Buying a bunch of aircons

[N00bster]

Hi everyone, it has been a while!

So I finally bit the bullet and became a home owner (by building - that's a story in and by itself). Before moving it I need to equip my new home with air conditioners - probably 4 or 5. I am not going with the home owner on this one because of their limited choice and price that I suspect is overcharged.

My primary criteria are silence (for the rooms where people sleep) and dehumidification power. In my current flat the summers are sometimes unbearably humid, even with the air conditioners on. Are there some particular brands or models that you would suggest? I am thinking of the Shirokumakun series by Hitachi which on paper seems to fit the bill, but am very open to other suggestions.

Another question: since I will need to buy and install 4 or 5 of them at once, what would be the best place to go in order to get a discount? Small shop or bigger one? Buy online and negotiate?

Thanks for any suggestions you may have.

[jcc]

Had to buy a bunch myself.

I doubt you can wait BUT, if you can, february to march is when new models come out and you can get the last years models for cheap.

The technology does not change much from year to year. It's a bit silly, so the best deal you'll get is for old models. For quality the impression I got when researching was hitachi panasonic daikin or mitsubishi.

Panasonic are gradually making all their models unnegotiable though... Which would be good except that they haven't dropped the prices at all.

Buying the base model is probably the best value. A lot of the upper models come with fancy gadgets and stuff, but those fancy gadgets add a lot of extra price and they also increase the number of places that can break.

The "high performance" eco models they sell will not save enough on your electricity bill to actually be worth the gouging prices they ask for. It's a pretty annoying practice. They'll try to sell you on savings on electricity to justify the higher price. Unless you're running it more or less 24/7 it's not going to happen. I did run these numbers before the rise in energy prices though so that might change.

Big box vs local store? Honestly I don't know. I went to a couple of places but ended up buying at yamada denki because they gave me a great price on a front-loading washing machine, undercutting the lowest price on kakaku.com, so I figured I'd get the aircon there too. Negotiation wise, generally you should be able to get stores to price match anything "reasonable" on kakaku.com. But what's reasonable may vary, I'm figuring if you ask them to price match some dodgy place they wouldn't be all too happy.

[TokyoBoglehead]

Hi everyone, it has been a while!

So I finally bit the bullet and became a home owner (by building - that's a story in and by itself). Before moving it I need to equip my new home with air conditioners - probably 4 or 5. I am not going with the home owner on this one because of their limited choice and price that I suspect is overcharged.

Do you make a habit of overcharging yourself for your own services?

[beanhead]

Before moving it I need to equip my new home with air conditioners - probably 4 or 5. I am not going with the home owner on this one because of their limited choice and price that I suspect is overcharged.

We initially had the same thoughts, but got some other quotations and found that the construction company was actually quite competitive.
Combined with the fact that is easier to delegate it to them, and that the air-cons could also be covered by the mortgage, we went with the options provided. No regrets.

[N00bster]

Thanks for the testimonies and suggestions. The problem with the offer from the construction company is that it comes as an "option" on top of the building work - i.e. you are charged separately, and on the official retail price (which is way higher than the market price as I learned when doing the lighting). A quick estimate of how much they would ask, plus a look at their lineup (almost only Daikin, which I have bad experience with) convinced me to look elsewhere.

Good idea on waiting for February/March, maybe I can equip the 2 most critical rooms and wait for the rest. I will also try to get a quote at Yamada, when I changed my washing machine they have actually been very willing to align with the Kakaku price, which positively surprised me.

[Moneymatters]

…I will also try to get a quote at Yamada, when I changed my washing machine they have actually been very willing to align with the Kakaku price, which positively surprised me.

When I bought five at Yamada I got them to double the points. Ended up close to 20% I think. Seemed like it was easier for them.
I did the fake “I’m walking away now” having agreed with my wife before hand she’d call me back..