Bosch Tumble Dryers - Best Buy?

[Alan Dempster]

Evening guys and girls.

Looking to buy a new tumble dryer. I've already decided on Bosch, and I want it to be vented, rather than condensor. I'm not afraid of hammer-drilling a huge hole in the side of our new house, and the vented models seem to dry quicker, and cost less to buy. I also suspect that their reliability is marginally better than the newer condensor models.

Anyway, onto the question: I'm considering two different models...

- Bosch WTA3204 (£329)

- Bosch WTA3606 (£399)

Both seem to have the same basic features, but the WTA3606 offers niceties like a delay start, mins remaining display, "cycle complete" buzzer, choice of timed or sensor programmes etc.

Specifically, I'd be interested to hear from anyone who happens to have either of the above models, and if so, I'm interested to know if the WTA3606 is worth the extra money.

Many thanks for any feedback.

Best,

Alan.

[Angela]

I don't know aanything about the models but I can get better prices!

BE Direct £312 free del Empire Direct £272 + del Co-op £275 + £15 del QED £289 inc del

BE Direct £365 free del Empire Direct £332 + del Co-op £330 + £15 del QED £341 inc del

Angela

[Suzuki993]

I bought the 3204 for 265 from pluggedin recently. I'm very pleased with it. The extra features mentioned for the other model wouldn't be used by me so I would say it wasn't worth the extra.

Regards

Pez

[fred]

In article , Suzuki993 writes

You just made it, have a look at:

[Suzuki993]

[Colin Dempster]

Hmm.. thanks for the input.

Does the 'Extra Dry' programme (1) actually work -i.e. does it get the load totally dry, first time round?

Cheers

Alan

[Colin Dempster]

Thanks for the info, Angela.

Being a traditionalist with more dough than sense, I'm going to get it from John Lewis, who (unlike 'Plugged In') won't go bust overnight, and offer a decent level of service, and free delivery!!

Thanks anyway! :)

Al.

[Andy Hall]

I think you might be surprised about that. JL will simply push the service off to the manufacturer for execution, they just front it. The reality is that they are at best a warehouse operation just like everybody else, and for an increasing number of goods act simply as order takers for direct delivery from the manufacturer. The only difference is that they have stores and employ (almost) sentient staff.

You are paying for supporting an infastructure which is adding no real value.

If you buy the product using a credit card, then it is irrelevant if the store goes bust because the card company is jointly on the hook with the retailer anyway. I don't see Mastercard or Visa going bust at any time in the near future.......

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[dmc]

Do you mean for repairs or for delivery? I have purchased 2 fridge freezers, a dishwasher and a washing machine from JL in the last 4 years and all have been delivered from JLs stock room at their bluewater branch in JL vans. Granted I may have been lucky - I always ask if they are in stock.

If you are talking about for repairs then I haven't had need to find this out yet!

Certainly they offer to be able to get anything from the manufacturers catalogue but in my experience if it is on the shop floor then they have them in stock. I guess the Bluewater store may have bigger store room than many though :-)

Darren

[Angela]

Your money, your choice. I do however think the Co-op has been around a while and is not likely to go bust in the near future. I have been using BE Direct for 6 years now. I bought a TV from them a couple of years ago (a Sony) for £250 less than Comet/Dixons/Currys etc with free delivery and a free 5 year warranty. The TV was 6 months old when I started having problems with the sound dipping. I contacted BE Direct who didn't even bother to send an engineer out - as it was in the first 12 months they sent me a new TV and a new warranty etc. I would be surprised if JL would offer more than that! If your money ever becomes a problem for you, you are quite welcome to send some my way anytime ;o)

Angela

[dmc]

If this is the price that the Co-op are selling at in their stores then JL will price match without problem.

Oh, a free 2 year warranty from JL as well which maybe worthy (5 on big tellys I think)

Darren

[Dan delaMare-Lyon]

That's not much cop. Bosch give 2 years on everything themselves nowerdays anyway!

Cheers Dan.

[harrogate]

Whilst Bosch make good products in general, reading of others experiences suggests that they are no better made than your more common brands, and no more reliable - you just pay more. It is noticable that in Germany Bosch is in the same grading as the likes of Zanussi, Hotpoint, and Whirlpool over here.

If you want something well made, that will last as long as you, and has good customer support, look at Miele. They are a bit more expensive but they are to last. A friend of ours in Germany has a Miele washer well over

20 years old that has never had a fault of any sort!

If there is a John Lewis with range, go have a look at what they have to offer. Not only are they 'never knowingly undersold' and thus will price match, but you will get a two year warranty on almost any large white goods.

[Suzuki993]

Yes

[Suzuki993]

If you buy anything made by Bosch, they deliver it direct and if you have any warrenty problems Bosch will sort it out with you directly. This has been my experience anyway. Therefore it doesn't matter who you buy it from - just use a credit card!!!

[Christian McArdle]

I ordered from QED. Both items (Smeg washing machine, Bosch tumble dryer) arrived together in a van with Miller Brothers on the side.

Christian.

[Dan delaMare-Lyon]

They are a huge group and carry their own stocks - like Currys/Comet.

There are very few that do tho - most rely on the likes of Merlin Fiege/Bosch to deliver for them.

Cheers Dan.

[John Laird]

I haven't had a duff Bosch appliance yet, and the view inside my 3 year-old washing machine revealed a very neat and well laid-out design. In so far as once can judge these things.

[usenet]

Nearly all modern appliances from all manufacturers are much, much more reliable than those of 15-20 years ago. I think you'll find that most people share youre reliability experience whatever make they buy nowadays.