How Many Times Does It Take?

How many times does it take to buy a washer and dryer? Seriously...

So we just moved into our new condo, the one we'll be staying at for the remainder of our Mexican adventure. With any new home, there were a ton of things to do before moving in. One of the tasks was to buy a washing machine and clothes dryer. We have a pretty constrained place for them, so had to get an efficiency unit that would stack one on top of the other.

I think it was about two weeks before moving that we looked at a few things at Costco, and a grocery/department store nearby. We found a fridge and a washer/dryer combo that we liked, and would fit into the small kitchen and the tiny utility area. Iti wanted to buy them right away. I was like "Why? We'll have to take them to our rental apartment, there's no room, they'll sit in the hallway for two weeks, and then we have to move them to the condo. Let's wait." Iti wasn't so thrilled about the prospect: what if they sell out? Pooh! I say, no way.

We wait a week, and decided that since delivery from the stores to a fifth-story condo was hideously expensive, we'd buy them, have them sit in the apartment for a week, then have them included with the rest of the stuff we hired movers for the following weekend. So of course, we go back to Costco, and the other store, and of course, they are sold out of the specific ones we wanted. They didn't have anything in stock that would remotely meet our size constraints.

Crap.

Of course Iti took it really well... she wasn't mad at me at all...

So now what?

We drive to our new condo to take care of some crap, and then decide to go shopping. We hit up a Home Depot near the condo: they have nothing. I mean nothing. We plan on hitting up a Costco about a half hour away (if we're lucky), and some other stores near there. As we jump in the car and leave our condo, I point out a store to Iti that her mom showed me a week ago. She says "Hey, they sell appliances there."

"Should we stop and check it out?"

"I'm not sure."

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know."

"We have to decide NOW."

"OK let's do it."

Of course we were already too late. I had to take a right turn from the leftmost lane of a fairly busy street, crossing two lanes (thankfully an accepted maneuver in Mexico City), then we had to back track through this neighborhood where all the streets were designed for horseback riders. Even a horse-drawn carriage would have been cramped on these streets...

Turning in to the parking lot of the store was fun. You basically had to jet across three lanes, where all of them were on ramps from other over-passes, and it was all blind so you couldn't see traffic coming and they couldn't see you. Well, at least until your car was pasted all over their windshield. The parking lot of course was tiny and cramped, but luckily there was a spot left.

Lo and behold, this store had the SAME washer and dryer that we wanted! Same brand, model, everything. It was slightly cheaper, but huge bonus: free delivery, even up to the fifth floor. Giddy up. We saw a fridge that was decent too, but it was slightly too small, and they only had the floor unit: it was a little dirty, scratched, and no free delivery on out of stock stuff, so it would cost us 200 pesos for delivery. Not bad. Iti remembered there was another appliance store across the avenue, so we ordered the washer and dryer, paid for it, and went off to find a better fridge.

After lunch at a nice little flauta place, we hit up the other store. Not only do they have the EXACT same fridge we wanted in the first place, and cheaper, but they have the same washer and dryer, and it's cheaper too! Like a couple hundred bucks cheaper after their delivery costs.

Now, the store we bought the washer/dryer at supposedly would match prices if you found it cheaper somewhere else. So, we buy the fridge, take down all the information, go back to the first store, and try to get some money back. Should have known...

They needed to send their own employee to the other store to verify the price. Crud. We sit and wait, for about an hour and a half, in the incredibly hot and stuffy store. They finally come back: "Can't give you a discount, it's not the same." What?

It's the same size, manufacturer, capacity, power, EYE-(clap the hands)-DENTICAL to the naked eye. But apparently the model number is off by a digit...

After debating, we decide to cancel the order here, get our money back, go BACK to the other store, order it. We ordered it on Saturday, to be delivered on Wednesday. Done, right?

Wrong.

The next day, Iti's parents come over to check out the swank new empty condo with us. After looking at the space for the washer/dryer and breaking out a tape measure, we panic. Will it really fit? I didn't write down measurements...

Back to the store!

Well, we get there, I measure the damn thing, and it needs to squeeze through the patio door to get installed. It's about 2 centimeters smaller than the door. Tight squeeze, but it should fit. Hooray! We're finally done!

Of course, when it got delivered, it didn't fit.

Iti had to get the building handy man to take down the door frame (bolted into the concrete walls), destroying parts of the walls in the process, to be able to get the washer in. Then he had to patch the walls and re-mount the door. It cost us an extra couple hundred pesos for the wall work, and LOADS of time. But hey, we finally got our washer and dryer. But of course it wasn't that simple. Now we just had to get a plumber to get them installed....

Sigh.

Until next time,

A Chicago Gringo in Mexico