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[Tigriss]

@shortbreadlover I would love to have found a used one for $50. It is more like $500 down here. Even most of them are now the modern computer things. The old ones are long gone down here.

[Venezia]

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@shortbreadlover wrote:

kitchenaide is a joke.  i will never ever buy a new fridge.  you can buy one used for uder $50.00 and when it goes out, just get anaother used one.  saves a tons of money

also never hook up the ice maker or the water feature.  they are all big time problems

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@shortbreadlover- Well, as I said, my Kitchenaid is now 17 years old and it's still working just fine.  It's the only appliance that we bought, when we built our house that's still with us.  Everything else (Maytag, Amana) died early deaths around 6 to 7 years old.  And they were all expensive (not bottom of the line, no frills appliances - never again with those brands).

We've used our ice maker from new and the only problem we ever had with it was when our new kitten managed to get behind the fridge and chew through the plastic water line!  I fixed that myself.

On the whole, I'd say Kitchenaid (for us) has been far more reliable than any other brand we bought.  I replaced our dishwasher and washing machine with Bosch, when those died and, so far, (knock on wood) no problems with either of those.

[spot555]

Kitchenaid USED to be top of the line- excellent. My mom had her dishwasher for about 30 years, & it still worked. It had a smokey glass front panel, so it never looked out of date. 

She purchased a new/expensive KA dishwasher, & it's a piece of junk. All the interior plastic breaks, there's rust, & it quit working. 

[Twins Mom]

Am looking at replacing major sppkuoonky because of remodel. Actually toying with idea of keeping my 20 year old Kenmore fridge because of what i have read.
Every store recommends different brand: GE, kitchen aid, LG, etc. Nearly every sales person indicates life of appliances less than 10 years. Horrible prospect for future. All planned I am sure.

[spot555]

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@Twins Mom wrote:
Am looking at replacing major sppkuoonky because of remodel. Actually toying with idea of keeping my 20 year old Kenmore fridge because of what i have read.
Every store recommends different brand: GE, kitchen aid, LG, etc. Nearly every sales person indicates life of appliances less than 10 years. Horrible prospect for future. All planned I am sure.

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I would definitely keep your fridge. It's astounding just how poorly things are made & how much $$ they cost (& it's that way by design). They're pretty much money pits once they're installed.

IMO, anything that's "smart" or computerized is total garbage. Instead of having a new appliance delivered to your home, you may as well just have it delivered directly to the city dump. 

[ValuSkr]

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@Twins Mom wrote:
Am looking at replacing major sppkuoonky because of remodel. Actually toying with idea of keeping my 20 year old Kenmore fridge because of what i have read.

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@Twins Mom  sppkuoonky = appliances?  If I were you, I'd definitely keep the 20-year-old Kenmore if it's working all right.

[Lilysmom]

@Mominohio, my appliance repairman is local and worked for Sears for 30 years.  He can fix anything and he said the same thing your BIL said.  All innards are the same now.  I am looking for a new fridge as my Kenmore is 13.  I think I am going to be needing one soon and there is a delay in delivery of a couple of weeks.

I am another one not looking for bells and whistles.  No ice maker, just a fridge with bottom drawer freezer in black which is now hard to find.  I may take a trip to the used appliance store!

I was thinking of an LG or a Whirlpool but I see issues with comments on these here.  A quandary!  My neighbor’s fridge takes a picture of the contents and sends it to her lol.  I see the repairman living over there.  Most appliance repairmen I know are not electronics experts.

I like to do my homework before I make a major purchase but some times I think it is just a waste of time.

Anyone love their LG or Whirlpool fridge?  Just a basic one?  LM

[Twins Mom]

@ ValuSkyr
Yes, thanks for clarifying my typing.
Problem with old fridge us it’s larger than desired. But so sad to be facing this. One should be looking forward to updates, not dreading.

[Lilysmom]

Well, I took the leap today.  I bought a whirlpool refrigerator after doing much research and a couple of conversations with my appliance repairman. I bought a pretty basic one with freezer drawer in the bottom in black which is now hard to find.  I did copious research on reviews.  I also bought a five year warranty (1 year plus 4) which includes a ‘Lemon’ clause where they will replace it if there are repeated repairs.  Five week delivery time.  It is now in the hands of the gods.  LM

[gardenman]

Part of the problem is manufacturers and part of the problem is buyers. Shoppers want bells and whistles more than reliability. All it takes though is one manufacturer to focus on durability/reliability and the equation changes. If you go back to the seventies and American car manufacturers, cars were only made to last five years or so with lots of breakdowns in those five years. Then competition from overseas (largely Toyota and Nissan) with reputations for reliability started to make big sales and the American manufacturers had no choice but to make more reliable cars. They were losing sales so they changed their priorities. Cars now last twenty or more years with decent reliability the whole time. If appliance shoppers start prioritizing durability and reliability manufacturers will adapt.

It's really not that hard to make long lasting appliances. Use high quality stainless steel, powder coated steel, or composite parts where moisture exposure is likely to prevent rust/corrosion. Use good, long lasting bearings for anything that moves. Add surge suppression technology directly on the sensitive electronics to protect them from surges. (That's the big reason motherboards fail.) Use proven technology wherever possible and you can make appliances that are a lifelong investment. The difference in cost needn't be all that high. A basic, no frills fridge could be made and sold for a profit at a tick over $500 retail. It's really not that hard, but there's no "need" for any manufacturer to make such an appliance these days since all of them are made to fail in less than a decade. Rather than sell a refrigerator once in a lifetime to a customer they get to sell them one every five to ten years.

Now some components of some appliances (belts on washers/dryers and the rubber bushings) tend to need replacing no matter what. Rubber has a finite lifespan. In ten to twenty years most rubber gets a bit brittle. Those appliances can be designed to make changing those items quick and easy however. 

Making long-lasting appliances isn't necessarily difficult, but getting them into retailers might be impossible. The appliance retailers don't want to just sell you an appliance just once in your lifetime. They want you coming back every few years to buy something new. You could make an indestrucitble appliance only to end up with warehouses full of them and no one willing to sell them. If you were to go that route, you'd pretty much have to do direct marketing and that's challenging with items as large, heavy, and bulky as appliances. You'd have to have sales, marketing and delivery all available as well as manufacturing and that's much more of a challenge than just making an ever-lasting line of appliances.