Mitsubishi or O General? The eternal Battle. Review on Choosing an Air Conditioner

For those of us willing to overlook the Desi Split AC crowd and opt for a reliable yet budget/pocket friendly Aircon to deal with the Indian summer, the decision can be quite confusing.

I have been at my wits trying to crack the code for a good week and with multiple calls to the dealers and also a few emails to the manufacturer's too. To give you guys an insight on what were my personal expectations, I have created the below list

Climate: Humid tropical coast(Goa)

Tonnage: 1.5 Ton

Coverage: approx~ 5440 sq feet or 50 sq meters

Usage: 2-4 hours on a summer day, 6 hours max(split between afternoon and night)

Rated: 3 Star

Condenser: Copper(better tolerance to salty sea wind that causes corrosion+ repair)

Reliability:? Unknown

CFM: > 600 cfm

Refrigerant: R410A(not only because it is environmentally friendly but is a much better coolant than R22)

BUDGET: One that does not make me break an investment or FD or have unmanageable credit card bills. EMI's - kinda hate them.

So armed with these requirements from an Split AC and after some research I have shortlisted 2 potential candidates.

Mitsubishi Electric MS-H18VA Cooling Split AC(1.5 Ton, 3 Star Rating)

O General ASGA18FMTA(1.5 Ton, 2 Star Rating)

The price difference is also significant between these 2. My worry as all Indians is the after sales service and the product life-cycle itself.

O General as the manufacturer & dealer advertises is a Imported AC - but does it necessarily make it better than the rest? what if it does break down? spares and replacement should not be a problem

Mitsubishi Electric is also an international brand, all parts imported but assemble din India(and hence the almost 7 K price difference). Checking with my wide list of friends - no one has installed a Mitsubishi - so no real world experiences here.

So my question is: Do I take a leap of faith and assume the more expensive the better? or do I let my very Indian price conscious but quality demanding self take over and risk it with the Mitsubishi?

Lets start the Vote:

Thanks!

Ash