Shopping for appliances

[dionasaur]

Hi all,

My wife and I recently decided to remodel our home and I am currently looking suggestions on the following types of appliances as I haven't found reviews online to be very helpful in regards to reliability:

Double Oven Range
Dish Washer
Refrigerator

I have been told to avoid Samsung as much as possible but outside of that, I'm not sure which brands are the leaders in reliability though it seems most appliances purchased these days encourage to shell out for the extended warranty.

Thanks in advance!

 

[RearAdmiral]

It seems there are horror stories about everything. Most of my stuff is LG by coincidence, including my double oven / range and washer / dryer. It was all display or clearance.

P.S. excellent lurking metrics!

 

[gorcorps]

Like mentioned above, most of the major brands have horror stories. I know people who love Samsungs, but apparently you've been told to avoid them.

The only thing I've heard pretty consistently is that Bosch is a great option for dishwashers. I haven't heard anything bad about them.

I just got GE appliances over the last year and they're alright, but the fit and finish of the range isn't great (the bottom drawer seems to sit a little off level, pretty thin sheet steel IMO). The fridge I just got isn't bad though.

 

[NetWareHead]

I have a small kitchen that I am trying to outfit with appliances and had to go with a Bosch dishwasher. The thing is 18 inches wide (like I said, a small kitchen) but packed with thoughtful and unique features. It has a built in water softener which you add salt to for even better cleaning power. I like the dishwasher so far but installing it was a bit of a pain in the ass. It has 3 kick plates which need to be precisely screwed in the correct sequence to seal up the bottom. What a pain in the ass that was to install.

 

[dionasaur]

Thanks for the response guys, I was kind of afraid that most likely any appliances bought in this day and age are kind of hit and miss.

 

[highland145]

Bought a LG fridge a year ago. It's been O.K. but a crap ton of $$. Mom bought an expensive samsung a few years ago and has had the circuit board replaced twice. Get an appliance surge protector.

The stainless is a pain.

 

[NutBucket]

Don't they have stainless that's clear coated now? Seems like the stuff I've dealt with in the last few years was fairly easy to clean. I know my folks have a range hood that's bare stainless. It is definitely tough to clean!

 

[highland145]

That's a great idea but apparently not mine. If I spray it with cleaner and wipe it dry "with the grain" immediately, it's fine but otherwise not.

 

[Riverhound777]

I think all appliances can have issues, especially the more gadgets they have. My LG washer came with a bad computer and solenoid. My GE dishwasher worked fine but had a piece of plastic stuck in the pump. Otherwise i'm happy so far. Heard good things about Bosch, bad about Samsung for the most part.

 

[Exterous]

Like everyone else I've heard lots of reliability issues with appliances these days (other than Bosch dishwashers). With that in mind do you have to replace your appliances at the same time or you just want to? I've been able to find some really great deals on clearanced appliances at Lowe's by being patient and not caring if the brands match (although the finishes do for the kitchen). That way if one breaks I am not nearly as bothered as if I paid full or close to full price on a $2k+ fridge.

FWIW this is actually pretty close to the time I've gotten most of my deals. Not sure if its regional or not but the Lowe's around here clearance out appliances lines between now and Dec1. Last year I got a Bosch dishwasher for $250, an LG stackable gas dryer for $400 and a Samsung washer for $350 (hasn't exploded on me yet)

 

[dionasaur]

Yeah, I am not too worried about matching brands and I think I would like to go the route you are describing. Some friends have suggested buying floor models for the extra discount. Bosch Dishwasher seems to be the general consensus so I think I will go with that. Guess we'll see about the fridge and stove.

 

[NetWareHead]

I bought a floor model washing machine for a rental unit and saved 40% off of the price. Everyone walking through the store plays with the knobs/switches so make sure they are undamaged & all parts are present. If you are lucky,the finish will be unscratched too.

 

[RearAdmiral]

Yeah, I am not too worried about matching brands and I think I would like to go the route you are describing. Some friends have suggested buying floor models for the extra discount. Bosch Dishwasher seems to be the general consensus so I think I will go with that. Guess we'll see about the fridge and stove.

I would suggest buying the floor / clearance models as well. You can always spring for a huge warranty then as well. Some of the discounts I got were hilarious with a bit of patience: Brand new LG red front load dryer - $250 for instance. Unfortunately Best Buy has since changed how their clearance website works. I was able to search a swath of stores in my area for what I needed at the same time, I don't think you can do that anymore.

Prepare to be disappointed with modern dishwashers though.

 

[jtvang125]

Bought a display model Whirlpool fridge over 5 yrs ago with a small dent on one of the front doors. Still going perfectly strong today.

We're now remodeling the kitchen and going all stainless steel. We just picked up another Whirlpool fridge that was supposedly a return. The notes stated it was returned due to a bad front panel but turns out it was just a loose harness when inspected by the manufacturer. There were one or two very minor scuffs on the side but the front was perfect. However I think there was a mistake and we were delivered a brand new one. It still had all the original packaging and the plastic wrapping looks to be the one from the factory. No way the store would have kept the packaging and rewrapped it like new. So if it is truly new we got it at about 50% off after negotiating.

Oh and not many people know this but you can negotiate on the clearance prices at Lowes. Home Depot use to do this too but have changed their policy to not negotiate but just keep knocking 20% or so off every week until it's sold. This past weekend we picked up two 8x10 rugs that were originally over $200 each and clearance marked down to $90. We got them down to $70 each. Also got a range clearance marked to $500 for $300 and a dishwasher clearance marked at $400 for $250.

 

[natto fire]

I agree a more simple appliance is a less risky gamble, but not always the end all for cheap appliance maintenance. Had a Whirlpool dryer with a mechanical timer that went bad, the cheapest I could find it was $160. Not bad compared to the circuit boards of some appliances, but still ridiculous for a simple timer that couldn't have cost more than $10 to produce.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[FeuerFrei]

Everything happens so much

 

[dionasaur]

Sweet, thanks!

In more scary news....

Samsung recalling washing machines that may explode (Top of the washer)

 

[Aikouka]

Oh, and one good thing to note is that the Black Friday sales have already started at the major retailers, so you'll get a good discount. I was in Home Depot last night picking up some stuff, and I was perusing the appliance section for fun. (I'm not sure what it says about me considering looking at appliances to be fun. ) I saw that they had some decent package deals and bonus money off for buying 2-4 appliances at a time. My only complaint about the packages is that they're usually the lesser models.

 

[Kaido]

Hi all,


My wife and I recently decided to remodel our home and I am currently looking suggestions on the following types of appliances as I haven't found reviews online to be very helpful in regards to reliability:

Double Oven Range
Dish Washer
Refrigerator

I have been told to avoid Samsung as much as possible but outside of that, I'm not sure which brands are the leaders in reliability though it seems most appliances purchased these days encourage to shell out for the extended warranty.

Thanks in advance!

FWIW, I bought this dishwasher:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/KitchenA...Tub-ProWash-Cycle-46-dBA-KDTE104ESS/205904803

It's one of the best-rated & most well-reviewed models I could find (4.7 stars out of 1,541 reviews). Stainless steel exterior with stainless steel tub. Two complaints, just to get them out of the way: one, the door is actually pretty wobbly. My crappy old broken plastic dishwasher was very solid when shutting, so it's pretty weird how much torsion there is...not sure if there's a way to adjust it or not (had it professionally installed, didn't do it myself). Two, it is pretty noisy in terms of water noise. My previous plastic model had a noisy motor, but this is noisy with water - you can hear it sloshing around pretty loudly. Different sounds in the house now! On the positive side, it does look really nice & I really like having the controls on the top lip, which are hidden when you shut it to run the dishwasher (nice if you have kids). I did get the Home Depot 5-year warranty on it, which is one of the few warranties I'm willing to buy (from my experience working in retail in college and learning the ins & outs of warranty operations, there are some third-party warranties that are excellent, although most are complete junk). Details here:

http://www.homedepot.com/c/The_Home_Depot_Protection_Plans

http://www.homedepot.com/hdus/en_US...on_Plans/Docs/A-HDPP-one-pager-appliances.pdf

It's metal, it's well-reviewed, and I have a 5-year no-hassle warranty on it. As far as pricing goes, the original retail price was $900. I bought it at $100 off for $800, which I think was a ridiculous price, but I wanted a unit that my family wouldn't whine about for the foreseeable future, so after a bunch of research online, I decided to save up & spring for this one. It's currently on sale for $600 until the end of the month, which is a pretty good price compared to what I originally paid. From my original bill:

• Dishwasher: $809.10
• Dishwasher Install Kit & Adapter: $19.99
• Dishwasher 110v Cord: $9.99
• Haul Away Your Old Appliance: $15.00
• 5 year Home Depot protection plan: $150.00
• Dishwasher installation: $79
• Sales tax: $65.66
• Total: $987.64 (new dishwasher with installation, required parts, and old dishwasher haul-away)

Again, the total price was bananas, but hopefully this will last a wicked long time, and if it breaks anytime in the next 5 years, I'm covered. Plus the installation was awesome...they came in, dumped my old one for me, setup the new one, and were out of there in less than 2 hours. Awesome.

 

[Kaido]

I would suggest buying the floor / clearance models as well. You can always spring for a huge warranty then as well. Some of the discounts I got were hilarious with a bit of patience: Brand new LG red front load dryer - $250 for instance. Unfortunately Best Buy has since changed how their clearance website works. I was able to search a swath of stores in my area for what I needed at the same time, I don't think you can do that anymore.

Prepare to be disappointed with modern dishwashers though.

Same. OP, do you have any Sears Outlets near you? Mine has an enormous scratch & dent section. I picked up a 30-cubic-foot fridge/freezer with a 4" dent (tall, not deep) on the corner for $800 (it was being sold new in their store for $3,800...so basically a ridiculous markdown for something I was literally able to cover with a decorative magnet). The price inflation on nice new appliances is stupid high (re: my dishwasher above), so if you can snag an open box model, a floor model, or a scratch & dent model, you're basically getting a brand-new machine with some cosmetic defects at a hefty discount.

 

[dionasaur]

I do have a Sears outlet near by but there wasn't much to look at. Inventory was mainly Sofas and Charcoal grills

 

[Kaido]

I have been told to avoid Samsung as much as possible but outside of that, I'm not sure which brands are the leaders in reliability though it seems most appliances purchased these days encourage to shell out for the extended warranty.

2.8 million Samsung washing machines were just recalled:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-announces-recall-of-samsung-washing-machines-1478262373

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the tops can detach during use. The company has received more than 700 reports of incidents and nine reports of injuries including a broken jaw, the agency said Friday.

 

[Kaido]

I do have a Sears outlet near by but there wasn't much to look at. Inventory was mainly Sofas and Charcoal grills

Yeah, mine is like a quarter mile of fridges, a couple laundry machines, and two sofas. Guess it just depends on the area!