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Mom wants to buy a new fridge..,

D

dudeman007

Diamond Member
Heya. So my mom wants to buy a new fridge and wants me to do a bit of research. Before I get knee deep into this does anyone have any tips? Do any online retailers have some sweet shipping deals or is it worth just buying from a local brick and mortar store? What brands have you guys had good luck with?

Anyways...here's her criteria:
-stainless steel
-side by side doors (no french doors)
-built in water dispenser w/ filter
-smaller than 25 cubic ft.


thx
 
I've got a Samsung fridge that I haven't had any complaints about. My only advice is to also consider last unit floor displays. You can sometimes talk them into giving you a pretty good deal.
 
Local is usually better for this type items.

Look at sears, lowes, home depot, etc... and wait for a good sale. Also Lowes has the 10% off coupon that usually stacks with most sales.
 
For appliances try to get a recommendation on a good local store. (Or check Google reviews or something like that.) Sears, Lowes, Home Depot, etc. usually suck balls in service compared to local competitors, and they can be a pain to deal with if something doesn't work right.

No tips on the fridge other than stay away from Maytag. There are two in the family and both are terrible. One had circuit boards fail twice and the other chewed through a compressor and a couple circuit boards. All covered under warranty, but it's still a pain in the ass. And it's not just us. Consumer Reports found a high repair rate for them.
 
We looked around a ton at fridges this weekend before we settled on a 20 cubic foot kenmore. We wanted to get one with no frills, we didn't want water or ice because we won't use it too much and it's just more to break. I have to agree with Crimson, stay away with maytag. Consumer reports lists them as the least reliable brand. The other big brands are relatively similar in reliability. Kenmore is a decent brand and sears has a good selection. Unfortunately you just missed a 15% off sale at sears though.
 
I love or Whirlpool. Only sucky thing is replacing the water filer every 6months for $35.. We ordered ours from Sears online.
 
Originally posted by: Bignate603
We looked around a ton at fridges this weekend before we settled on a 20 cubic foot kenmore. We wanted to get one with no frills, we didn't want water or ice because we won't use it too much and it's just more to break. I have to agree with Crimson, stay away with maytag. Consumer reports lists them as the least reliable brand. The other big brands are relatively similar in reliability. Kenmore is a decent brand and sears has a good selection. Unfortunately you just missed a 15% off sale at sears though.
Click to expand...

Did you figure out who made the Kenmore unit you bought? Kenmore is rebranded stuff with slightly different specs from the major manufacturers (they change the specs slightly so they don't have to price match).
 
Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Originally posted by: Bignate603
We looked around a ton at fridges this weekend before we settled on a 20 cubic foot kenmore. We wanted to get one with no frills, we didn't want water or ice because we won't use it too much and it's just more to break. I have to agree with Crimson, stay away with maytag. Consumer reports lists them as the least reliable brand. The other big brands are relatively similar in reliability. Kenmore is a decent brand and sears has a good selection. Unfortunately you just missed a 15% off sale at sears though.
Click to expand...

Did you figure out who made the Kenmore unit you bought? Kenmore is rebranded stuff with slightly different specs from the major manufacturers (they change the specs slightly so they don't have to price match).
Click to expand...

Not sure who made it, we couldn't find the exact model on consumer reports but it had some that looked to be identical with a change in some shelving, it looked like last year's model. Even though kenmore doesn't make their own stuff they still had their brand reliability up near the top of the list. Apparently even if they're buying other brands they aren't buying crap.
 
Originally posted by: Bignate603
Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Originally posted by: Bignate603
We looked around a ton at fridges this weekend before we settled on a 20 cubic foot kenmore. We wanted to get one with no frills, we didn't want water or ice because we won't use it too much and it's just more to break. I have to agree with Crimson, stay away with maytag. Consumer reports lists them as the least reliable brand. The other big brands are relatively similar in reliability. Kenmore is a decent brand and sears has a good selection. Unfortunately you just missed a 15% off sale at sears though.
Click to expand...

Did you figure out who made the Kenmore unit you bought? Kenmore is rebranded stuff with slightly different specs from the major manufacturers (they change the specs slightly so they don't have to price match).
Click to expand...

Not sure who made it, we couldn't find the exact model on consumer reports but it had some that looked to be identical with a change in some shelving, it looked like last year's model. Even though kenmore doesn't make their own stuff they still had their brand reliability up near the top of the list. Apparently even if they're buying other brands they aren't buying crap.
Click to expand...

Well, it's hit or miss actually, depends on who they source from.
 
How much is she looking to spend? The clearance/outlet deals at Sears can be pretty badass if you catch them. My parents told me someone scored a side by side stainless steel fridge for $600-700 when the original was close to $2k! (they had no place to put it, so they didn't buy)
 
Not really to thread crap, but I wanted to point out the ridiculousness of some of consumer reports' evaluation. WTF makes the Kenmore elite have a much higher "ease of use" than the other models? It's the only model with "excellent" and all the other models tied (have they no concept of what "average" means?)

$67 annual electricity cost for 15.3 cubic feet (Kenmore Elite 5044) ranks significantly better in efficiency than $67 annual electricity costs for a fridge with 16 cubic feet (Kenmore Elite 5896) - seriously, wtf?

While it's a nice guide, keep in mind that many of their choices and rankings are subjective, rather than objective. Things like noise - how big of a difference is there, really, between the loudest & quietest fridge - a large enough difference to really affect a purchasing decision?
 
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