OK so first up, please excuse if this has already been dealt with somewhere as I couldn't find any information after searching SF. And second up, excuse the boring keyword loaded topic title as I wanted anyone coming after me to "profite" from using the search feature (and hopefully finding this soon-to-be informative and valuable thread! ;-)
Our situation is thus:
We are about to rent an apartment and like many in France it is (unlike Canada) void of any appliances. We have to buy and install them as is their charming way here.
What I was wondering is if anyone has anything valuable to share about things like fridges, dishwashers, washers, dryers etc. such as:
Preferred places to buy and or avoid
Companies that might sell and deliver and install
Have you ever had to make a warranty claim? If so, who did you deal with what was that like?
From what I can tell (and my French is pretty bad so I may be misreading it) Darty delivers and installs and guarantee/warrantees everything including onsite repair (??). If that is correct they are front runners at the moment for my appliance dollar at this time.
Looking forward to any thoughts you SF members can share on this topic as everyone needs a clean pair of socks and undies to get through the day!
Joesette we have since I posted and the general opinion is Darty or Carrefour during the "soldes"! Though I can appreciate the smaller local shop makes sense if there aren't any big box competitors around to compete!
It's a bit of a maze by the sounds of things. Sounds like if you are in a smaller town then the little local shops have more appeal ... the larger towns then the big box stores are probably the way to fly.
Have you talked with local friends about this? What is available? Where did they buy? Where do they get service? What are your local options? Where do you plan on living later?
I am in a village where the electromenager store is very established and will remain that way so my situation is different. I purchased one thing from Darty in the "big city"and it broke shortly after warranty. Now I focus on the local store because I found them very dependable, but your situation is probably different. Good luck!
Hi Dan, Suzanne is right... it IS somewhat confusing. For the actual purchases I would suggest : don't deal with local shops.... you never know how long they will last, even if they have a franchise of some kind.
The "big" Carrefour's, Darty's, Auchan's and suchlike are part of national (if not international) chains and won't fold from one day to the next (we hope). The local "Carrefour Market" shops and similar are simply franchises (our local 'superette' just switched from a 'Spar' franchise to a 'U' franchise....). But then most of those don't do big appliances, or TVs, or suchlike.
For things like repairs... you may get lucky locally.... We have a (near-)local firm that started off doing TV aerials (they did ours, nearly fifteen years ago), but also installs satellite dishes, and sells appliances, TVs, and similar. They installed our CanalSat dish, and generally are very helpful. So when a few weeks ago our out-of-warranty Bauknecht tumble drier suddenly gave up the ghost (short to earth in the heating element for you experts), we gave them a chance. Well done... more responsive than Darty... they found the part, dryer fixed in a week, at a cost no more than the Darty or Carrefour SAV.
Dan.... we all have our own stories. Whether they amount to useful advice is up to you to decide....
A WORD OF WARNING! I have posted about this before but it was some time ago
We took out extended 5 year warranties for our expensive SMEG appliances with connexion in Montpellier, 2 years into the warranty the SMEG dishwasher broke (just outside the manufacturers warranty of 2 years). We contacted Connexion to find that the Montpellier branch had closed so we were referred to the head office. Head Office told us that as the Connexion branches are franchises the responsibility for the warranties stayed with the branch which had gone into liquidation. We contacted our french insurance company (AXA) through which we had the Judicial insurance thrown into our home policy and they took up the cause on our behalf. After many legal letters were sent, our dishwasher was taken away by a local repairer from Beziers (apparently the only SMEG repairer in the Languedoc) and fixed by Connexion at 750 euro (more than the cost of the dishwasher!) as a gesture of goodwill.
They told us they would not honour any of the other 'Gold' guarantees if any of our other appliances went wrong in the warranty as these papers were now worthless as the legal company which traded with the Connexion name had folded.
My message is this, the manufacturers warranty is your guarantee, proceed with care if you decide to buy extended warranties and check the legal status of the company e.g. Darty or whoever is operating i.e. is it a franchise. If it is a franchise (like our local Carrefour is a franchise) then it is likely the warranty guarantee is with the small company not the big name you trust. If it's the small company then there is a higher chance that the company may go bust but the big name remains. In our case Connexion Montpellier closed and reopened under the Connexion name but the legal company was another small company completely unconnected to the original Connexion Montpellier. Confusing non?!
Ah thanks to everyone for sharing their thoughts and experiences. Really, it's this kind of local knowledge that is invaluable. Keep 'em coming if you got 'em! Cheers!
we bought the lot from LeClerc....they delivered washing machine and tumble dryer and fitted the washing machine. Excellent service...though having so said...we have never had to claim...however....what I will say, and most know I am not the greatest advocate of living in France...the choice of washing machine was superb...and touch wood....they are French makes...and the best washing machine and tumble dryer Ive ever owned..and I am not in the first flush...! very good value...and so far...no complaints...(they have been in situ for 2 years now and get a reasonable hammering...ie. usage most days)
We bought our appliances locally (electromenager shop in our village) because of the importance of a good service apres-vente. Our washer is a front loader; we love it, but top loaders are great too.It depends on your space. At any rate, the wash comes out CLEAN , so much cleaner than with our machine in the US. Since you are buying your own you'll keep it so look at all the angles. The noise level is important, how much power it uses is very important too. Good luck!
Dan, You didn't say in what area you're renting... We got nearly all our appliances from Carrefour (closest hypermarket) and Darty (more choice, but a long drive from where we live). Both have been satisfactory. They both deliver, install, and take your defunct appliance away.
Warranties.... no big problem.... just Keep The F*cking Documentation ! (Sorry, ancient aviation proverb.) The soul-searching you will have to do is whether to take an "extended warranty"...... We did once or twice... mostly money thrown away. The standard warranty will cover 'infant mortality', the extended warranty will invariably run out a few months before a major failure occurs (this is known as Sod's Law , aka as a variant of Murphy's Law).
The one 'extended warranty' we did not regret was on our (gas+electric) cooker. Supposedly very reputable make... but needed about four repairs of various kinds, all covered by that warranty!
IMHO both the Carrefour and Darty after-sales (SAV, service après-vente) are OK, and yes, they turn up at the agreed date and time, and they will do on-site repairs if feasible.
CJ
PS Suitable suppliers are fairly widely spaced... hence my question about your location. Auchan may be fine, but we have none anywhere near.
PS2 We moved here from Paris nearly 20 years ago, so over the years most of our appliances (dating even further back) gave up the ghost. This to explain why we bought locally.
Hi Dan, Darty and Boulanger deliver, install and gurantee. We've never had any problems with them at all. They even phone you a few months later to see if you are satisfied. The appliances are guaranteed for the specific amount of time, same as anywhere and then up to you if you want to pay for a longer guarantee. We have claimed for a knob on a washing machine which broke, no probs, part ordered, replaced. The drum on the washing machine went just before extended guarantee ran out, no prob, ordered and replaced. Had flames in back of clothes dryer,they came out, checked it out(was just clothes dust/particles in fact),cleaned out the motor, no charge.If there is a problem on something you buy, you go back to the same shop to their aftersales dept and it should be dealt with. Good luck.