Appliances in Cuenca

As many of our friends know, Nancy loves her appliances.  It was a sad day when the dishwasher crapped out recently.  Workers tried to fix it but couldn't, so we went shopping.  Happy to report, there are new dishwashers, several models, available here in Cuenca!  This one is the 3rd we've bought here (the others are in 2 of our rentals at Edificio La Fragata.)

If you're in the market for appliances, go to Sukasa, Espana or Vega, for a look-see. (There are other appliance shops, too.)   Do some comparison pricing.  Might help to take a translator/facilitator with you when you're ready to write it up.  These stores carry washers, dryers, stoves, refrigerators, freezers, microwaves, and more.  Give a look at the appliances made outside the US, too........some are made in Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Colombia, all over, even here in Ecuador.  Some may not have instructions or control buttons in English.  Warranties could be different, model to model..  If the units are made locally, the prices could be substantially lower due to lack of import taxes and parts could be more available.  Lots of things to think about.

As promised, our dishwasher was delivered and installed the same day, 3 days after ordering it.  Some models need to be special ordered with long lead times, so check on that, too.  This model isn't quite as fancy as the broken one, but more than fine for us!  The vendor was unable to take away the old one, another point to consider when ordering.  In our case, we had another worker take it away, at an additional (but very reasonable) cost.

One more thing...venting appliances can be different here, can be almost non-existent, even in the newer buildings.  If the appliances are not vented properly, you might get a garbage smell.  You can easily fix that by installing a little 'donut' to block the stink.  Hire a knowledgable facilitator or vendor to help.

Here are pictures of the new unit, packing materials and parts in the living room, awaiting the installers.

Ta da!  All installed and it's working great! 

Close up of the panel...






We have bought several appliances, big and small, here in Cuenca and all are working just fine.  Just remember to do the homework and bargain, where you can,  for prices and delivery times.  Prices could be higher and models may not be the same as in the US, but in our opinion, buying appliances here sure beats shipping your favorites from the States in a container!