I've been kinda looking at refrigerators...and will eventually have to get one after closing in about a month. It's just going to be me living there for the most part. I thought about going stainless...then slowly replace all the rest of my appliances to stainless, but that's probably not going to happen for years. I was wondering if there are any brands out there I should steer clear of, ones I should consider, etc. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

sub zero is good if you can afford it.

 

If he's going to take YEARS to replace his appliances, I'd say sub zero is out of the picture.

I have all stainless steel and honestly, I don't think it's worth it. I buy a lot of appliances for the real estate deals that I do and the equivalent product with only difference being white, black, stainless steel, the price increase is about $100 from white to black or bisque (yellowish) and another $200 to stainless steel.

I have a $1300 side by side with ice maker and water dispenser. Very standard, nothing super fancy. I could have bought the exact same model in white for about $1000. For the money, I'd say get functionality over the stainless. I only bought it because my dishwasher, stove, and microwave were built in and stainless steel.

You can get good white smooth top range for $500, dishwasher for $250 (some have rebates) and a good microwave hood for $150.

 

We have a GE and it's been good. In our new house we are going with Maytag just because they build the layout my wife wants.

Avoid the side by side, they are too narrow to put in anything big like a pizza. Also think about if you really need the ice maker in the door, that eats up a lot of space on the inside of the door.

 

We've got a side by side Amana with the water in the door and are very happy with it. I think I paid somewhere areound $1300 for it in stainless steel and like it.

You should note that most side by side come in two different sizes, ~22 and ~25 cubic feet. I agree the small ones are too small, so if you find one you like but it seems to small, see if there is a 35 cu ft model

 

my SS kitchen aid has been pretty good, although stainless steel is a pain in the ass to keep looking nice.

 

I have this one in Satin - which looks like stainless steel, but resists smudges.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...&vertical=APPL

 

yeah my sis has the satin finish; i'd go with that over stainless. resists scratches and doesnt smudge like my ss does. looks nearly as good too.

 

I just bought a French Door style Maytag. It's actually the same EXACT fridge sold under Amana, Jenn-Air, etc. LG also makes a french door fridge that is sold by Kenmore, GE, etc.

I like the french door's because you can open just one side to grab a drink, or get the full panorama if you need to. Also, since the freezer is on the bottom... you can stack stuff up without worrying that it's going to fall out on your head.

French Door, IMO, is the only way to go unless you've got the space to fit and the money to spend on a double-wide side-by-side.



I chose Maytag over the other brands that sell this same EXACT (down to the model number) fridge because Home Depot had a 10% off plus $150 gift card sale on it. Can't beat saving $350... even though we preferred the handle/badge style of the Jenn-Air version.

 

oh... and I chose the Amana version over the LG version because of the internal water dispenser (I hate the look of them on the outside) and the handle styles available on Maytag/Jenn-Air.

The LG version did have it's benefits, the freezer drawer leans out, and the french doors are about a inch taller than the frame to hide hinges (more built in look). But I couldn't get over the external water dispenser, soo ugly.

 

I've had the LG in the Satin finish for a couple of years with no problems. They cover the sealed system for 7 years. Most of the other refrigerators I looked at only covered it for 5 years. The Satin finish is great. Looks like stainless without the upkeep of stainless.

 

I am bias, I love Kennmore Elite appliances ....

 

Well, you shouldn't be. Kenmore doesn't make their own appliances for the most part. Almost their entire line is a rebadged product made by someone else.

Not that this is bad, but certainly no reason to invest heavily in them when you could quite possibly get the SAME appliance cheaper through the actual manufacturer from smaller retailer.

 

I have found this to be true. In fact I once bought a GE range, that had slightly better features than the Kenmore (rebadged GE), for the same $ at a Mom/Pop appliance store.

 

Next fridge I buy will be french door. I've got a single wide side by side (in 2001), and I hate it. The freezer isn't wide enough to stack stuff efficiently. I hate the look of the outside water dispenser too, so I skipped that option all together...

Live and learn

 

For me , the color and look of appliances are just as important as the color and look of the cabinets. So if stainless steel is whats going to look best, I think its money well spent

 

Oooooo Maytag?? My parents and neighbor have had nothing but problems with maytag. My parents just threw out their 4 year old Maytag fridge and got a LG.
Every couple weeks they would have to unplug the stupid thing to let it dethaw (there by soacking the wood floor every time) and then after a day like that they would plug it back in and it would work for another few weeks. Maytag baisicly told them to get bent, they had it repaired 2 times and still never corrected it

 

I always thought Maytag was known for their reliability?

 

they are but the problem is if anything ever goes wrong, there's one guy that repairs the things and he's kind of a lazy ass.

 

Funny thing is I've heard the EXACT opposite from a number of people.

In order to call Maytag rubbish you'd have to call nearly every american appliance company rubbish since they all get their fridges from Amana.

Pretty much everyone besides you has said that Maytag (Amana) > LG in the repair/reliability department.

End of the day, even if your point was the norm, I'd probably still go with an Amana version over an LG version based simply off looks/materials. The LG just has too much plastic, plexiglass, and silver spray paint.

 

 

If I were buying ultra-high end... I would probably go with Liebherr over SubZero. I've found much more bang for the buck in their products (and its alot o bucks!).

 

joke....

 

oh and btw every maytag i've ever owned has been problem free...1 fridge, one washer, one dryer.

 

 

excellent points everyone

Just found out today that they indeed do have a water line hooked over to the fridge..so I can get one with an ice maker & water dispenser. And definately will have to look at the french door models too...they look nice

 

ah

:overmyhead:

 

Im not calling all their products rubbish, Just had bad experiances with them (along with others) The way they treated my parents was more than enough for me to not like their product. I wish you the best of luck with them!

 

Ge Profile

 

Again, their fridges are made by Amana. Same as for Maytag, Whirlpool, Jenn-Air, Kenmore, etc...

In the world of consumer-level fridges your pretty much safe with any brand as they are all the same. Go by design (colors/handles/etc).

 

Is there an easy way to figure out who made a range? I bought a kenmore (sears) range and I wouldn't mind knowing what it actually is.

 

http://www.applianceaid.com/searscodes.html

 

nice thanks

 

we just got pretty much the same fridge as you soopa, just with one big door instead of the two at the top just got delivered an hour ago

 

I like the big door ones too, just french door was the only option that left enough clearance between front of fridge and peninsula when door was open

Did you get the maytag version?

 

Amana, got a pretty good deal on it

 

I do agree, but I think the Profile series is one of the slickest looking

 

Actually I agree with that, the Profile have the nicest handles.

Unfortunately, GE doesn't sell the cabinet-depth version. So ya gotta stick with Maytag or Amana or Jenn-Air, and buy the GE handles to swap aftermarket

 

Modding 'fridges Adam ??

Time to dig this thread out...

https://acurazine.com/forums/home-garden-37/my-fridge-p-i-m-p-288113/

 

^^

I need one of those in my house