You would never buy a new refrigerator or washer/dryer if you spend any time reading online review.
The web is full of angry buyers venting about what they see as defective products and unresponsive retailers.
But we’re in the market for new appliances, so are seeking your feedback.
Here’s our shopping list and our concerns.
We’re attracted by the refrigerator models with the freezer on the bottom, and so called “French doors” above, without the ice/water dispenser in the door.
But I’ve read about problems with the door mechanism emerging after a few years.
And I read that the vegetable doors of many brands can’t be opened unless you open both upper doors. It sort of defeats the split-door theory, doesn’t it? In one attempt to compare brands, I found that Samsung seemed to be the only brand that didn’t require opening both doors in order to pull the right-hand vegetable drawer to an open position. But my search was far from exhaustive, so I would appreciate other feedback.
On the washer/dryer side, we’ve read great reviews of the current generation of high efficiency washers, but have also read sad tales from buyers who shout out that we should stay with the old, inefficient but proven technology without the new bells and whistles.
Again, we’re not sure what to think here.
So–long story short–do you have brands or models that you would recommend to shoppers? Or recommendations of what models, brands, or features we should stay away from?
Oh, and what about retailers? Where do you send friends when they’re on the market for appliances? What dealers do you warn them about? And if you’ve got recommendations, positive or negative, can you say a few words about the reasons? Thanks.
Thanks in advance for your help.
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My rule is to buy appliances form brands that do not restrict access to service manuals and parts. See if you can find the service manuals for the model you want to buy online, or look up the repair parts and see if you can order them.
The best thing is to Consult Consumer Reports. It can be accessed through the ZINIO magazine service at the Public Library or you can subscribe directly.
sears. wait for a sale.
I’ve been told by appliance repair people that you need a concrete floor for the new style washer/dryers. They spin so fast they will shake a house that is supported on posts.
Andrew’s tip on manuals is excellent; thank you. You might also figure out a way to call the warranty help line of the various manufacturers you are considering to see how responsive they are … Whirlpool earned our loyalty for 15 years but steadily lost it over the last decade to the point that I will not buy Whirlpool even if it means we pay more.
For washing machines — stay away from front loaders. You can get their benefits without the associated “aroma” with some of the new top-loaders. We retired our Whirlpool Sport Duet front loader after multiple soap leaks down the front of the unit, sudsing issues (Whirlpool customer service no help, finally said start with almost no HE and “work your way up” to find a compromise that won’t over suds and yet will get your clothes clean and somewhat wrung out. Repair guys will tell you about the steady business they get of replacing the boot/baffle at the front of the drum. Part isn’t cheap and the thing mildews even if wiped dry and door propped open after use. We spent $230 on a boot replacement and several hundred more on a pump motor replacement. The next time it broke, we took the money we would have spent and used it toward a new, odor-free unit.
Thus far we are very satisfied with the Samsung top loader we bought. It has no center agitator column so it holds a lot, and it doesn’t batter your clothes like some of the older-style top loaders with agitators.
For refrigerators, be aware that some labels like GE can be made by one or two different manufacturers like Samsung or LG. You want to find a salesperson who is upfront with this information so that you know what you’re getting. The quality can differ substantially.
Ditto on Consumer Reports. You might be able to get access to past reviews/comparisons if you sign up for a cheap online subscription. You can also just buy the relevant issue through the iPad Newsstand. We’ve bought our last two—a Samsung fridge and a Bosche dishwasher (both brands ranked highly by CR at the time)—at Lowe’s. They seem to have a good selection and competitive prices. If you are buying several items at once, that should give you more negotiating power. Don’t forget delivery and installation costs.
I had thought about mentioning the ‘front-loader’ issue and especially the moldy gasket part, and decided to chime in after seeing ‘c’ above comment. We inherited relatively new Samsung washer and dryer units with a second home on the mainland, and both are lousy. The mildew/mold issue is a pain and repeated cleaning does not appear to resolve the issue beyond a few weeks. I hesitate to replace the gasket – as ‘c’ mentions, it’s expensive. I much prefer the top-loader (Maytag) that we have here at our home in Hawaii. If you are contemplating a dryer, the Samsung we have ALWAYS needs an extra 20-30 minutes after the regular cycle to completely dry the clothes.
When will you be moving to Kahala? What will you be doing with your Kaaawa house?
We’ve had the problems you mentioned with our Kenmore (made by LG) French door fridge. We’ve also had to have the repair guys here several times for the ice making system.
It has one full-width drawer that can only be opened when both doors are open. Of course, it’s easy to look at floor models to see if this will be a problem on any model you’re considering.
OTOH, it is wonderfully quiet.
When we need to replace it, I’d still look at a French door model, because that configuration is, overall, more convenient than side by side or top freezer. I would probably avoid LG based on our experience, and would look carefully on the mechanism used to create a seal between the two French doors.
We’ve been satisfied with our front loading Kenmore (by Whirlpool) washing machine. We do need to leave it open to avoid mold/mildew, and it doesn’t work very well if run really full, despite what the manual says. But it’s very gentle on clothes. We regularly use the delicate cycle to wash ‘dry clean only’ clothes, with no problems in the 12 years or so we’ve had it.
We use clotheslines to dry our clothes.
I’ve had recent experiences with purchasing a refrigerator(bottom freezer)
and washing machine & dryer.
As to refrigs, the bottom freezer model is practical. We purchased a Consumer Reports “Best Buy”, Kenmore Elite model. This was a mistake. The area around the ice maker rusted after a year and the maker itself went on the blink. Also, the refrig itself sprung a small leak which eventually warped our wood floor. The washer and dryer were both Kenmore. The bottom loader is great because it saves water and does a good job of cleaning. The dryer is also very good. Both were Consumer Reports “Best Buy” models.
We are long time CR subscribers. But the magazine also has had other”misses” as far as we’re concerned. We purchased a Maytag dishwasher BB which broke down after only about 4 years. We now have a Bosch which seems to be a better buy. We’ve had other hits and misses with CR for other products over a 15 year span. Don’t overly depend on it.
We just went through this with a refrigerator. After multiple visits from the Sears repairmen, we finally got them to give us a big allowance on a new one. We got the freezer on the bottom and double doors above on the fridge. A HUGE improvement in terms of convenience. But I will never again buy a major appliance without an extended warranty. Workmanship is crappy, parts are too expensive, especially anything electronic. We’re stuck with Sears for our range and the refrigerator/freezer, but from now on every new appliance will come from Hamai Appliance, a family owned business here on Maui.
Check CR and online reviews at Sears etc then go buy them from OK TV & Appliance.
My previous fridge was a Samsung. The seal on the door was cracking and in order to replace it you would have to buy a new door (the seal was glued on). The price for a new door was almost equal to the cost of the fridge. So check out replacement pieces. My landlord replaced it with a new Whirlpool fridge. Also beware of repairs Sears came out to “repair” the Samsung then told me they couldn’t get the part but would have to charge me $95.00. I exclaimed that the dispatch person assured me they had the part! The repair guy took pity on me and waived the charge. Also, yelp was no help repairwise. The highly touted repair guy never called me back when I left numerous messages asking for repair help. My Samsung was only 12 years old but from what I understand about fridges that about how long they last nowadays. Now my parents fridge was 25 years old before they sold it to a man who had a cafe in Japan and wanted huge ole American fridge for his eatery. Back in the 60’s Japanese fridges were tiny. Such is life!
I bought a “stainless” Maytag 21.7 cu ft 3 French Door refrigerator from Lowes almost exactly a year ago. I did *extensive* online comparison shopping before hand using Sears, Bestbuy and Lowes websites mostly. We had a size constraint – and I wanted French doors/freezer on bottom and husband just HAD to have water/ice in the door. I read all the comments about the deli tray not being openable unless you open both doors. This is true and not true. You can’t FULLY open it, but I can easily slide smallish salads, etc. in and out from one side or the other. The Lowes buying experience (perhaps because my mind was made up) was good. Delivery was professional. So far it is working out well – a lot better than 2 previous sidebyside Kenmores. I very much enjoy the french doors and having the freezer on the bottom makes it easier to arrange things so you can find them. I believe that our energy use has gone down just a tad because of opening only 1/3 of the refrigerator most of the time. All of the new models have electronics – so I am wondering how long all the fancy controls will last – but so far they have been good and useful. Good luck!
We’ve had really good luck with Bosch appliances.
The advice to look at the manuals was a great idea!
Make sure you can get it serviced, if needed.
We had a GE Profile French door fridge. It was quiet, held a lot and the bottom freezer was convenient and probably more energy efficient than being on top. I never thought about it before, but yes,you needed to open both doors to get to the fruit/veggie drawers.
One thing to think about is do you really need that much refrigerator space? We have a family of four and probably could have easily gotten by with a smaller fridge.
You might be able to get a more compact size, like the ones for hotels or that they use so much in Europe, with a freezer on the bottom.
Good luck! There are so many options to choose from.