Getting a frigidaire -- Any recommendations?

[manly]

Supposedly GE and Whirlpool are two top brands for refridgerators.

The new GE I've seen isn't all that quiet though.

 

[RossMAN]

Ornery,

Thanks for the indepth info. I should save this thread to my hard drive for when we do go appliance shopping.

 

[Ornery]

Originally posted by: rahvin
Ornery,

According to the service guy the Frigidaire compressors were breaking after a few years, considering the compressor is the meat of the fridge and parts alone can run in the hundereds I would say that's a pretty big deal. *shrug*

Holy crap, that's sick! The compressor IS the meat of it, and indestructible (I thought). HTF did they ever fail? Must have been something to do with making them more energy efficient or something. These things are FAR more efficient than they used to be.

Have fun Ross. We bought our house in 1982 and bought all the appliances at the same time. Just got rid of them last year and they were still working when we did. We got to shop for new fridge, stove, washer & dryer all at the same time. Pulled out all the stops, too. Like I said, if these things are going to be with you twenty years, WTF, shoot the works! Heh, we didn't go for Sub Zero or anything like that, but got Amana stainless for the kitchen stuff.

I was this close to pulling the trigger on a Maytag Neptune set, because my wife didn't like the small opening of the GE front load. I was determined to get a front loader, so I was willing to bite the bullet and pay for the Neptune. The place that was selling us all this stuff also carried the Fisher & Paykel. Only thing the salesman told me about it, was that it was "an interesting washer". I went home and did some research. The rest is history.

Prices on some of those things are fixed by the manufacturer, but there were rebates for Amana at the time. I made our dealer price match everything I could, too. Free delivery and hookup of course.

 

[rahvin]

I bought an Amana side by side not stainless (I heard bad things about fingerprints and stainless) and amana washer and dryer when I bought my house a few months ago. The washer and dryer are built by Maytag and commercial quality, the Fridge is supposed to be the best one built currently according to the service guys and it's dead quiet. I got him to knock $50 off the price and throw in 10 year part warranties on the motors in the wash/dry and 10 years on the compressor on the fridge plus free delivery and set up.

 

[Ornery]

He's right about finger prints. Since I've been unemployed, I'm the one who has been taking care of cleaning the kitchen. When I see prints in the middle of the fridge door, I start bitching. Who the hell has to put their hand on the middle of the damn door? :frown:

If my compressor pukes inside of ten years (and Amana doesn't fix it free), I'm contacting the attorney general!

 

[RossMAN]

We never have to put our hands on the Amana door, just use the handle that's what it's there for.

Beautiful in black!

 

[bernse]

Originally posted by: Ornery
"Amana used to make a fantastic fridge. However, Maytag bought them out a year or two ago and they have gone downhill something fierce."

WTF, are you saying Maytag now MAKES Amana appliances? I'd like to know how bad Maytag is in the first place. All manufacturers build high and low end stuff. I think refridgerators are pretty well perfected at this point!

From : http://vendingtimes.com/ws/aug01_vic_fincol1.htm

Maytag Corp. has completed its purchase of Amana Appliances

The problem with Maytag is not that they make high/low end stuff, even their High-End fridges suck. While maytag makes decent washing machines and driers, their kitchen appliances (especially the fridges and dishwashers) are bloody awful.

I did research for over a year on which appliances to get. I went to 6 repair shops in town and got their opinions. *every single one* cautioned against Maytag kitchen appliances. Coincidence? No way. I'll trust the guys that work on them daily. Even the Sears salesguy with 20 years experience cautioned on the Maytag, even though he sold them.

Originally posted by: rahvin: According to my local repair shop Amana Fridges were made by Frigidaire until recently

Your local repair shop is wrong. Amana, until recently, was an independent company. It was tied in with the Speed Queen and Caloric labels.

Front load washers are a favorite topic of mine. Who makes the best? That depends on who you ask and how much money you have to spend. The older Maytag Neptunes were plagued with so many problems that Maytag ended up giving out "secret warranties" like a lemon car. However, their newer models are quite good. As I mentioned earlier, the Electrolux made Frigidaire, Kenmore and GE Front Loaders are unbeatable budget front loaders. The new Whirlpool Duets are getting their kinks worked out and are quite promising, as are the new LG front loaders. A good forum for those interested in Laundry and appliances is located at www.thathomesite.com

 

[Ornery]

As rahvin mentioned, Amana had troubles with compressors in their fridges. That's a shock to me. I wouldn't expect ANY manufacturer to have trouble with that. It probably is something to do with getting the efficiency better, but I'm just guessing.

My point was that just because Maytag sucks, and they bought Amana, doesn't automatically mean that Amana now sucks. Amana is most likely still putting out the exact same products they did before they were bought, good or bad.

This site mentions some pretty stinky problems with Neptunes. My old Sears (Whirlpool) set went 20 years requiring only a dryer motor and a switch panel "cleaning" in the washer. I'd already been told not to expect that kind of reliability from a non-commercial front loader, and to expect expensive parts to keep it going. I have great expectations for this Fisher & Paykel. I consider it a hot deal, and I'm glad I stumbled onto it.

I assumed this Amana fridge would work flawlessly for twenty years, though. No ice maker in it, or other fancy gizmos. It's got 5 years warranty on the compressor. If that dies before 10 years I'll be pissed. If it dies before 15 years I won't be too happy either.

 

[bernse]

Originally posted by: Ornery
My point was that just because Maytag sucks, and they bought Amana, doesn't automatically mean that Amana now sucks. Amana is most likely still putting out the exact same products they did before they were bought, good or bad.[/i]

No, they aren't. Thats the whole problem. They are *not* putting out the same stuff that they did before the were taken over. The only thing they have in common with their "older" products is the name. Amana used to be almost top-of-the-line, but they most defintely are not anymore. They are, at best, a mid quality producer. For the price you now pay for an Amana, you are far better off getting a fancier Whirlpool.

 

[rahvin]

Your local repair shop is wrong. Amana, until recently, was an independent company. It was tied in with the Speed Queen and Caloric labels.

Personally I will take the repair shops word over yours. Considering they actually purchase full units and parts directly from the manufacturer I think they are a little more well informed than you. Amana until recently had all it's production outsourced to Fridgidaire. Now they have returned to making their own products and quality has increased again.

 

[Ryan]

My Amana fridge with the freezer on the bottom p0wnes any stupid frigidaire.

 

My parents have owned their "Mustard Yellow" Kenmore for OVER 28 years. It's NEVER required service, and I think of it as a miracle of 1970s engineering.

 

[Ornery]

It would take some heavy duty Googling to find out what happened to Amana's old manufacturing facilities. I figure it's the same deal as Daimler/Chrysler. SL500s didn't turn into Dusters, and Town & Countries didn't turn into ML500s. I remember when Toro bought WheelHorse. I was worried that WheelHorse would turn to sh|t, but they still make their own high quality equipment, and simply slap the Toro name on their tractors.

jumpr, your parents could save $100.00 per year in electricity by replacing that dinosaur. Believe it or not, it's not unusual for these things to last that long. The refrideration system is completely sealed and made to run forever. Fridges are usually thrown out because of broken shelving or cracked interiors.


Refrigerators and commercial microwave ovens are manufactured in Amana, Iowa

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: jumpr
My parents have owned their "Mustard Yellow" Kenmore for OVER 28 years. It's NEVER required service, and I think of it as a miracle of 1970s engineering.

That's what I'm talkin' about, our Kenmore appliances all last at least 20 years with no problems at all.

 

[Ornery]

Well, for once I set Google aside and used the phone! :Q

I called Amana customer service at 800-843-0304. Waited a fair amount of time, but a CSR confirmed that this information is correct:

• Amana Appliances are manufactured at three ISO 9001 certified manufacturing facilities. Refrigerators and commercial microwave ovens are manufactured in Amana, Iowa; laundry products in Searcy, Arkansas; cooking products in Florence, South Carolina. Amana operates a number of regional distribution centers.

They have been manufactured in these facilities for decades, and will continue to be manufactured there. I didn't ask her if Maytag shipped any gremlins into these plants.