we had to send off to Wales to get a specific part!

Definitely go front loader....top loaders tend to eat your clothes!!

Andy

Deffinately don't want that Andy I've got dogs that do that for me every now and then especially if they can smell a juicy morsel left in one of the pockets. :clap:
:bouncing smiles: :dancing dog:
Terri.xxx

Montia

I've just noticed that Kevt Has put the web address up for The good guys under the links section, plus other shops. Cheers Kev :thumbs up:

Sasha :)

:what?: I might just be being incredibly thick (it has been known) but I can't seem to find prices for front load washing machines in oz.
I know they are more expensive than top loaders but how do they rate to the prices for a similar model over here?
If there isn't much difference it might be worth us waiting until we get over there instead of risking paying import duty on it. :sigh:

Any ideas anyone??

Thanks Terri.xxx

Terri

I've just been checking out prices from the Good Guys in oz to Comet in the UK. Comparing a whirlpool model it calculates out as £400 in the UK to £407 (based on current exchange rates) in oz, that said the good guys in oz do state that it is cheaper for cash, so how much cheaper I don't know.

Hope this helps you a bit.

Sasha :)

I'd be inclined to consider

i) buy one now and don't declare for gst, if you've been using it a few months by the time you move it won't look brand new anyway and how are they to know exactly when you bought it.

ii) if you think it might be useful to have a washing machine here before your container arrives, might be better to leave it for now and get it as soon as you arrive!

Elaine

There's some front loaders being brought out here to handle 11 kilo's, I think it's LG and Electrolux. They look big monsters but imagine being able to do 2 loads at one time. The only down side would be if you only had to wash a few items unless there's a half load facility which I'm sure it would have.

Juls