abi31

Right...gonna have quite a lot of space when we take our belongings to Oz (cos we've been planning this for a long time and always buy cheap stuff so we wouldn't have to worry about taking it!)

So question is - would it be worth buying a load of white goods in the UK where they do seem a little cheaper, or is there a lot of faff to consider using English goods (as far as I know it is just changing the plugs cos there isn't an issue with the difference in voltage between the countries??)

What have people done? And is there anything you'd do differently now you know more?

Thanks x

eddie007

You'll need to change all the plugs when you get here.... And this "should" be done by an electrician.. Of course we ALL abide by the rules at ALL times... Honest..

I understand that Most warranties are invalidated by moving to australia.....

People used to argue that fridges arent as effective here... Dunno why... Dunno whether it was valid or not, I know that our fridge is MASSIVE by uk standards.... Because during the summer everything has to go in it....

I would have brougt a brand new miele washing machine and dryer before coming IF we had brougt a container... And risked buying a lemon... But we didnt....

Up to you.... You can see the price differences by checking Good Guys on line... And here extended warranties are relatively cheAp....

My parents are bringing a miele and a new dyson.... Their shipping left on thursday....

chris955

If you have room then bring everything, if not then leave the oldest stuff you have.

carolinephillips

If you have a new machine, that you have used and is less than 3 years old, bring it. Older stuff is inefficient, and a pain if anything goes wrong.
White goods are very expensive here, but you can get new stuff from Seconds World (which may only have a tiny scratch or just a damaged carton) at a discount.

If your fridge is small don't bring it. You need a massive one, as stuff goes off so quickly - In summer, even the bread has to go in the fridge!

the4ofus

I brought washing machine as it was only a year old, and had a 1600 spin cycle but about 3 months here it broke and no-one would repair it becuase it wasnt made in Australia. I ended up getting a new washer - 800 spin but not much difference cos we have the sun which dries the clothes pretty quickly Also brought the tumble dryer - dont use it so much now but in the rainy season its a must. Left my frinde cos we rented our house out.

Pack your container to full capacity - you will be thankful of it once you're here. It's not cheap setting up for a new life.

Good Luck, Lynn xx

chris955

That seems a strange reason not to repair it very few are made here, it could have been that it was a machine that wasnt available here but even then it is usually possible to fix them with an equivalent part.

eddie007

Its the same with cars Chris... It can take months for parts to arrive from the rest of the world...who is going to wait 3 months for their old machine to be repaired....? And in some cases its just not economically viable to repair them......what wih shipping costs... Same with washing machines..... If it was a model that was never available locally then a washing machine repair person isnt going to bother getting parts in and you cant just go changing bit for similar bit from different machine..... Just doesnt work that way.....

macy

We bought a nearly brand new washing machine over and it didn't like the journey , lasted around 3 weeks before it finally gave up, I think moisture must have got into the computer thingy and it wasn't a happybunny. Saying that the tumble dryer is still going strong

abi31

Thanks guys - will definitely consider stocking up then - will probably be buying stuff we could get in Aus (just expensive there) - like Smeg (I know - utter rip off even in UK but it's just so cooool!)

macy

Be careful and check your model numbers, I purposely bought an LG washing machine which I knew they had in Oz but when it exploded 3 weeks after arriving in Brisbane the repair guy said that they do have LG but not this model and it could take months to get the parts.

Personally I wouldn't bring over any white goods except a tumble dryer which you will only occasionally use and when the carbon tax comes in (July) I will never be using mine again and will probably have to sell my children to pay the electricity bill

Bermudashorts

If you have them (and are not renting out UK house) then definitely bring. But I would not buy white goods just to bring, they might not survive the journey and it would be a hassle if they bbreak down in warranty.

We left our white goods as we are renting out in UK and it is expected, we bought a washing machine here and it was a perfectly reasonable price.

Alfresco

Yep, and if you buy to bring it in and it is less than 12 months old, you may get stung for import Duty. It's not huge though.

Charliecharles

We sold ours in the UK and bought new, prices are pretty competitive when you start shopping around and you can pick up some real bargains. We were also told that white goods have a nasty habit of packing up after a few months over here so it may not make economic sense to ship them over only to have to replace them within a year.

RedT

We bought a new washing machine, had it delivered last Thursday. First load of washing resulted in the laundry room being flooded with water gushing out from under the machine, now waiting on a Samsung guy coming tomorrow to have a look at it Not impressed.

Our previous machine was a second piece of crap delivered straight from the bowels of hell.

So yes, if you have nice, relatively new white good, bring 'em!

roaringmouse

There's probably a reason why Samsung washing machines are cheaper than other recognisable brands - I've heard that washing machines seem to be a weak area for Samsung with build quality, after ours broke. In our case, the door lock broke and couldn't be opened but fortunately wasn't a big loss with what was in it at the time.