ᐅ Kitchen quotes without price details – is this common?

ElaVogel schrieb:

So it must be the appliances then?

No. In most kitchen showrooms, it is common practice to negotiate the price down. This, of course, is already included in the initial prices mentioned.

Costruttrice schrieb:

When you buy a standard oven, that’s a different price than a combination appliance with microwave and steam cooking function. Even a standard oven with or without pyrolytic cleaning makes a difference.

Exactly! If you’re told there is a €10,000 price difference and it’s supposed to be caused by the appliances, then the cheaper provider is far from offering a combo solution with pyrolytic cleaning.

This is also a communication issue: if I want pyrolytic cleaning, I get pyrolytic cleaning; if I want a standalone steam oven, one is offered. To give an example: there aren’t many from Neff of the 2021 models with the features I mentioned. Of course, when shopping online, every retailer shows different models—whether it’s a niche product, clearance item, or discontinued. Mediamarkt then has the same models but with a different letter in the model number. (After installation, we compared the appliances online: since they were from the previous year, they were no longer available, sometimes without prices listed.)

What you need to understand is that you’re buying a fitted kitchen, meaning complete cabinets with built-in appliances. The appliances are often purchased at a lower cost or via networks that are cheaper for the showrooms. This can be debated—everyone has their own views based on experience. Ours are still working well, and we are satisfied.
By the way, you can also find that, for example, ovens often lack one or another accessory tray or pan. These can then be purchased online for around one hundred euros.

Basically, for an average household kitchen, you can estimate that about 50% of the budget goes to the cabinets and 50% to the appliances.
… That’s why it’s best to start with a clear budget. We were then asked about the desired surface finish, whether we wanted drawers or simple cabinets, what appliances, and other requirements. After a short wait, the planning software indicated roughly how many meters of cabinetry we would get. Only then did the actual planning begin. Because the built-in appliances (a joint development between buyer and seller) were only from AEG, our desired thin countertop was cost-neutral within the stated budget. We did not renegotiate because the kitchen was worth it to us.

Since the car purchase was mentioned here: I would find it strange if a car dealer didn’t ask me about my budget or desired features beforehand. When I look on portals, I also see reimports, demonstration vehicles, special options through configurations, and other cars filtered out by me.
So: be careful when buying anything. Comparisons are often no longer possible, not just when buying a kitchen. 😎

Thank you very much for all the replies and tips.

I will take another look and possibly contact the suppliers. I think the consultation itself was actually great, and we will see to what extent they can provide us with further information.

The quality of the equipment and certain features are very important to me... so I NEED to be able to examine the devices more closely. It just seems rather suspicious to me...

Best regards
Ela

ElaVogel schrieb:

The quality of the equipment and certain features are very important to me...

Then choose them beforehand and clearly specify your requirements, end of story.
And if they don’t meet them…you really just move on to the next one.

ElaVogel schrieb:

Quality of the appliances and certain features are very important to me... so I really need to be able to examine the appliances more closely. It just seems very suspicious to me...

Yes, you can look at the appliances in the display kitchens. They have everything installed somewhere. We went back and forth with the salesperson many times, and he showed us this appliance and that one... but we were not picky either: a steamer should steam, a hotplate should get hot. For example, we were shown this rotary dial for the induction cooktop. We immediately knew we didn’t want that. And so on.
If you want a brand like Gaggenau or something similar, I’d go to a store that installs them as standard. But don’t be surprised if it costs over 25,000€ (about $27,000).

driver55 schrieb:

The comparison isn’t accurate. A mobile unit comes pre-configured, so you can use it to get quotes.

If you don’t specify anything for the kitchen, like an oven with “Deluxe baking functions,” you’ll just have to accept the standard options they offer…

I’m familiar with appliances only in that way. You state that you want pyrolytic cleaning and steam function, and then you receive exactly that. The manufacturer is also known.

You do need some knowledge to understand the pricing. $15,000 versus $25,000 can be a kitchen with exactly the same appliances and number of cabinets from the same manufacturer, where only the cabinet fronts and countertop differ.

The other forum has already been recommended. There you can plan a kitchen very well and end up with detailed plans in your hands.

driver55 schrieb:

If you don’t specify anything for the kitchen,

But you are asked! They have their own short questionnaire. And if you just shrug, they’ll ask whether you cook a lot or a little, how many people there are... then of course they ask about the house plan. It takes them five minutes to figure out who cooks, when (weekends or weekdays)... “What do you need the steam function for?” That’s when you know the budget will be tight. Height regarding the cabinet units, etc. Sometimes I wonder how many people have won their kitchen in the lottery?! Or maybe the men here weren’t involved because they’re not interested 🙂