Buying a Refrigerator...

[s0me0nesmind1]

So it's not often I need to buy another appliance that costs upwards to $2k+. I figured I would ask the forum for some general advice.

Just had a repairman over for our current fridge. Essentially, it would cost more than the fridge is worth to repair it. So it looks like I need a new one. I actually asked the repairman which brands he recommends. Honestly, he told me that he repairs a TON of LG/Samsung ones. He seemed to recommend GE, Maytag, and Frigidaire.

I have no idea what to go with. Pricing ranges are ridiculous overall. My side-by-side GE refrigerator crapped out after 5 years it seems. I'm hoping for our next one to last a bit longer before having such a large repair :'(


Anyone have some advice?

 

[feralkid]

For you...4000 Rubles. Is sweet deal.

 

[disappoint]

For you...4000 Rubles. Is sweet deal.

Niet. Looks like vomit on exterior. You give 1000 rubles I take smelly fridge away for you.

 

[purbeast0]

i dont know anything really about refrigerators as i've never had to buy one, but i love the french door/freezer on the bottom samsung that we have. it's huge and just all around a good fridge. the only downside to it is that the ice maker always tries to chop up ice, even on cubed mode. it won't completely chop them up, but you can hear it churning and sometimes little pieces spit out past the cup which is annoying.

 

[Kaido]

I'm in the market too, same reasons. I looked at a bunch at Home Depot & Best Buy over the Black Friday weekend but haven't decided on one yet. Best Buy had about five times the selection that Home Depot did, surprisingly, and both do free delivery & haul-away. I definitely want water & ice so I can dump my Poland Spring deliveries ($40/mo for 3 bottles, ouch!). I'm considering putting an additional in-line filter because my city tap water is not so great:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Whirlpool-In-Line-Refrigerator-Water-Filter-4378411RB/202204720

I like the French doors fridges with bottom freezer(s). I did run across a couple full French door combos (side-by-sides), but the only one of those I liked were the ones where the fridge was wider than the freezer - otherwise they seemed too skinny to be a proper fridge. They generally seemed to run either around $1,200 or $2,000, both of which seem like crazy money for a fridge haha (not to mention the $3k+ models!). I didn't like the ones with the special button for opening the inner fridge door only (like for quick access to drinks/condiments), seemed like they would break pretty quickly.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

i dont know anything really about refrigerators as i've never had to buy one, but i love the french door/freezer on the bottom samsung that we have. it's huge and just all around a good fridge. the only downside to it is that the ice maker always tries to chop up ice, even on cubed mode. it won't completely chop them up, but you can hear it churning and sometimes little pieces spit out past the cup which is annoying.

Has it given you any repair/maintenance issues? Not necessarily expensive ones, but the tidbit of $100-$300 to come out and fix random problems?

 

[dullard]

Basic fridges have very few mechanical parts. Thus, very little can go wrong with the basic models (a basic model is a compressor, heat exchange pipes, and an expansion valve connected to an insulated box). If something does go wrong, it is usually a relatively easy/cheap part to replace. So, if you are worried about repairs and repair costs, then I would think twice about adding in a bunch of bells and whistles. Also, the price is then ~$500, not $2000.

About the only add on that I would ever want in a fridge is an ice maker. My wife doesn't even want that.

I'm all for state-of-the-art technology. It just doesn't belong on an insulated box.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I have a 15 year old Whirlpool Conquest refrigerator that I purchased when I closed on my house at the end of 2000. It had one repair, but I honestly don't think it was expensive--not expensive enough for me to remember--to fix. The internal cartridge filters are expensive, though ($45).

When i bought this refrigerator I opened a new home owner's account at Sears. First, the scratch and dent version at Search outlet was more expensive. They first priced-matched Home Depot and took another 10% off. I got this $2K frig for something like $1200. I laughed my head off, but I fear the future.

I wanted to go buy one of those SubZero products, but holy cow dodo are they expensive. I fear that in the next couple of years I'll be spending $2-3K on a new refrigerator to replace the Whirlpool unless the thing does me like my truck--which won't fucking die already.

 

[highland145]

A couple of months ago, dropped $1900 on an LG french door, delivery and removal. Hurt my heart.

Regardless of brand, you should put an appliance surge protector on it and you should pull it out every few months and clean the coils. Supposedly the compressor runs 24/7 on our model and if the compressor burns up because of build up....voided warranty.

Ice makers will leak. Sooner or later, they or the supply line will. I didn't hook ours up. Trays work fine....since I don't use ice.:sneaky:

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Who told you the compressor runs 24x7?

 

[pcgeek11]

LG and Kenmore Elite ( made by LG ) have some issues with the icemaker. This has been going on since 2005 about... There was even a class action lawsuit that they lost.

Search LG Icemaker ER IF problems.
https://www.google.com/search?q=lg+refrigerator+ER+IF&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Ask me how I know....

 

[highland145]

Who told you the compressor runs 24x7?

The lady at the Sears outlet. Said it wasn't full speed all of the time but it still ran. Didn't have any reason to doubt her. She's been there forever and seemed to know the ins and outs of the models, the true manufacturers, etc.

Maybe she meant (or I misunderstood) the fan ran 24/7 but she was adamant about cleaning the coils regularly.

Anyone?

 

[poofyhairguy]

I would recommend a Whirlpool french door, because overall I like the design of my fridge (I LOVE how it lets me measure how much water it shoots out).

But my unit needed a warranty repair on the icemaker within the first year, and now leaks water all over the floor from the freezer section.

 

[Kaido]

I've found two I like so far. First one is a $2k French Door fridge, on sale for $1300:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Amana-24...hromatic-Stainless-Steel-AFI2539ERM/206454149

Second one is a side-by-side for $1400, where the fridge is wider. Bonus, the door can hold a gallon of milk!

http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-25-4-cu-ft-Side-by-Side-Refrigerator-in-Black-GSE25HGHBB/205509039

 

[drinkmorejava]

Don't know much about the rest of the market, but some of the cheaper GE options from a few years ago aren't particularly reliable. The Profile line has been recently refreshed and are good products. I have some engineer friends at GE Appliances, and they're all excited about them. Only problem is they're not exactly cheap.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Don't know much about the rest of the market, but some of the cheaper GE options from a few years ago aren't particularly reliable. The Profile line has been recently refreshed and are good products. I have some engineer friends at GE Appliances, and they're all excited about them. Only problem is they're not exactly cheap.

I'm willing to spend in the ballpark of $2-$3k range if it means not having to buy a new refrigerator for 15 years and having enough space to fit everything.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

I've found two I like so far. First one is a $2k French Door fridge, on sale for $1300:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Amana-24...hromatic-Stainless-Steel-AFI2539ERM/206454149

Second one is a side-by-side for $1400, where the fridge is wider. Bonus, the door can hold a gallon of milk!

http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-25-4-cu-ft-Side-by-Side-Refrigerator-in-Black-GSE25HGHBB/205509039

Amana? Never heard of that brand. Reviews don't look bad, but not knowing a brand is something that's hard to dive in to.

 

[Artdeco]

Look around in searsoutlet.com I got a killer deal on an LG.

 

[bradly1101]

For purchases like this I only trust Consumer Reports. Great tests and reliability survey results. I get them at the local library rather than subscribing since I don't need the info that often.

 

[Kaido]

Amana? Never heard of that brand. Reviews don't look bad, but not knowing a brand is something that's hard to dive in to.

They've been around since like the 30's, they are pretty reputable. It's actually a brand under Whirlpool now, apparently.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

For purchases like this I only trust Consumer Reports. Great tests and reliability survey results. I get them at the local library rather than subscribing since I don't need the info that often.

I found a PDF of some refrigerator reviews from April of 2015. And I'll be honest, I'm not real sure if it's the best source to believe. It has Samsung has some of the top ones. But who REALLY knows the answers? Someone that does 1-time stress tests to see how quickly they get cold (and other such "performance" related tests) - or someone that comes out to peoples homes to repair any given refrigerator that seems to notice a trend with certain brands needing more attention than others?

 

[dullard]

I found a PDF of some refrigerator reviews from April of 2015. And I'll be honest, I'm not real sure if it's the best source to believe. It has Samsung has some of the top ones. But who REALLY knows the answers? Someone that does 1-time stress tests to see how quickly they get cold (and other such "performance" related tests) - or someone that comes out to peoples homes to repair any given refrigerator that seems to notice a trend with certain brands needing more attention than others?

You clearly don't know how Consumer Reports does their reliability ratings then.

Suppose Ford makes 90% of all vehicles and Chevy makes 10%. Then suppose you ask an independent car repair shop about what vehicles they repair. The repair man will say the Fords are crap, 80% of what I see come through needing repairs are Fords!

If you trust that repair man, you'll be misinformed. If Chevy makes 10% of the cars, but 20% of the repairs, then it is Chevy that has the problem, not Ford.


Consumer Reports doesn't do a 1-time stress test. They poll tens of thousands of customers about what they own and what repairs were needed. Then Consumer Reports scales the problems based on the number of responses they get for each model. If there are 12345 Ford responses for a given model/year, and 321 of those needed repairs, then it has a 2.6% failure rate. If there are 1234 Chevy responses for a given model/year, and 64 of those needed repairs, then it has a 5.2% failure rate.

Consumer Reports method isn't perfect. Suppose Chevy customers are just ultra picky and Ford customers let some problems slide. Then Consumer Reports' method would skew worse for Chevy. But, it is a heck of a lot better than using unscaled anecdotal evidence from a repair man who doesn't know a thing about the number of items that DIDN'T need repairs which is what you seem to really be after.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Look around in searsoutlet.com I got a killer deal on an LG.

Awesome site! Thanks for the reccomendation, prices are significantly lower than the actual Sears site...

You clearly don't know how Consumer Reports does their reliability ratings then.

Suppose Ford makes 90% of all vehicles and Chevy makes 10%. Then suppose you ask an independent car repair shop about what vehicles they repair. The repair man will say the Fords are crap, 80% of what I see come through needing repairs are Fords!

If you trust that repair man, you'll be misinformed. If Chevy makes 10% of the cars, but 20% of the repairs, then it is Chevy that has the problem, not Ford.


Consumer Reports doesn't do a 1-time stress test. They poll tens of thousands of customers about what they own and what repairs were needed. Then Consumer Reports scales the problems based on the number of responses they get for each model. If there are 12345 Ford responses for a given model/year, and 321 of those needed repairs, then it has a 2.6% failure rate. If there are 1234 Chevy responses for a given model/year, and 64 of those needed repairs, then it has a 5.2% failure rate.

So you're saying that Samsung/LG sells WAAAAAAAAY more refrigerators than GE (hands down the biggest and longest player in the appliance industry)?

Don't get me wrong, I understand what you're saying - and I thought of that myself previously, but if anything last I recall Samsung/LG are very new to the game. And while many "rich" consumers will certainly buy the new styles, your typical person has GE equivalent double door / top freezer. /Shrug.

 

[JoeyM]

http://www.consumersearch.com/refrigerators

 

[Fern]

-snip-
Anyone have some advice?

Yeah. Let us know what kind of frig and what the problem is. You might be able to easily and cheaply fix it.

E.g., I recently had a problem and easily repaired mine for a few $'s. Mine has a motherboard located on the back. The mobo was dead. After reading a bit I came upon the problem: the mobo has a fuse but instead of being replaceable it's soldered in.

The manufacturer wants you to be a new mobo for about $500 (IIRC). Then there's the cost for repairman (first for the trip out to diagnose the problem, then for the return trip to install the overpriced mobo).

Instead I pulled the mobo (super easy) and replaced the burnt-out fuse with a fuse caddy I got from Radio Shack. Then I installed the appropriate fuse and it's been working great.

It cost less then $5 and since I installed a fuse caddy I can easily replace the fuse if it burns out again.

Fern