When is the best time to buy home appliances?

For large appliances the calendar that matters is the model year, not the sale season: new ranges land in late spring and again in autumn, and the outgoing models are cleared in the weeks just before. September to October and late April are the reliable windows. Holiday weekends discount too, but shallower and on current stock.

Why the model year beats the sale

A retailer holding last year's washing machine has floor space to recover and a replacement arriving. That is a much stronger motive to discount than a bank holiday, and it is why clearance on a superseded model routinely beats any sitewide percentage.

Year-on-year differences in this category are usually small — a programme nobody uses, a slightly different display. Worth checking what actually changed before paying the premium for the current one.

The windows

• Late September to October. The main changeover for laundry and kitchen. Deepest reductions on outgoing stock.
• Late April to May. The second changeover, and where refrigeration in particular moves before summer.
• Black Friday. Broad and shallow. Good for small appliances, rarely the best price on a large one.
• January. Clearing what did not sell over the holidays, and the best month for the odd-colour or ex-display unit.

What to ask for beyond the price

On a large appliance the price is only part of the cost. Delivery, removal of the old unit, installation and the extended warranty are all negotiable and all quoted separately. A shop that will not move on the price will often throw in removal, which is worth more than the 5% you were arguing over.

Ask about the ex-display unit too. The discount is far larger than anything on the shelf price, and on a machine that sat unplugged in a showroom the practical difference is a scuff.

Where a code fits

During a clearance the code usually will not apply — cleared stock is excluded from almost every offer, as codes on sale items explains. Between windows is when a code is both available and likely to work, and on a four-figure purchase even a modest percentage is real money.

Where to look

Appliance and furniture retailers running offers are on our category pages. Items with money already off the price are on deals, and the wider catalogue with former prices is on products.