Rant: Modern household appliances are of poorer quality

[dodge man]

We are also Speed Queen fans. We found an appliance store that is about an hour drive, kind of a mom and pop store but run by a younger couple. They know their stuff. We have also had bad luck with Samsung appliances. Our dishwasher went bad, couldn’t get parts, as in never. The part that went bad would have cost over $400 if it was available.

 

[MossRoad]

One of our dishwashers stopped working after about 5 years. Can't remember the brand. It was about a $350 dishwasher new. Only possible problem was one of only 2 circuit boards in the machine. Each replacement circuit board was about $150. So do you take a 50/50 chance and throw $150 at a $350 machine and maybe it's not gonna work, so you might have to throw another $150 and now you're looking at investing $300 in a $350 machine? Nope. Get new one that'll last another 5 years.

 

[Gem99ultra]

We had to replace our "top-quality" 5-year old LG refrigerator about 6 months ago. After numerous service calls, provided by incompetent LG's sub-contractor repairs, it finally was unrepairable. That ordeal put us out of having a refrigerator for about 2 months.
We replaced the LG with a GE, for a mere $3500. Now, within the first 6 weeks, we're on the 4th service call due to malfunctioning ice maker.
Lesson Learned: You can't buy quality for any price.

 

[MossRoad]

Anybody price the cost of a replacement plastic vegetable crisper drawer for a refrigerator? YIKES!

 

[2manyrocks]

I bought a house in the 1980s that had a Kitchenaid dishwasher of unknown age in it along with some kind of refrigerator. Both were still working when I sold the house 18 years later although I had to replace the door gasket on the dishwasher. The local appliance parts place had the gasket and it was only a few dollars.

The new dishwasher I bought for the new house never worked right from day one. It sounded like it was working, but the dishes never got clean.

The plain ole white box refrigerator I bought in 2001 still works fine, but Mrs. Rocks wanted a two door stainless that was $1,400 last year. And that was the least expensive model we could find. Something tells me I'll be carting the old refrigerator back into the kitchen one day.

 

[MossRoad]

We've got one fridge in our basement that we bought some time before 1995. I don't know when, but do know it was at our last house. And the one in our kitchen is probably 12 years old. Chest freezer in the basement is 1996.

 

[jaydee325]

One of our dishwashers stopped working after about 5 years. Can't remember the brand. It was about a $350 dishwasher new. Only possible problem was one of only 2 circuit boards in the machine. Each replacement circuit board was about $150. So do you take a 50/50 chance and throw $150 at a $350 machine and maybe it's not gonna work, so you might have to throw another $150 and now you're looking at investing $300 in a $350 machine? Nope. Get new one that'll last another 5 years.

An appliance repairman told me one time to never buy an expensive dishwasher. From basic to high end in the model range, all have the same mechanicals inside!

 

[Hay Dude]

We have a GE monogram refrigerator. Looks like a knock off of a sub zero.
Has run for 20 years with only one repair for a primer bulb. Excellent appliance

 

[Hay Dude]

An appliance repairman told me one time to never buy an expensive dishwasher. From basic to high end in the model range, all have the same mechanicals inside!

That is 100% true. I hunt with a retired appliance repairman. He said buy the base model of the highest quality brand you can afford. The bells & whistles just cause more repairs down the road.

 

[2manyrocks]

My parents had a GE refrigerator for over 40 years. Replaced it with an Amana in 1998 that's still running fine.