Bring a washing machine?

[Wiltshire_Dave]

Should I bring a new washing machine with me? My old Bosch is on it's last legs after 6 years hard labour and I'm thinking of replacing it and bringing that out with me next month.

Do you think this is a good idea?

[mylesdw]

Obviously check prices but the choice of front-loading machines is quite limited here so I should imagine that it is worth bringing a quality machine such as a Bosch with you. I assume that you are bringing a container so the carriage for an extra item is effectively free. I have no idea what the spares and service situation is for continental brands.

A final point is that if it draws more than 10 amps (most do) you will need a 15A socket installed to use it safely. Most sockets here are 10A. Installing an extra socket for the washer is no big deal but still worth considering.

[Duncan74]

We've jsut done that. You'll need to have used it at least once to avoid duty. Bosch are available here, although some models are slightly different, so it's worth spending a bit of time with the catalogues. We bought from the co-op online shop and delivery was excellent.

[Healings]

We bought a new bosch machine and loaded it into our container in the UK in the new packaging - we will just have to pay the duty when we get there. I really wanted a front loader though so we thought it was worth it.

[Bobbysox]

We brought a 7 year old Zanussi front loader with us. We found we still had the transit bolts so put them in to make it safe for the journey.
All was well for three months till it started making nasty expensive sounding noises, and next time it was used ended up with the bearing seizing up and then destroying itself ...... the repair man said the bearing must have gone a bit rusty during the 8 weeks it was in the container. It was beyond repair so we had to buy a new machine anyway.
So if you are bringing your old machine give the bearing a bit of WD40 or similar if you can get to it. Might save a similar fate.

[rogercruse]

We plan to purchase a new Bosch after the VAT increase planned for January 2011 and before we ship our home in February.

Why?
Most retailers will be having a "we'll pay the VAT increase" promotion to reduce the impact on sales. Of course, what they really do is reduce their margin to absorb the increase and the VAT is paid anyway.

The clever bit is that you can claim the VAT back if you export within three months. So, the retailer actually reduces the price that you'll pay as you can reclaim the VAT.

NB I haven't done this yet and this option was suggested by one of the removal firms who gave us a quote for shipping. It might not be as simple as stated and I'll report my success or failure when the time comes.

[Wooly_Cow]

The clever bit is that you can claim the VAT back if you export within three months. So, the retailer actually reduces the price that you'll pay as you can reclaim the VAT.

.

Ooo that's a bit tricky. I bought a laptop, but had to get a seperate "I'm leaving the country" form from the retailer. Armed with this AND the laptop, I had to go to the Customs Office at Heathrow on the day I left - it is AFTER the passport control / security check. I got my tax back...which I spent on after shave!

I think the "Tax Back" scheme is aimed at tourist purchases and as such is designed to work for goods you take with you and the customs people can see you are taking out of the country. In principle it should work for exported goods but quite how you go about it...I really don't know.

BTW of course I declared my lap top as being brand new in NZ and paid the duty and GST and I didn't open the box, threw the packaging away and used the lap top on the plane so it looked well used.......

[Wiltshire_Dave]

Thanks very much for the replies. I did have a quick scan on google.nz and couldn't see anything as cheap as you can currently get for a Bosch machine in the UK so i'll take the plunge and bring one with me.

Thanks!

[noodles3]

The clever bit is that you can claim the VAT back if you export within three months. So, the retailer actually reduces the price that you'll pay as you can reclaim the VAT.

NB I haven't done this yet and this option was suggested by one of the removal firms who gave us a quote for shipping. It might not be as simple as stated and I'll report my success or failure when the time comes.

Thanks for the heads-up on this. Might be worth a punt on a few items I was looking to buy to bring with me

[April]

We bought a new one and packed it after looking at the prices of front loaders in NZ. They have already been through a test cycle so you probably don't need to use it first - we just rubbed extra powder and conditioner around the trays etc.