What appliances to buy?

ATF · #1 03-19-2019, 08:14 PM

So reading the appliance repair thread I see guys fixing 17 year old appliances.
I have a 9 year old Samsung washer that has a problem with the selection dial on one of the boards. A new one is 150 bucks.
I've already dropped a new pump in it last year and the thing is starting to squeak when the drum is turning so I figure I'm not throwing more money into it to avoid death by a thousand cuts.
But what to buy?
It seems anything I look at has complaints about breakdowns and the consensus is 5-10 years is a good lifespan nowadays.
So what is everyone's experience. What's good and what not to touch with a 100 foot pole?
And does it matter where you buy? Box store versus specialty appliance store? Any advantage?

Weedy1 · #2 03-19-2019, 08:53 PM

I've always bought used washing machines and dryers. I have never spent more than $100 on either of them. So far I've only had to purchase 1 dryer and two washing machines other than those that came with the homes I purchased. Nobody has ever told me I stink other than my wife so they're doing the job.

CaberTosser · #3 03-19-2019, 09:15 PM

I'm a floor model / scratch & dent aisle guy. The dishwasher I just installed was $250 below the sale price that was on the same models over in the other part of the showroom and the only thing noticeable about it was the presence of some water spots inside.

Willard · #4 03-19-2019, 10:43 PM

Buy from Costco if you can .......when it craps out in two years ,return it and take a new one home

curtz · #5 03-19-2019, 10:56 PM

We loved our whirlpool, the washer crapped out after 11 years, the dryer was still fine. We bought LG this time, we will see how these last. Everything now a days seems to only last so long, and you buy a new one. I guess it keeps the economy going.

DisplacedCaper · #6 03-19-2019, 11:18 PM

I bought two brand new Samsung’s 5 years ago. And luckily the extended warranty. Last July the dryer quit. New motor installed and covered. A month or so later the washer quit. I got the same repair guy through the warranty to fix that. At that time they were 4 years old. Not to mention when they started exploding. We had a repair guy sent out to do the fix to prevent that. Warranty is now over. I have no faith in the Samsung ones now. My previous set were about 20 years old and probably still going. I’m certain they’re made cheaply nowadays so you have to replace them every few years.

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josey · #7 03-20-2019, 07:27 AM

In my experience... stay away from Samsung.

ChickakooKookoo · #8 03-20-2019, 07:38 AM

I'm not happy with the Samsung dishwasher we bought at all. We bought a new LG stove about a year ago and no problems yet.

JB_AOL · #9 03-20-2019, 08:15 AM

IMHO..
Buy the cheapest appliance you can that suits your kitchen, and then buy the extended warranty.

We've gone thru 3 stoves in 5 years. From highend kitchenaide to cheap samsung. So far the samsung stove is WAY better than any of the others.

Lifetime for appliances is 5 years, if you make it past that, it owes you nothing.

JB_AOL · #10 03-20-2019, 08:16 AM

Oh and in case your wondering. Lowe's has the best (and cheapest) warranty.

thumper · #11 03-20-2019, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaberTosser

I'm a floor model / scratch & dent aisle guy. The dishwasher I just installed was $250 below the sale price that was on the same models over in the other part of the showroom and the only thing noticeable about it was the presence of some water spots inside.

x 2. Our fridge is so covered with photos and kids drawings, nobody will ever see the scratches & dents. The freezer, washer & drier in the basement aren't exactly on display either!

robfraser · #12 03-20-2019, 09:05 AM

If you buy anything with a gold credit card most gold credit cards extends your manufacturers warranty by up to 1 year.
I have used this extended warranty on a new dishwasher and stove.
Also using the self clean feature on ovens can screw up the oven.

MrDave · #13 03-20-2019, 09:53 AM

I was a maintenance man for a huge American health care provider. 29 buildings in Canada. The new units kept dying and the older buildings with 15 year old washers and dryers keep going. My theory is get a free set from 20 years ago and rebuild them. Dryers haven't improved, ever. They just put in computer cards to run them instead of mechanical timers, and they are as much as a new machine when they go. The washers have their cards under the drum over the motor. You can guess how that goes.
Samsung is still Samsung. Most are lucky to make it past warranty. A lot of the fridges drain lines are crooked and plug off. Next comes water damage.

And the heavy duty sticker on machines, is solely just a sticker, like the Harley Davidson Fords.

CaberTosser · #14 03-20-2019, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrDave

And the heavy duty sticker on machines, is solely just a sticker, like the Harley Davidson Fords.

Some are heavier duty but you definitely pay for it up front, say for instance clothes washers that are built for the coin-op laundry room in an apartment block / laundromat market.

Okotok · #15 03-20-2019, 01:08 PM

Had a Samsung at my last place. Bought the 5 year warranty and was sure glad we did. Replaced a lot of parts, mostly electronic in the washer after about 3 years. Bought a new, over sized LG set almost 6 years ago. No problems so far.

Penner · #16 03-20-2019, 08:11 PM

Bought new higher end whirlpool appliances 13 years ago for the entire house. Trouble free till about 3 years ago and it was like clock work. One appliance every few months of each other had an issue with exception with the washer, cook top (which is natural gas unit), and microwave (panasonic unit) all have been trouble free (knock on wood). My issues were...

- dryer: blown control panel replaced myself $150
- dishwasher: control valve replaced myself $50, float gasket replaced myself $5, filter screen replaced myself $30
- fridge: blown control panel (had three different panels I could not diagnose myself) $300 repaired by others. Got 2 more years after the repair and ended up replacing fridge last year.
- oven:cracked glass replaced myself $100, cracked handle replaced myself $30, a week ago I suspect that the control panel is shot. Need to decide to replace either the panel (likely $150 plus) or the entire unit.

From my own experience and learning from friends and family you should get ~8 years of trouble free service. After that you are on borrowed time. Find that consumer reports is fairly accurate with reliability ratings by manufacture.

Note: if on city of Edm water, anything you have that operates on water, i would suggest to expect its life-cycle to be way less than the norm as our water is pretty hard thus it is much tougher on parts.

riden · #17 03-20-2019, 08:20 PM

I used to be a Whirpool fan. I had bought all new Whirlpool appliances and we had a fire. Insurance replaced all my appliances and I bought Whirlpool again, every single appliance. What a mistake.

We had problems with our stove and getting parts shipped was unbelievable. Puralator didn't ship them, and returned them and nobody informed me. But some genius wrote under my file that they called and emailed me......lies. The customer service I received was beyond shameful. I wrote a letter of complaint and never received an answer, so I call and under my file was the letter and lies about what they said to me..... they never responded, it was all fabricated.

I wrote a letter of complaint to the president and months later no response.

I would never give Whirlpool a penny.