Refrigerator shopping (Bloomington, Greenwood: renter, appliances, house)

[knitjenious]

Wondering about good appliance stores in the Indy area, other than the big chains like Best Buy, Lowe's, and Home Depot. I will be looking to purchase a reasonably priced but energy efficient refrigerator when I move to Indy in July.

I'm also considering craigslist but with the advances that have been made in energy efficient technology in the last 5-10 years I'm thinking buying new might be a good idea on this one.

I would love any thoughts on reliable, trustworthy, local appliance stores, preferably close to downtown. Places that might have late-model used fridges? (I've always been a renter and haven't bought an appliance before.) Thank you!

[Naptowner]

Lowe's will almost certainly have the best prices and a good selection.

You don't want to buy a used fridge, you really don't. People get tired of their new car and get rid of it after a couple years. No one does that with a refrigerator that works well, they just put it in the basement or garage until it either completely stops working or it gets so old that they don't want to use it any more. I wouldn't want a fridge that someone rescued from the junkyard and threw a new compressor in.

And if you don't want a lot of special features (built-in water and ice dispenser, sliding doors, side by side, all glass bins, separate climate controls, etc.) a good refrigerator isn't all that expensive.

[domergurl]

We had a terrific experience at Clark Appliances in Castleton. They also have a store in the Greenwood area.

[BU191433]

Originally Posted by domergurl

We had a terrific experience at Clark Appliances in Castleton. They also have a store in the Greenwood area.

I would second that. I would look at Clark for sure

[Southside Shrek]

what does Clark Appliances do for you that Lowes and other places don't?

whoever you buy a new appliance from, I'd be extra cautious about who they have deliver it. I witnessed a new freezer being delivered the other day. When the delivery men took it off their truck, it was all scratched up and had dents and damage. Someone obviously manhandled it. When the damage was pointed out to the delivery man, he said "Oh, the store was supposed to have called you about the damage this morning." Then he took out a small bottle of touch up paint and started to try to touch up all the dings and scratches.

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by Southside Shrek

what does Clark Appliances do for you that Lowes and other places don't?

whoever you buy a new appliance from, I'd be extra cautious about who they have deliver it. I witnessed a new freezer being delivered the other day. When the delivery men took it off their truck, it was all scratched up and had dents and damage. Someone obviously manhandled it. When the damage was pointed out to the delivery man, he said "Oh, the store was supposed to have called you about the damage this morning." Then he took out a small bottle of touch up paint and started to try to touch up all the dings and scratches.

I liked their in store service. We weren't in there buying top of the line stuff, I just wanted a new fridge. The salesguy treated us like we were their best customer of the day. Their delivery people were extremely careful too. There were a few angles and corners to deal with and they didn't ding or dent a thing.

[knitjenious]

I see online that Clark also has an outlet center? Any experience with how the prices on a basic, energy efficient fridge there stack up against a national chain (like Lowe's, etc)? I don't need anything fancy but I do try to support local businesses when it is feasible for me to do so.

[Southside Shrek]

Unlike Lowe's and many other stores, Clark Appliances doesn't publish prices online.

[rrah]

Another Clark's fan here. They did carry several brands that the national chains did/do not carry, and were extremely helpful in the decision making process. I also trusted their installers far more than I would have trusted an installer from a chain. I knew the installer was specially trained for this appliance as the brand listed them on their website as an approved supplier. I can't say that about Lowes. I also did not pay anymore than I would have elsewhere, but I was purchasing an set of kitchen appliances. The guy at Lowes could not understand why I might want one brand for my oven and another for my dishwasher. He kept trying to sell me a "set" of all one brand. Clarks fully understood why my dishwasher is one brand, oven another, etc.

Too bad their Bloomington store shut down. Whenever it's time for certain new appliances it will be worth the trip up to Greenwood or Castletown.

[domergurl]

I had an issue with the "fell off the back of the truck" dishwasher that the previous owner of our house installed. Clarks was incredibly helpful and ordered not only the little part that was missing, but downloaded an entire manual for free ... that was aces in my book.

We also had good luck with HHGregg too. After said "feel off the back of the truck" dishwasher died, HHGregg brought a new one over the next day.