How Do You Choose Major Appliances?

IUHoosier429

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In the market for a new dishwasher and there are some decent Presidents Day deals going on now. How do y'all choose your major appliances? Are you brand loyal? Are you retailer loyal? Do you rely on customer reviews and word of mouth ... what about CNET, Wirecutter, Consumer Reports, etc. reviews?

My kitchen is all Electrolux and I've generally been pleased with that brand (though I did post in "DIY" a few months back about my Electrolux fridge gremlin), but I'm not super brand loyal or hell-bent on keeping everything "all in the family." Likewise, cost always plays some factor, but I'll gladly spend more for quality (fully realizing you don't always get what you pay for, even when you pay more for it). I love my three-year-old Samsung washer and dryer. I had a nice Whirlpool W&D set before that crapped the bed within the first year. Previously had a KitchenAid fridge that made it 10 years without a mechanical hiccup, but every interior plastic shelf and drawer had cracked and broken.

Opinions are like a-holes, and for every specific brand fan there are two who hate it. Are we at that point in history where every brand is going to be pretty much even in terms of overall quality and potential for failure, and I should just buy what looks nicest?

I appreciate everyone's feedback!
 
I'm your guy. 20 years experience in the business. Let me type up something for you.
 
Many years ago, I had an appliance repairman tell me to buy the simplest model offered in whatever brand you prefer. In other words, all those extra buttons and cycles are nothing more than problems waiting to happen. I've followed his advice, and have had great success with my appliances.
 
Many years ago, I had an appliance repairman tell me to buy the simplest model offered in whatever brand you prefer. In other words, all those extra buttons and cycles are nothing more than problems waiting to happen. I've followed his advice, and have had great success with my appliances.
That's one way to go. It's very much the old school train of thought, but also hard to argue with it from a reliability/longevity standpoint. Servicers hate the complexity of new appliances. Modern appliances also aren't designed to last 20yr+ like they used to be; It can happen for sure, it's just not the intent.
 
I'm of the opinion (based on experience), they are all built by one or two manufacturers under some license agreement and have a "built-In" fail point at 2 weeks past warranty date, if you paid for the extended warranty.
 
When it comes to dishwasher, the dB rating is king. The difference between a 50-something dishwasher and a 40-something is very noticeable. If you have an open floor plan or otherwise need a quieter kitchen, look for something in the 40’s. That comes with an extra cost, but it’s worth it. We went from an old 90’s model (no idea the rating...probably in the 50’s or 60’s) to a new Whirlpool rated at 44dB. I thought the damn thing was broken and not working it was so quiet!

@Miss Lily isn’s too far off the mark about manufacturers. There are essentially two, maybe three manufacturers of the guts. They’ll make a proprietary motherboard or something, but otherwise sell the same things to different “brands.” That doesn’t mean they’re all junk—there are some good units available. What it means is they’re all about the same on each price point/quality level, in my opinion. A $500 unit will be pretty much the same as another $500 unit.
 
I buy on looks, price, and features. I want it to match, I don't believe the difference from the top to the bottom (quality-wise) is near the cost difference, and I want it to do what I need without having a bunch of crap I don't need/want.
 
Buy the cheapest one you can find that serves your purpose and know that it will last longer than than the most expensive.
 
Budget no object the short answer is Bosch 800 series. They don't have a dryer so there's going to be water pooled on the top of mugs or plastic storage containers, but hands down these are the best on the market for the past several years.
KitchenAid just decided to up the ante and introduced their latest models with a new system that filters the wash water and has a bottle washer in the top rack in addition to being 2db quieter than the Bosch 800 and having a dryer.

I've been working at an appliance wholesale distributor in the Chicago market for 20 years. In my experience the way to choose an appliance is to check to see if there's factory service in your area. Samsung has been dragging their butt in getting this rolled out. I'm not sure where they stand in this market, but in Chicago it's pathetic. Parts are hard to get, and expensive. Warranties exist, but become a joke when there's no service that knows your machine and they can't get parts fast.
LG used to suffer the same problem, but has been making huge strides. I know Charlotte has LG factory trained service. I checked before I bought a laundry pair.

GE was purchased by Haier. Chinese quality abounds even in US built product.

Electrolux/Frigidaire is hit and miss. The misses can get ugly because they don't have factory trained techs who specialize on their products. The hits are respectable machines. The lifespan of these don't impress me. We regularly replace apartment grade appliances in Chicago that are just two and three years old. Apartment grade refrigeration is dismal. The regular guy level household stuff is built in the same factories and sometimes shares the same cabinets with the apartment grade stuff, so buyer beware.

Whirlpool (maytag, KitchenAid, Amana, Magic Chef, JennAir) machines are simple to work on. Service is easy to find. Parts are affordable. Even if you have a problem they can normally work it out. Pro tip...Don't buy from a big box. Buy from an appliance dealer. Appliance dealers have better relationships with the manufacturer's sales team and can turn the screws to get you satisfaction from the manufacturer. The big box doesn't care about you, and the manufacturer doesn't care about the big box. The exception to this is if you are looking for an extreme deal and you don't care about damage. Scratch and dent brings prices down to dealer cost, sometimes below. Those go as is, so there's no concern about customer service after the sale because you didn't pay for any.

I have LG laundry and Whirlpool kitchen appliances (KA dishwasher) in my house I bought 8/2019. My old house had LG laundry, a Bosch 800 series dishwasher, Frigidaire gas range, Frigidaire microwave, and JennAir refrigerator. That stuff never broke down in 10 years and sold with the house.

Edit 3:15 2/15/19.... after a note from another member via PM I need to correct the record...Frigidaire has been rolling out some factory techs recently...so check to see if they have any near you if you find they have a machine that interests you. Sorry for the initial detail that was out of place.
 
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Thanks to everyone here so far.

@Timfoilhat, a special thanks to your write-up ... wish I could buy ya a beer, Sir! Super helpful stuff. Thank you. I was actually reading reviews on a Bosch dishwasher while waiting for your in-depth reply and really liked what I saw, so I'm going to focus on that route while keeping Whirpool brands in mind. I also looked at another Electrolux but even on the company's website that model only earned 3.6 stars.

Anyone else have anything to add about Bosch and/or the Whirlpool family of machines?
 
We had a Bosch dishwasher (300 series, if I recall correctly) in the house we recently sold. We only had it a few months but I was very pleased with it, especially how quiet it was. It had a light on the door that shone on the floor so you could tell it was running - at first I thought that was just a sales gimmick, but the dishwasher really was that quiet.
 
Agreed that Bosch is king. However, that model not having a dryer is a real killer. I hate having nasty dishwasher water left on cups and such.

We zeroed in on he Whirlpool because it was the upper model of the “middle” line. I can’t remember what we paid...maybe $550-ish. We had $300 from the home warranty (old 90’d model washer crapped out and they just cashed us out), so it made the price easier to swallow. We’ve been very impressed with the Whirlpool.

This is the model we bought: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Whirlpo...ainless-Steel-Tub-47-dBA-WDTA50SAHZ/301699836

Found my sales email...we paid $497 in June 2017. Been nothing but pleased and impressed.
 
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When we bought our house about 2.5 years ago it had a new Bosch dishwasher in it. I had never heard of it before but man are my wife and I impressed! Quiet as could be to the point you wonder if it is on and we run all the cycles on the 30 minute quick wash and that has always done the job and then some.

If and when it gives out we will get another one for sure.
 
I look for commercial rated appliances, thats how i ended up with my speed queen washer, which has been an animal so far.
Don't ever sell that thing. If you have trouble finding parts hit me up, I'll give you the number of the Midwest's largest SQ parts dealer who I know personally. He'll ship straight to your door.
 
Is this thread about dishwashers or guns? :confused:

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Whirpool?

The DW was new with the house 18 yrs ago. We had "MacGuyvered" it through with help from https://www.appliancepartspros.com/ starting 8 years ago. It finally became obsolete (parts no longer available) on Thanksgiving Day! Arghhh...

My sister has had a Bosch DW for 12 years. It appears to still be in good shape but, I don't know the details. I do know that it does not like to be overloaded.

Refrigerator? We had a Frigidaire that worked flawlessly for 11 years. Again, MacGuyvered for a couple of years until catastrophic failure on Christmas Eve 2018.

Hence, my skepticism regarding household appliances.
 
Reviews are king for me. I mostly read the 3-4 star reviews.
Not a bad strategy. Be sure to pay attention to the length of time people own the machine, and remember that there's two main types of online reviews. The bitchers and the people who are excited about their new toys. New toy reviews don't mean much because they don't speak to anything but initial quality and excitement. The bitchers on the other hand can provide data points, but if a Mfr builds 100k of something and 1% have a part that breaks frequently and 1% of the victims of the broken part are online bitchers...then finding 1000 bad reviews that all say the same thing doesn't mean the machine is junk. It means you found the 1% of people who were unhappy that they bought a 1% machine.
 
Whirpool?

The DW was new with the house 18 yrs ago. We had "MacGuyvered" it through with help from https://www.appliancepartspros.com/ starting 8 years ago. It finally became obsolete (parts no longer available) on Thanksgiving Day! Arghhh...

My sister has had a Bosch DW for 12 years. It appears to still be in good shape but, I don't know the details. I do know that it does not like to be overloaded.

Refrigerator? We had a Frigidaire that worked flawlessly for 11 years. Again, MacGuyvered for a couple of years until catastrophic failure on Christmas Eve 2018.

Hence, my skepticism regarding household appliances.
Overall, life cycles on modern appliances seem to be about 10 -12 years. Several of the brands I've dealt with stop creating/warehousing parts after a decade from last produced model. I've seen cases where one manufacturer was selling another manufacturers rebadged product and the agreement between them disintegrates and takes the parts with it. Bosch used to have Frigidaire build ranges for them. Frigidaire still builds some Viking refrigeration. JennAir used to sell a rebadged FisherPaykel pro range. It's hard to figure this stuff out unless you see and recognize the boxes/outer-wrap things ship in.
 
Don't ever sell that thing. If you have trouble finding parts hit me up, I'll give you the number of the Midwest's largest SQ parts dealer who I know personally. He'll ship straight to your door.

Its not the old mechanical one, its the re-released tc model, but dang ive never had cleaner clothes.

Used to have a sour smell occasionally, and started using those smelly things in the laundry. Turns out when the machine actually cleans the clothes, you don't need that crap.
 
My recent experience is to avoid anything with Maytag on it. 2 Maytag heat pumps: 1 lasted a little over 5 years before the compressor failed; the other made it 7 years. "Musta been poor installation," they said. Goodmans lasting 15 years in the background...

Maytag refregerator bought new in April 2013, kicked out the back of the pickup at the scrap yard in Jan 2020. Finally gave up after 6 mos F'in with it. Got to throw out over a $100 worth of food, to boot.

I realize 90% of them are of foreign origin and it's probably a crap shoot whatever you get, but I won't spend a nickel for Maytag ever again.
 
Thanks again to everyone here. I went with a Bosch. Purchased tonight ... will schedule a delivery on Monday. Hopefully I enjoy it as much as the Amazon show (funky grip techniques or not)!

Cheers.

Dont laugh, but i actually watched videos of machines washing clothes too.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCdmAqgUChg4_28q39FQe2bg

No laughing here. I've seen some creative reviews on there ... like people fraying test garments to see how much more they get chewed up by agitator vs. non-agitator washers. Or pouring coffee/rubbing grass stains into swatches and then washing on hot vs. cold vs. eco mode. It can make a big difference!
 
Chalk up another satisfied Bosch dishwasher user. About 17 years now. House came with a builder-grade GE, which as LOUD AS HELL. I MEAN, IT WAS REALLY LOUD. You couldn't watch TV downstairs with that bugger running. Well, it kicked the bucket about two years after we moved in, AND my wife developed a severe case of tinnitus from an antibiotic she was prescribed. I don't know what Bosch model we have, but it's QUIET. Yes, it doesn't have a dryer, but the water is only nasty if, say, a dish turns upside down and captures a lot of water for a long period of time through the cycle. We couldn't use anything any louder. Only trouble we've had is one sensor failed- easily fixed.
 
Speed Queen for washers and dryers. Simple, effective, and built like tanks.
 
Bosch dishwasher. Had it for ~10 years. Don’t even know it’s on, it’s that quiet.
 
I also have the Bosch 800 and it has been super. You never know when it is running its so quiet
 
For appliances i have tried cheap and got cheap. Now im trying "buy once, cry once" and getting much better results. My kitchen is GE Profile and Kitchenaide. I can stand next to my 4 year old dishwasher and have to concentrate to hear it running.

My wife did the research and got it right. Those two brands seem to be made to last.
 
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