You've finally zeroed in on the right washing machine for you. And God knows, it hasn't been easy, what with the wide choice of brands, features, sizes and prices. But before you slump down on the couch to relax after a "mission accomplished", don't forget you have to still figure out how to pay for it. Sure, consumer finance schemes are there to bail you out, but you still need to choose the right one. And that could prove to be another gargantuan project given that there is quite a wide choice there too.

Finance companies:

There are several finance companies that offer consumer finance. Countrywide Personal Finance and The Associates are two companies that have percolated to a very large number of consumer durables dealers. Countrywide is a GE Capital company that has numerous personal finance schemes. The Associates also has a wide presence and is a part of Citicorp. A typical consumer durables dealer will also tell you about ICICI consumer finance schemes.
 
Your options don't end there though. There are other sources of consumer finance that a dealer may not necessarily tell you about. These are housing finance companies and banks. Companies like Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) housing Finance offer consumer finance at attractive interest rates to existing home loan customers.

So if you have a housing loan, check out with your housing finance company about consumer loans too. Since you repayment capacity has already been appraised by the company, getting a consumer finance loan could be fast and easy.

Loans from banks:

Some banks (both public sector and private), though not all, also offer consumer loans. These are generally offered to existing account holders in the bank. So there's no harm in giving your friendly bank manager a call to see what he can do for you.

Personal loans offered by some banks and finance companies (like Citibank and Kotak Mahindra) may also be used for financing your consumer durable purchase. The eligibility criteria for these loans, however, tend to be more stringent, since no security for the loan is asked for. Also, interest rates tend to be a little higher than those for consumer finance schemes. So this is an option you may happily choose to skip exploring.