Appliance shopping and overwhelmed.

[BHowe]

Well fellers, my fiance and I will be closing on our first house on the 27th! Pretty pumped up about that. :dance:

So we have the need to buy a new fridge as well as washer and dryer.

For the Fridge I'm pretty sure we want a Stainless French door style fridge and for the clothes duty maybe something front loading?

Here's the problem, I have no idea what brand to stay away from or migrate too. What features I might want, etc.

So let's here of some of your own experiences, or possibly link me to a page with reviews and comparisons.

Thanks in advance.

[doctorcue]

I can't stear you to a particular brand; maybe read up Consumer reports?

Congratulations on the home. Light up (in your garage or backyard) when you move in!

[taltos]

Having bought these items as replacements within the past 5 years, I would advise going with General Electric for all 3 and avoiding Maytag as we had terrible luck with a washer. Feature suggestions:

Refrigerator: side by side refrig/freezer combo, through the door ice/water dispenser, ice maker, adjustable shelves. Painted finishes do not show finger prints as much as stainless steel and are a couple hundred less.

Washer: top loading with at a minimum short and long wash cycles as well as temperature choice for wash and rinse.

Dryer: front loading, multiple drying cycle choices, multiple temperature choices, cool down cycle, loud cycle finished buzzer on washer and dryer.

Hope that this helps.

[Smokin Gator]

I am not a fan of the SS as it seems it has be cleaned daily even without kids!! I don't really like the side by sides either as it seems there is not enough width in the freezer for common boxed items, but I know a lot of people love them.

As for the washer and dryer... I think you can really save there. Buy basic models that don't have many settings. Most people don't use them anyway!!

YMMV

[Blueface]

Well worth it to go to Consumer Reports, if not sure.

I recently bought a front loader washer and dryer.
I went with LG.

I just bought my fridge, stainless. French top doors with bottom freezer. After all I looked at for the money, ended up with LG also.

I could be wrong but they are putting out some nice stuff right now.

Getting ready to get the range, micro and dishwasher next.

[mikeyj23]

If you want to save some money on the washer and dryer, go with Roper. We have Roper W/D in the house we rent out, and got them on recommendation from others who rent - they do what you need, and they're incredibly reliable.

[beamish]

stay away from maytag.......just bought an electrolux front load washer...so far so good,almost went for lg....good machine as is bosch a lot of other brands are made by whirlpool who have a good rating..they bought maytag....a friend who has an appliance repair business swears by whirlpool washers,and says the only dishwasher he never had a call on is a bosch,samsung has a good fridge so i am told i couldnt believe it..congrats on the new home.:ss

[beamish]

forgot to mention my new maytag dishwasher almost burned my house down,as the contacts for the drying element welded shut melting all the plasticware inside,kitchen counter was so hot you couldnt touch it,also my maytag fridge 5 years old needs a magnet seal replacement ....junk....

[BHowe]

So no Maytag...... LOL!

I've heard good and bad about the Samsung fridges. They are very similar to the GE Profile stuff we are looking at. Similar as in one company is making them for the other.

One thing we are really looking long and hard at with the W/D pair is possibly steam.

[kaisersozei]

As much as Sears gets a bad rap, their Kenmore appliances are very reliable and always get high marks from Consumer Reports. Never had a problem with them myself.

Front loading washers are more energy efficient & have better washing performance than top loaders, but are much more $$$!

We have a Frigidaire side-by-side frig and the wife hates the layout in the freezer, so we also have a top-freezer/frig in the garage. As Mikeyj points out, it's a used Roper, probably 10 years old, and still kicking right along.

These are recommended models according to the 2008 CR Buying Guide:

Top-Freezer Frig: Whirlpool & Kenmore
Bottom-Freezer Frig: Kenmore & Amana
Side-by-side: Amana & Samsung
Top load washer: Whirlpool & Kenmore
Front load washer: LG & Whirlpool

Hope that helps, gl!

[hotreds]

Now you know how a noobie cigar smoker feels! Hey, good luck and congratulations! I, too, have heard that Maytag is no longer is the greatest, and that Kenmore is actually very reliable.

[BHowe]

Reading along on CR now.

Thanks for the input. We have a side beside that is staying here when we move. For sure going with a French Door style fridge. Just trying to decide if it's going to be a water in the door type or what.

Washer and Dryer's are totally overwhelming.

[awsmith4]

I have Frigidaire appliances that have the look of stainless but have some sort of finish that doesn't show fingerprints. The range and the fridge have been great, the dishwasher sucks.

I live in an older house that did not have a w/d originally, so when i ripped out the kitchen I added connections. Since they were to be in the kitchen I built a custom cabinet that housed the w/d and the fridge. The w/d were pricey but the are AWESOME. They are the LG Tromm front loading. We have been here almost four years and no problems and they wash incredible.

[MTB996]

I have also had good luck with Kenmore.

Also, make sure you buy at the right place. Sometimes you get bad stuff (no matter what brand) and you will need a decent store to make things right. In this regard, I would stay far away from HH Gregg (if they are in your area) as they have the worst customer service and return policy in the business.

While not experts, places like Costco have great return policies and super customer service.

Good luck with the shopping, its overwhelming, yet surprisingly satisfying when it all comes together.

[BHowe]

Any place like Consumer Reports I can look that I don't have to join?

[chippewastud79]

I have a Samsung side-by-side fridge and it works just dandy, had it for almost a year and a half with no problems. It is a little too big for the space I put it in so the door handles hit my wall but it still opens fine.

Also have the LG high efficiency front loading washer and dryer which are absolutely great, huge capacity and work well. The only gripe with them is the washer cycles take about 50+ minutes and the dryer has a funky censor sometimes, larger items, like pants or hoodies are not always dry when the censor says they are done and need 15 more minutes or so.

Biggest advice I would give you about appliance shopping is to bargain. Particularly if the brand/style you are looking for is available at multiple stores. Don't let people tell you otherwise, even at stores like Besy Buy and department stores, you can always ask for discounts, price matches, free warranties, free delivery and setup, etc. Even if you haven't been to the other store, tell them you can get it for cheaper at a different store, they won't call them and will likely price match it or beat it. It can save you hundreds of dollars. :tu

[MikeyC]

The french door fridges are GREAT! :tu

I'm not sure if you mentioned dishwashers or not but you can't beat Bosch in that department. Absolutely the best. Solidly built and they run SO quietly.

[awsmith4]

The french door fridges are GREAT! :tu

I'm not sure if you mentioned dishwashers or not but you can't beat Bosch in that department. Absolutely the best. Solidly built and they run SO quietly.

I agree 100% on the Bosch dishwasher. I've probably had them installed in 95% of the homes I built over the last 3 years and rarely had any issues and they are super quiet. On that note the worst appliance we continued to install were the Viking refrigerators, they were constantly breaking and in need of service.

[barbourjay]

LG TROMM on the washer and dryer. there are all kinds in this series but consumer reports always ranks them very high on their list. they use magnets to stabilize the drums making them more reliable. we have em in white and love them. you won't need steam unless you are in the medical field.

as for your fridge i'd look at a side by side (that's what i'm use too) samsung.

i'd pick up a consumer reports or try to find it online. they will give you some of the best advice out there.

[MikeyC]

I agree 100% on the Bosch dishwasher. I've probably had them installed in 95% of the homes I built over the last 3 years and rarely had any issues and they are super quiet. On that note the worst appliance we continued to install were the Viking refrigerators, they were constantly breaking and in need of service.

I've heard a lot of bad things about the reliability of Viking as well. It's surprising considering how expensive that brand is. I guess you don't always get what you pay for.

[Cigary]

Ditto this except for the Maytag,,,have had washer and dryer for over 15 years and it runs like brand new. We recently bought a home warranty package for only $435 a year,,,covers everything in the house,,,everything and if it goes bad it gets fixed regardless. I don't buy warrantys from the store anymore as this home warranty pays for everything that could go wrong,,,why pay for an extra warranty?

Having bought these items as replacements within the past 5 years, I would advise going with General Electric for all 3 and avoiding Maytag as we had terrible luck with a washer. Feature suggestions:

Refrigerator: side by side refrig/freezer combo, through the door ice/water dispenser, ice maker, adjustable shelves. Painted finishes do not show finger prints as much as stainless steel and are a couple hundred less.

Washer: top loading with at a minimum short and long wash cycles as well as temperature choice for wash and rinse.

Dryer: front loading, multiple drying cycle choices, multiple temperature choices, cool down cycle, loud cycle finished buzzer on washer and dryer.

Hope that this helps.

[jcruse64]

Another recommendation for Kenmore. We've been pleased with the fridge, dishwasher, and washer we bought. Also just replaced an old gas stove with an electric Frigidaire, and we like it so far.

We bought Maytag washer and dryer 4 or 5 years ago, and have been VERY unhappy with them. Already replaced the washer with a low-end Kenmore. I don't know if all Maytag stuff has lost its edge, but I'd stay away from anything Maytag from Lowe's. I'm not actually sure it IS Maytag. I called a service guy on our washer, and after describing the pulley setup on the bottom to him, he said it wasn't actually a Maytag-made appliance, just made by contract for them and Lowes and had a Maytag logo on it.

Good luck.

[BHowe]

Guys, thanks for all of the input.

Right now we have the fridge narrowed down to either a Samsung or GE Profile french door style fridge. Our only final decisions are to have water and Ice in the door or internally in the Fridge.

For Washer and Dryer, we are going with front loading and still torn between Whirlpool, LG, or Samsung. We want steam in the dryer for sure! Not in the washer.

The hunt continuous.