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10 expensive Don't Buys (and what to choose instead)
At Which?, our rigorous lab tests help us reveal dreaded Don't Buys that aren't worth your money. Whether they’re frustrating to use or fall short on quality – every one of these products missed the mark in our tests.
We've proved time and time again a high price isn't a guarantee of quality. By consulting our expert reviews, you can dodge these costly mistakes to find products that stand the test of time.
Below, we’ve rounded up 10 of the most expensive Don’t Buys we've seen in the Which? test lab. They're not always the priciest on the market but when you consider their poor performance in our tests, we think they offer shockingly poor value for money.
But it’s not all bad news – for every letdown, we’ve found standout alternatives worth every penny. So if you're planning to spend big, make sure it's on something that truly delivers.
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On this page, Which? members will have exclusive access to:
- Our list of expensive Don't Buy products to avoid.
- Best Buy and Great Value alternatives that soared through our lab tests.
- Expert insight and pricing analysis from our product experts.
If you’re not yet a member, you can get instant access by joining Which? – you'll also get access to all our full product reviews.
1. A robot lawn mower that failed our independent safety tests (32%, Don't Buy)
Typical price: around £1,350 (average price for tested models is £974)
Why should you avoid it? This mower failed our independent safety tests.
The best robot lawn mowers we've tested glide around your garden with ease, expertly avoiding flower beds, obstacles, and, crucially, your feet.
While this mower meets all legal safety standards, the model we reviewed failed our own in-house foot safety test.
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2. A frustrating range cooker (42%, Don't Buy)
Typical price: around £900 (average price for tested models is £2,092)
Why should you avoid it? Frustratingly inaccurate and poor at cooking things through.
In our lab tests, this model's ovens were slow to heat up, taking nearly 18 minutes to reach 200°C. Worse still, once they got there, they didn’t stay put. When our experts set the ovens to 200°C, they actually crept up to around 247°C. This temperature accuracy issue could affect cooking performance by overcooking food or making it harder to follow recipes precisely.
Ultimately, cooking with this range involves a lot of guesswork regarding when to put food in and take it out. Meanwhile, the hob isn't great at simmering and the grill leaves the outermost edges uncooked.
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3. A washing machine that struggles to shift stains (35%, Don't Buy)
Typical price: around £600 (average price for tested models is £512)
Why should you avoid it? It performed badly in our clothes washing tests.
This is a super-fast spinning washing machine with room for around 8kg of laundry, but when it's time to unload, you'll be lucky if you don't spot any stains.
During testing, we were seriously underwhelmed by this model. When washing cottons on a cold wash (with the machine heating the water to 40°C), it performed poorly at removing dried-on stains. Switching to a synthetic cycle didn’t improve matters – it was just as disappointing.
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4. A TV plagued by dire picture and sound (44%, Don't Buy)
Typical price: around £479 (average price for tested models is £907)
Why should you avoid it? Drab 4K picture and weak sound.
As part of our in-depth testing, we measure picture and sound quality to ensure you're treated to a truly cinematic experience on movie night. This model is more damp squib than blockbuster though – contrast in 4K is appalling, and the speakers struggle to produce any real power.
We quiz Which? members in our annual tech survey to uncover common faults with TV brands. After crunching the numbers for this particular brand, our experts found 19% of owners experienced a fault within the first six years of ownership – the highest rate of any brand in our survey.
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5. An unpredictable fridge freezer (34%, Don't Buy)
Typical price: around £500 (average price for tested models is £786)
Why should you avoid it? The recommended settings can't be trusted.
We found this appliance struggles to cool down and maintain an optimum temperature across different parts of the machine. To make matters worse, its inconsistent performance takes a toll on efficiency – it scored just two stars out of five in our energy use tests. Choose our top Eco Buy instead and you'll avoid unexpected spikes in your electricity bill.
The fridge freezer is also let down by fiddly controls, and the display can be tricky to read due to low contrast and small text. Treat yourself to a far superior alternative with the help of our expert reviews.
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6. A sound bar with almost non-existent bass (38%, Don't Buy)
Typical price: around £500 (average price for tested models is £466)
Why should you avoid it? Disappointing as both a soundbar and a wireless speaker.
When playing sound through your TV, the experience is poor and the lack of detail means big-movie special effects sound flat and dull. Our experts weren’t impressed by the speaker for voices, either – after selecting ‘voice mode’ in the app, speech didn’t sound noticeably clearer.
To make matters worse, the speaker won't do your favourite music justice. Tunes sound lifeless and bass is almost non-existent.
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7. A Bluetooth speaker let down by unimpressive sound quality (45%, Don't Buy)
Typical price: around £420 (average price for tested models is £187)
Why should you avoid it? One of the worst-sounding home speakers we've tested at our lab in recent years.
If you're spending hundreds of pounds on a speaker, you’ll want a fantastic listening experience, whatever your go-to genre. Unfortunately, this model isn’t up to the challenge and is plagued by disjointed, unstable sound.
Detail in radio listening can be good but our experts described the overall sound as muddled, dull and muffled, with droning, dragging lower frequencies and a thudding bass that is late to the beat.
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8. A smartwatch you can't rely on to track your health and fitness (44%, Don't Buy)
Typical price: around £250 (average price for tested models is £275)
Why should you avoid it? The heart-rate readings can’t be relied on and the paired app has a poor design.
A capable smartwatch can quickly become a digital health coach you can’t live without – but this model seems all style over substance.
In terms of smart features, it offers very little compared to other smartwatches on the market. What’s more, the digital screen is tiny, making it incredibly difficult to read. Navigating settings and menus on the watch is tedious and many options aren’t self-explanatory on either the app or the watch.
It doesn’t have a built-in GPS and the accuracy of distance tracking is abysmal. The heart-rate monitor was only accurate during our tests when we were resting. The moment you exercise, the reliability drifts off track.
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9. A cordless vac that leaves carpets dusty (34%, Don't Buy)
Typical price: around £140 (average price for tested models is £310)
Why should you avoid it? Terrible at cleaning carpets and dreadful at picking up pet hair.
Annoyingly, you can’t rely on this cordless vacuum to keep carpets clean, as it removes only around a quarter of the dust. In testing, we were also seriously underwhelmed by its performance on the lowest power setting – it removed a measly 7% of dust from floorboards.
If you have any pets, you should be aware that this model struggles to deal with animal hair.
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10. A toaster that makes patchy, unappetising toast (43%, Don't Buy)
Typical price: around £160 (average price for tested models is £67)
Why should you avoid it? Terrible browning coverage.
Considering you'll likely have to pay upwards of £150 to get this toaster on your kitchen counter, you'd expect it to produce a fantastic slice of toast. However, this is a nailed-on Which? Don't Buy.
This stainless steel, four-slice toaster is one of the worst we've tested for browning coverage – less than one third of each slice turned a nice golden-brown colour during testing. The result? Patchy, unappetising toast with large sections left pale and underdone.
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Which? Don't Buy products selected April 2025.
