Received alot of help from browsing this forum. Thought that i should share my experience in the search for the "perfect" cheap and good deal aircon.... ;}
So many brands and promotion to choose from, every fri sat and sun would be spent browsing thru the differing ads and heading down to showrooms to be "brainwashed" by sales pple out to make a quick buck from the items that they have for sale. Explored coolserve website, nice informative and easy to use for a quick indication of price. Compared between giant, best denki, harvey and gain city. Seemed like gain offered more variety and the prices are better. From the looks of it, weekends brings better deals than weekdays. So extrapolating, year end would be a better time to get a good deal. hahah
I was looking for sys 3 inverter. As for brands every place i went to recommended different brands... most likely tied to the amt of commission??? But the usual suspects are as follows with their pros and cons to the best of my memory. (Please correct me if there is anything i misunderstood or got wrong)
Mitsubish electric: Very widely known brand, lotsa money pumped into adverts to build brand image, but warned that spare parts are expensive. "Quietest" unit in the market, but what is 19db compared to 22db, dun think that my ears are so sharp. The sales also said that the model in question had been in the mkt for a couple of years
Fujitsu: Good and cheap... but salesman indicated that more would make use of the warranty than of other makes....Free dis installation of current unit.
Sharp: Not that cheap and not well known, not much reviews on sharp aircon on the net, but i was drawn in by the plasmacluster ion technology, high airflow plus its ability to direct the airflow to the ceiling instead of downwards to the person's face or body. Salesman's pitch was that sharp is good in making air filters, and is one of the first to incorporate this ion tech into aircon. The sys 3 inverter was released in 2009/2010, therefore newer technology but unproven. Comes with 9000 9000 12000 in room unit. Got this in the end from gaincity.
Panasonic: Similar to sharp, but i guess its better known as National Panasonic and Technics. More reviews than the sharp unit. Think it also has ions but only positive ones. The unit on promotion only comes in dull grey. Please note that the free gifts (TV) thrown in can be "removed" and a small sum could be offset from the price. Think the ntuc voucher cant be taken out. The sys 3 inverter was released in 2009/2010, therefore newer technology but unproven. Default system omes with 3 * 9000 in room unit, upgradable to 12000 for a small sum.
Daikin: My current unit has served me well over 20years. So i was inclined to get it again, but the salesman quoted exp parts and no new models. It was also not that cheap.
EXTRA COSTS (Gaincity): SS Bracket is $150 extra, if u wana upgrade the piping/insulation to larger diameter it will cost $180 Undertray for the collection of condensed water (optional) $120
For gain city , this is how they work, for dis installation of current unit they charge $150 but they will pay you $150 for the unit so in the end its free. Myth that IMM gaincity gives a better price, verified not true! hahahha when u ask when the installation can be done they will quote a longer wait time, so that when you buy, they will log on to the sys and say you are lucky coz they can find a slot blah blah.... (mine said three weeks later, after log on lucky me only had to wait 10 days...)
For those with capita credit card there is a promo that can allow you to purchase up to $300 capita vouchers per mall per day and for each $100 purchased they will give u free $10 capita voucher, which is effectively a further 10% off the price of the aircon. It will be prudent for you to check with the stores before going to get the vouchers. That's all folks.....hope it helps
