Sub-Zero is easily the best, but it’s completely unaffordable to me. Over-built in the USA.
KitchenAid is also very good, but only the models built in the USA.
ALL other refrigerators are now crap.
Take the advice of others here: Don’t get ANY of the bells and whistles if you can deal with it. The fridge will last waaay longer, but it still won’t last as long as the old time models. Unless it’s a Sub-Zero.
The more features the more that will go wrong with it.
I think the idea that because something is expensive means it will last longer. The Range Rover (expensive car) has the worst track record for repairs.
Same goes with Sub Zero. Too many horror stories of constant break downs.
I agree that the more bells and whistles a refrigerator has, the more likely it is to cause lots of problems. I recently replaced a second refrigerator and ordered a basic white steel Whirlpool refrigerator without an ice maker since it is not located near a water supply. Within about 3 weeks the door switch for the light in the refrigerator section fell apart and the light no longer worked. Even though it was obviously still under warranty I went on eBay and ordered the $8 switch. Instructions for replacing it were easy to find on YouTube. I refused to buy their extended warranty even though they push it hard numerous times in the store and via email. I figure the major parts like the compressor are likely to last for at least a few years and then the extended warranty (about 10% of the purchase price) will be over anyway. The rest I can deal with myself. The one very nice thing is the new refrigerator is far more efficient than the old one. My electric bill has dropped considerably compared to the same months last year and this is the only explanation I can see.
Would I recommend Whirlpool to a friend? Probably not but then I really don’t know what else I would suggest.
A good friend recently gave me a Kenmore washer when my old washer seemed to be on its last legs. Completely computer controlled. What a nightmare compared to the old washer that had mechanical clock controls. I looked up the information on it trying to get it to change the fill level. No user friendly way to do that as it was controlled by the computer as part of the software. Here is an about $800 washer that worked substantially less well than the old mechanical one. I now have another slightly older Kenmore washer with mechanical controls and the expensive one sits on my back patio awaiting pickup by the guy who gave it to me. When I read the reviews on the washer, this was a common complaint. Not enough water results in poor cleaning.
I think adjusted for inflation, refrigerators are cheaper now than 30 years ago plus more efficient. Yes they don’t last as long. Maybe because newer refrigerants operate at higher pressures but not sure. Also thinner fins for better heat transfer. Again, not positive without a google.
My Grandmother used a GE most of her life. It lasted the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s, the 2000s, and in 2013 the latch broke but everything else was still functional. She got a newer one and had I known in time I could have fixed it with JBWeld.
Not sure about SubZero. Some folx I know in The Biz aren’t as thrilled with SubZero, Wolf, other “restaurant quality” fridges and freezers.
It’s like when they work, they work great, but if you get a lemon, it’ll be a constant source of annoyance.
Yeh, that’s why when I move, I’m taking my 50yo Maytag with me.
Had the motor replaced once maybe 20yrs in, everything else works perfectly. And that submarine screw at the bottom churns the living shiite out of the water and makes sure clothes get cleaned.
And if I want to use a whole washer full of scalding hot water for one pair of sox, that’s my choice, not some idiot computer’s.
Gf has those woes about the idiot washer doling out water by the teaspoon to ostensibly “wash”, while some clothes just sit on the top of the pile not even getting wet. Yeah, no. I’d return the POS as defective if it did that.
Most of the high end brands have lower end lines that aren’t equal in quality. Viking is one of those brands. Their lower end lines are crap, but their high end lines are great. As for SubZero, they’re guaranteed to last at least 20 years, have the cooling section on top (hint: cold flows downwards), and they’re truly overbuilt. Worth the money? Only for snob appeal. Personally, I’d probably stick with Whirlpool (KitchenAid) or Bosch.
Same. Probably also ~ 50 years. Been moved 2x.
Modern appliances seem made for obsolescence. Plastic is crap, circuits unreliable, stupidly expensive to replace parts, and often very hard to fix.
I had a latch, (a LATCH FER crissake) go out on both doors of a GE french door fridge. At the time it was ~ 7 year old model used by middle age couple with no kids. Teenage boys have been SLAMMING fridge doors for decades without issue. Fix a simple latch? NOPE!!! GE wanted to replace both doors for 2/3 the price of a new fridge. I fixed the damn thing with bamboo skewers better than the crap original plastic latches.
Oh, bottom veg drawers were already on the bottom as the plastic slides broke. And the cooling fan went out on the compressor system. $350 for a damn fan. Replaced it with a 120mm computer fan hooked up to a 12v wall wart, for like $10 total. Complete POS. Totally dead in 12 years.
I’ve got a GE wall air conditioner that’s 58 years old and still kickin’. They used stainless steel back for the condenser fins. Haven’t had to put freon in it, either.
Most refrigeration appliances seem to be made in China regardless of the brand, so I’m not sure the brand is as important as it used to be. Example: I got my 7 cu ft chest freezer at Lowes. The brand is Hotpoint which I researched before buying. Hotpoint has little consumer name recognition but their models are made by Haier which also manufactures freezers for the GE, Cafe, Profile, and Monogram brands. So far so good, the freezer keeps things extremely frozen!
Just make sure you compare spec sheets before you buy anything and try to find out which company supplies the brand you are looking at.
Made In America generally means tighter spec tolerances and better assembly, but only a few models of a few brands are still made here.