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Last year I bought a GE side by side, brushed stainless, from Home Depot. LOVE it. (I don't use the icemaker.) I love this fridge more than any other I've had. It's quiet, the brushed stainless doesn't show fingerprints too much, and I think it's pretty. I GOT IT ON A GOOD SALE END OF MAY 2017. So hopefully you can find one on a good sale.
Things I learned when I researched fridges a couple of years ago:
1.ALL brands have people who will swear they will never buy that brand again.
2. All brands have duds.
3. All brands have people that swear by that brand.
4. No fridge is "made in America" totally.
I also saw a particular problem crop up repeatedly with LG. LGs are gorgeous & good value, but I saw repeated complaints ( a lot of them in different sites) of having trouble getting them serviced. Something like not a lot of servicers do, or are allowed to, work on LG, and the parts for them can be difficult or time consuming to get in some places (not in stock).
So check to make sure how time consuming it is to get parts for the brand in your area, and who works on them. If it's Whirlpool or GE, etc., those parts would be on hand, and a lot of people work on them.
You can look at Kenmores and see who makes that particular kind of fridge...will cost slightly less than the name brand version. For example, I liked an LG bottom freezer. LG made at that time the bottom freezers for Kenmore. They were identical, and slightly less in cost. Whirlpool made the Kenmore side by sides. Etc.
Side by sides have more freezer space than any other configuration. But they have less space overall because the divider down the middle takes up space. I opted for side by side because I use the freezer a lot and don't want a chest freezer in garage. I live alone, so 25cf is plenty for me in side by side. I could have gotten a 22cf, if I went with bottom freezer or top freezer, but would have had to get an extra small chest freezer.
The new fridges have smaller fruit & veggie bins because the energy efficient compressors are larger than the old fashioned compressors. I had to look a LOT to find decent sized fruit & veggie bins. I buy a lot of fruits & veggies.
I agree with all of this.
I have no actual experience, but I too have heard that both Samsung and LG are the fanciest/techiest brands out there right now, but their reliability is no better than GE, Maytag, Whirlpool, etc. And the problem is that there are significantly less people available to service them, and less availability means that service will take longer and cost more.
I have a 3 1/2 yr old Samsung French door, and would definitely not buy again. This model is known for having problems. Every couple of months, you have to spend a weekend clearing the built-up ice from the back of the unit. Known problem. We also cannot use the ice dispenser with a glass because it sprays everywhere. Techs to not want to service. My neighbor has a similar LG and has had to get it serviced many times. Her tech said to get something like a Kenmore or Frigidaire as they are more reliable, and the less gadgety, the better. My next fridge will be very simple.
So, the answers to the original question "What brand of a refrigerator is decent?" are:
a. At $500, none.
b. At $500, why worry as it is a throwaway price.
c. Your choices are so limited, who cares?
From my recent experience if you are not going to buy in the upper range buy in the lower range and get the extended warranty. Mine cost $500.00 two years ago with a one year warranty. It was repaired three times during that period for the same problem. The last guy put a new control panel on it and said if it needed another repair request a replacement product. Each covered repair would have cost me around $240.00.
Once out of warranty the same problem happened again. I talked to a repairman I've known for about 30 years and he told me to replace it with a 25 or 30 year old fridge. He said he is booked tight repairing newer appliances. He said the industry, after suffering many years of building reliable appliances, have shifted into the repair business. Sears has a YouTube site to walk you through DYS repair.
I finally called the Sears service guy for a diagnostic service. (About $80.00) He told me the needed repair would be over $400.00. I had saved the control panel that was replaced from a previous repair and he said he would put it on for the diagnostic fee. (He was feeling sorry for me I guess) That was about a year ago so now …I wait.
If I get five years out of it I will toss it and do the same thing all over again. The service guy said five years is the average service for today’s appliances. I was a little surprised to see all the newer units at the recycling center when I dumped off my 30 year old unit.
Last edited by thriftylefty; 05-19-2018 at 11:17 AM..
Nowadays they are all junk. Made to only last a few years without a major breakdown. Wife and I thought we were doing the right thing by purchasing a high end fridge, GE Cafe. Think it cost us 2800 if I'm not mistaken. Here we are now, not even 6 years old, and it had major service done to it 3 times. Thankfully we purchased the Sears warranty, cost us an extra 500 for 5 years if memory serves me correctly. 2 years old first breakdown, all food spoiled as we were away. Less than a year later another breakdown and once again the food was tossed. Approximately a year after that and another major breakdown the day after a huge shopping order for a party we planned on that weekend. According to the technicians that serviced our fridge, they said that the parts were made to fail and nothing is built as it was. If we didn't have the extended service contract, each repair would have been more than a grand each time. Not to mention the ice maker that fails yearly.
However, our extra fridge in our garage I purchased at a scratch and dent PC Richards store has been problem free the 6 years since purchase. It's a no name brand, no ice maker and pretty basic. No bells and whistles. Purchased for 300, threw in the bed of my pickup, plugged it in and it's been faithful ever since.
Meanwhile my moms old Kenmore has lasted almost 25-30 years. Go figure lol
Read reviews. We're remodeling the kitchen and will have KitchenAid appliances, except for their fridge. Going with a large Samsung or LG. Or, if I can swallow the price, Sub-Zero. Too many negative reviews of KitchenAid refrigerators.
We use a lot of ice and those in-the-door jobs are too slow. Sub-Zero lets you grab them right out of the bin or remove the bin easily.
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