Buying large kitchen appliances in advance

[Seren161]

I purchased quite a few appliances well before they were required for our new build and put them in storage for what I anticipated was a few weeks before they were ready to be installed..Well weeks became months..and when they came to be installed I discovered one particular pricey appliance was delivered with a broken door and had clearly been dropped prior to delivery..cue phone calls and wrangling with AO and the appliance manufacturer as well over the 30 day window…AO didn’t want to know and the manufacturer wanted to potentially charge a call out and parts fee. It took buying a replacement which also turned up defective for the manufacturer to be embarrassed enough to sort out the issue. 

In reality it seems impractical to “‘make sure the appliance is fully functional “ when it’s packaged as tightly as they usually are, your intended kitchen/utility room is a building site and especially if the appliances are to be built in prior to use..but this got me wondering..should self builders be only buying at the point of installation? In what ways have others avoided this issue?

 

Edited January 19, 2023 by Seren161

[Bozza]

8 minutes ago, Seren161 said:

In what ways have others avoided this issue?

By photographing any packaging & opening all the packaging & checking it is undamaged when it is delivered.  As I did today actually when my parents took delivery of numerous sanitary-ware that I will be installing for them but not until March.  

[MJNewton]

I bought mine but got the supplier (Marks Electrical) to delay delivery and just store them in their warehouse. Think they had them almost a year, and whilst part of that was during the pandemic and so likely led to greater pragmatism, I never got the feeling they were in a rush for me to take them. I suppose they had my money, and of course an enormous warehouse.

 

The approach was driven by my desire to buy at the lowest price and secure  what can be hard to find items, but also not wanting the warranty clock to start ticking (Marks Electrical reissue re-dated invoices the day after delivery so no issue with registering the appliances for their warranties but the supporting receipt dates being way out).

Edited January 19, 2023 by MJNewton

[Gone West]

9 hours ago, Seren161 said:

In what ways have others avoided this issue?

We unwrapped everything, checked it, and wrapped it up again. We had been caught like that before. We have also, as @MJNewton said, asked the supplier to hold the items for a couple of months before delivering.

[Seren161]

All really good suggestions..Hoping that this thread is useful to someone..If I am ever mad enough to self build again I would definitely do what @MJNewton did. Not sure I fancy unpacking and repacking a 20-35 kg appliance ..the styrofoam alone …:-)

[ProDave]

I bought my ASHP from a business seller on ebay.  It sat in my part built house for 11 months until I finally installed it, only to find it did not work.

 

I got it replaced, but it took a fight.  What a damned good job it was only 11 months after the purchase before I installed it not 12+ months.