I need a new dishwasher, old one broke last night. I will be replacing other appliances and cabinets next year but would like to buy a new dishwasher now. I'm thinking about purchasing stainless steel appliances.


Is it possible to get one for less than $500 (including tax)? I would like $500 to be my limit.

 

If you can spare it, I'd up your budget just a bit... to the $800-1000 range... you can get some TOP quality dishwashers in that range.

 

You can find some for under $500. The downside is they will be noisey.

 

Well... I could since I'll be buying other appliances later/next year.

What brand would you recommend?

 

Well it depends, if you're buying other appliances and you want them to match... then figure out what brand you'd like in that price range.

If you don't care if they match (they'll match anyways if you're going stainless... just different handles) then I would suggest a Bosch dishwasher. Overwhelmingly this seems to be the #1 choice amongst high-end appliance buyers. Known for their efficiency and completely silent operation.

Myself, I'm going with Electrolux... very similar to Bosch.

Fisher Paykel is another popular choice at the moment, but you'll spend probably another $100-200 over Bosch et al simply for the trendy aspect of the dish drawers.

 

You should be able to pick up a Bosch for $850 or so from a good dealer.

 

Like fiddle said though, if you don't want to spend that much... you can still get good dishwashers, they'll just be noisier and perhaps less energy efficient.

 

get one with a stainless steel interior, you'll thank me

 

I already put a lot of money in remodeling other rooms/baths so extra $300-500 will not make a huge difference.

I just bought my condo and I'm planning to keep it for a while. Therefore, quality of things I buy is rather important to me.

 

so spend $800-900 and get a Bosch, IMO, unless you're shopping for one brand all at once.

and yes, everything $700+ has a stainless interior.

 

I just got what I think is a good deal on a white GE Profile PDW8400J from the local place I seem to get all my appliances from.

The dealer's asking price was $759 which included free delivery, but not installation. I'll be doing the installation and dumping the old unit on the curb. I saved about $100 doing the install myself and skipping the haul away. There is also a $75 rebate on the machine which brings the final cost to $684. If they didn't have the rebate going on I probably would have stepped down to the model that didn't have the stainless steel tub which was priced at $629.

It's replacing an aging Maytag that doesn't clean/dry the dishes very well, and sometimes leaks from the door seals. It's also pretty damn noisy.

I had a problem in my last house with a GE dishwasher. The inlet valve didn't close and proceeded to flood the kitchen. I hope I don't have a repeat of that. On the plus side I learned how a dishwasher is installed and also how to fix one.

 

Sounds like a deal.

Before I ended up choosing Electrolux, I looked at GE Profile and the dealer quoted me $839 for what, I'd guess, is a similar model... PDW9880 in Stainless Steel.

In the end though, I ended up getting the fairly pricier Electrolux (original quote was around 1200) for only $400 something

This was just because of the sheer amount of shit I was buying from them though... (cabinets, appliances, and fixtures).

Anyway, I don't think you'll have any problems. Recent model GE dishwashers have great ratings, are supposedly easy to fix, and have a great set of features. I'm sure you'll be happy with it, good choice.

 

^^The DW's that my work installs in their houses just upgraded to GE Profile. I've only hooked a few up but damn they look nice inside and out, nicer than the other crap that they used to use..

 

Where did you learn so much about all appliances? Its alarming you seem to have the inside scoop on every appliance

 

I have a bit of OCD, or something. I research and obsess over every little thing I do, so I tend to learn alot about something quickly if I'm about to spend some money on it.

Plus, being a gadget freak and all, appliances fall into the realm of geekery that comes so naturally to me

 

Plus, I work from home and never turn off HGTV

 

Well, I spent not what I would call a lot of money, ~$600 on a Maytag right around 2000, when I replaced EVERYTHING in my kitchen.

My old one, I forgot who made it was so damn noisy I had to turn up the TV when I ran it.

I have major health problems, and I don't "get around" to household chores as frequently as I should. No matter what type of food, or how long it sits around, the Maytag always does a flawless job, and you never have to "pre wash" anything! Plus, it is wisper quiet.

Spend an extra hundred or two, and get a quality appliance, you will use it quite often. Once you get generally above the $500 pricemark, dishwashers also contain a food disposal in them, hence the "no need" to preclean dishes.

Use liquid Cascade detergent.

And Eve, you're a Chicago area gal. For the best price and fabulous selection, visit Abt Electronics on Milwaukee Avenue in Glenview. One mile south of Euclid/Lake Avenue.

Or pre shop here first: www.abtelectronics.com

Abt is a real trip! NEVER pay what they are asking, they will always bargain, and the more you buy, the more they deal. Make sure not to miss the 10,000 gallon aquarium (complete with a five foot long eel), and the "dream kitchens" in the back of the store that shows what you can do to a kitchen if money is no object!

 

There is NOTHING better for washing dishes. That shit is amazing.

 

It's been over a month since I asked about your recommendations. I'm still debating if I want to buy it now or wait until next year and buy all appliances together.


When the old one broke it seemed like I needed a new one right away. But I've been doing pretty good with washing dishes myself and might put off the purchase until next year. I'm planning to remodel the kitchen sometime next year, including new cabinets, countertops, appliances, etc. I really wanted to do it this year but after fixing up 2 bathrooms, installing hardwood floors, new carpets, lighting, painting, etc. I went well over the budget.


I will keep in mind your picks. Dfreder - Abt is a great store; been there many times but never bought anything.

 

If you can wait, wait.

The more you buy at once the more you save at once, and you'll be able to make sure all your appliances "look" the same...

If you buy now, then buy the rest later... even if there arent major changes in the design... your bound to find variances like different handles.

If you buy all at once, the handles on your oven will match your dishwasher, etc.

 

I've got the same problem. The internet has ruined my life. I cant buy even the smallest thing without extensive internet research.

 

Eve: Yes, Abt is awsome. People even go there for DATES!

I spent, I think it was about $580 for my Maytag dishwasher at Best Buy. Non stainless steel interior.

Within months, Moms' Sears diswasher puked, so I drove them to Abt.

There was the same model of dishwasher, WITH a stainless steel interior, priced at $489.

But an Abt salesman approached us, asked us if we were interested in the said model and told Mom and Dad "If you buy it today, we will offer it to you for $419."

Seriously, Abt is a great place to buy, they ship anywhere, and if nothing else, their web site is a great place to do research, check out specs and dimensions, etc.

I bought a digicam there for work, a few years back, and it was only $275 with tax. No one else came within $100 of that price.

And correct, Adam. Cascade is awsome!

 

Yeah Abt does have a great site to research from, I used it extensively before I bought. It was one of maybe 3 sites I found useful.

 

Thankfully with appliances I don't do this. But other stuff I do, and in the end all I get is a headache and purchase nothing because I'm so over loaded with info that doesn't really matter.

With the dishwasher I just walked in the store, told them I needed a dishwasher with X features. They showed me what they had and I made a decision. It helped that I had a wife, 2 babies in carseats and a 3 year old wondering around the store. I was in and out in 30 minutes.

It took me 3 months to buy a stupid pressure washer. I've tried to buy a new TV about 5 times now.

 

One of the divisions that my company owns is Hobart, and Hobart makes industrial stoves, food mixers, dishwashers, etc. Hobart is the largest consumer of stainless steel in the US.

Their stuff is definitely aimed at restaurants, not for the home. Regarding their industrial dishwashers, we did a project back in 2003 to reduce their cycle time from 90 seconds down to 30 seconds!

These dishwashers aren't what you would think that they are like. They are more like a conveyor belt. And the dirty dishes have to be cleaned, heated to 180 degrees farenheight, and exit the washer on the opposite side completely dry.

Pretty amazing stuff if you ask me. Actually, we got the cycle time down to 28 seconds.

 

I used to work as a dishwasher and we used beasts like that. The biggest problem for me was working the output end, the plates, etc just came out too fast And they were super hot.

 

me too. That's what thick gloves are for