Discussion Is Consumer Reports still a reliable source of information?

[DesiPower]

We are in the market for a new* french door, near to counter depth refrigerator, a bit fancy, 4 door** ones. We were leaning towards Whirlpool but as per consumer reports Samsung and LG are the most reliable in the catogery and Whirlpool is toward the bottom. My current one is GE, had some issues with the water dispenser line freezing up but besides that it has been running rock solid for close to 15 years. We want to keep the next purchase too for a long time, please share your brand experience.

* We do use the water dispenser as our main source of drinking wanted and as it freezes up a few times a year, its a major pain, and that is why we are in the market for a new one.
** not necessarily the glass door or door-in-door but definitely need the Flex zone, as we have a stand alone freezer in the garage, we don't need much of freezer space.

 

[NuclearNed]

In my college years, I sold electronics for Sears. With CR in hand, people would come in & buy the biggest piles of crap that we sold, all based on CR recommendations. You don't have to see that too many times before you realize that CR sucks. The theory among us salespeople was that CR got payouts to promote various products.

 

[kn51]

Well, after having a Samsung refrig for 8 years I can tell you I will never own another one.

Problem is that in this day and age, most modern appliances are garbage. Flash over substance. I know, not much help. Perhaps they've fixed the flaws (after the 3rd visit mine is okay now, but the icemaker/dispenser is still a joke).

 

[HomerJS]

Anyone know where to go for accurate reviews? I'm in the market for kitchen appliances and was going to ask a friend who has a CR account for their latest info

Soon we will need reviews of sites that publish reviews.

 

[highland145]

Mom's samsung has died twice. 1st time just after the 1 year warranty. Our LG has been good so far, 3 years (?).

Anyone know where to go for accurate reviews? I'm in the market for kitchen appliances and was going to ask a friend who has a CR account for their latest info

Soon we will need reviews of sites that publish reviews.

For dishwashers, my plumber bro said put in a $300 one and toss it when it breaks. The more expensive flashy ones don't last any longer. ymmv

 

[Captante]

There's good reviews in CR and bad reviews ... most of the time all you need to do to figure out which is which is to pay attention to the testing methodology used.

Mom's samsung has died twice. 1st time just after the 1 year warranty. Our LG has been good so far, 3 years (?).For dishwashers, my plumber bro said put in a $300 one and toss it when it breaks. The more expensive flashy ones don't last any longer. ymmv

Same thing I was told about washers/dryers ... the circuit boards in the fancy digital ones cost as much or more then an entire brand-new simple model with dials and buttons if you have to replace one.

 

[lxskllr]

Can you buy a plain old fridge anymore? Mine's still going, but when it dies, I'd like to replace it with brand new 1980 technology. No smart anything, and a simple dial with numbers 1-10 to set the temperature.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Mom's samsung has died twice. 1st time just after the 1 year warranty. Our LG has been good so far, 3 years (?).For dishwashers, my plumber bro said put in a $300 one and toss it when it breaks. The more expensive flashy ones don't last any longer. ymmv

Truth. The ones that come with a house are by far the shittiest of the shit. You have to hand-wash everything first if you expect the dishes to be clean after running

I wanted that fucking thing to die in order to justify buying a new and better one... It never did =[

Bought an after-market one and tossed the other one that was still working for ~$500. It actually cleans without pre-washing and has useful features like sanitizing.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

There's good reviews in CR and bad reviews ... most of the time all you need to do to figure out which is which is to pay attention to the testing methodology used.





Same thing I was told about washers/dryers ... the circuit boards in the fancy digital ones cost as much or more then an entire brand-new simple model with dials and buttons if you have to replace one.

Yeah the only thing that gave out on my washer/dryer were the digital displays. OH well, I can't see how much time the cycle takes or how much time is left. Oh noez.....

I think I could buy the parts aftermarket for ~$150 or so, but I just don't care that much to see the display.

 

[deadlyapp]

Only thing I'll say about fridges is beware french door style with icemaker in the door. Rampant issues with them which is why I ultimately went SxS with a new fridge. I've had almost no issues with any SxS that I've had and went with (I believe) a Samsung built Kenmore this time.

Washer / Dryer are Whirlpool built Kenmores.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Only thing I'll say about fridges is beware french door style with icemaker in the door. Rampant issues with them which is why I ultimately went SxS with a new fridge. I've had almost no issues with any SxS that I've had and went with (I believe) a Samsung built Kenmore this time.

Washer / Dryer are Whirlpool built Kenmores.

I've heard t hat in general (as far as french door icemakers). Our Samsung has an ice maker in the door AND inside the freezer drawer as well. We simply just use the freezer drawer one and turned off the door one.

Namely, the door ones always distribute too slow and they suck at sending ACTUAL ice-cubes... lots of broken pieces, etc...

 

[shortylickens]

My mom thinks so.
My mom thinks Fox News is the best source of information.
So, yeah, theres that.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

My Whirlpool Conquest unit has the ice tray in the door, but ice drops into it from a maker in the freezer unit itself. No issues. Bought in December 2000. I think I had one repair to it, something <$100 by an appliance repair provider, but other than that it has run great--fingers crossed. The Whirlpool dishwasher also from the exact same time frame is still running fine. We use it every week--will be today--but then again we rinse our dishes ahead of time and don't just throw food in it. The overhead Whirlpool microwave is from the same time frame and still running strong. The Whirlpool gas oven and cooktop aren't used enough to be judged but they are both still running without a single failure.

Conversely, the LG TROMM washer and dryer each had a single failure during the 12-15 years that we've had them. Spent ~$2300 on the pair from HD. The dryer's heating element went out after a handful of years, and then the washer's hot-water temp sensor failed about five years ago. BTW, did you know on the LG TROMM units if the hot-water temp sensor fails it won't let you do a cold wash either?

 

[Adrenaline]

Anyone know where to go for accurate reviews? I'm in the market for kitchen appliances and was going to ask a friend who has a CR account for their latest info

Soon we will need reviews of sites that publish reviews.

I just built a house last year. My uncle was a Sears repairman for years. He suggested Whirlpool for everything as that is what he used. I have had zero issues in a year out of anything. In my last house, GE gave me issues so I was looking for something new.

I bought all of my appliances from Best Buy (they pricematch and I got tons of points so when I bought my deep freezer, I paid $4.99 for a $700 deep freezer.). Before mentioning to the salesman what appliance brand I was looking at, I asked him what he would suggest and he said the exact same thing my uncle did, Whirlpool. He said he had everything Whirlpool at his house.

 

[brianmanahan]

do like trident and get a miele

 

[lxskllr]

BTW, did you know on the LG TROMM units if the hot-water temp sensor fails it won't let you do a cold wash either?

Something like this then...

 

[Thebobo]

Been a long time CR member and overall have had a positive response to their recommendations.

 

[kn51]

Whirlpool drove Kitchenaid and Maytag brands into the dumpster.

If you have a good fridge right now and want a replacement (which I understand) toss it in your garage for a beer/soda type fridge. They don't make them like they used to.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Well, after having a Samsung refrig for 8 years I can tell you I will never own another one.

Problem is that in this day and age, most modern appliances are garbage. Flash over substance. I know, not much help. Perhaps they've fixed the flaws (after the 3rd visit mine is okay now, but the icemaker/dispenser is still a joke).

My parents got a Samsung and they had to get the ice maker replaced like 3-4 times in a few years. Supposedly this is common with these types of "high end" units, all the stuff breaks within the first year and needs to be replaced. Eventually once everything is replaced it's good for a while.

I hope they never stop making the standard fridges like Frigidaires etc. I don't want any of these fancy appliances if they break all the time.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

My parents got a Samsung and they had to get the ice maker replaced like 3-4 times in a few years. Supposedly this is common with these types of "high end" units, all the stuff breaks within the first year and needs to be replaced. Eventually once everything is replaced it's good for a while.

I hope they never stop making the standard fridges like Frigidaires etc. I don't want any of these fancy appliances if they break all the time.

Sounds an awful lot like BMWs hehehe.

 

[brianmanahan]

Sounds an awful lot like BMWs hehehe.

i never heard alky brag about a samsung fridge

but his m3 on the other hand

 

[deadlyapp]

Thing is everyone complains about their fridge breaking, however it's generally just the ice maker which isn't an essential part of the actual fridge - or it's the mixing flap getting frozen shut (often because the air flow is blocked inside the fridge).

I can think of very few modern fridges I've seen actually die due to natural causes.

 

[brianmanahan]

Thing is everyone complains about their fridge breaking, however it's generally just the ice maker which isn't an essential part of the actual fridge - or it's the mixing flap getting frozen shut (often because the air flow is blocked inside the fridge).

I can think of very few modern fridges I've seen actually die due to natural causes.

i have a built-in icemaker and i don't even use it

i still just use the trays

 

[quikah]

My parents got a Samsung and they had to get the ice maker replaced like 3-4 times in a few years. Supposedly this is common with these types of "high end" units, all the stuff breaks within the first year and needs to be replaced. Eventually once everything is replaced it's good for a while.

My french door samsung ice maker is constantly getting jammed with ice every few months. I will need to dig out the ice that has frozen some piece of it. After I do that it is good for another few months. I read about a lot of people replacing ice makers multiple times, I wonder if they are just getting jammed with ice like mine, not really broken, just badly designed. Seems like these designs are not really able to keep the ice maker component cold enough so they will partially thaw then they freeze up some component.

 

[Red Squirrel]

My french door samsung ice maker is constantly getting jammed with ice every few months. I will need to dig out the ice that has frozen some piece of it. After I do that it is good for another few months. I read about a lot of people replacing ice makers multiple times, I wonder if they are just getting jammed with ice like mine, not really broken, just badly designed. Seems like these designs are not really able to keep the ice maker component cold enough so they will partially thaw then they freeze up some component.

Hmm that could actually be, my parents don't exactly troubleshoot anything they just replace stuff right away.