My 7 year old fridge just conked out - hundreds of $ of food wasted though I hope I salvaged the meat by stuffing it into the small freezer of a mini fridge (emptied that freezer of its less valuable contents).

Cheese, eggs and produce have (I hope) been mostly salvaged from fridge putting most in large coolers with ice.

But I need to replace the fridge ASAP! I wasn't very happy with this Whirlpool anyhow - apart from (the usual) ongoing problems with the ice-maker, it has super sleazy construction. Replacing the flimsy plastic drawers (they kept chipping) cost me $60 for a very small one and if I'd replaced the "humidification" one (super chipped), it would have run me $100. (Thank goodness I hadn't already ordered it!). Also, the interior walls of the fridge began actually peeling off as of two years or so.

The repair persons vetted by Lowe's (I quite got to know them - good thing I purchased extended warrantee) , told me that the way the industry works now, companies manufacture models increasingly poorly and under false pretenses. Worst, perhaps (they said they weren't supposed to tell this industry secret to customers), the ostensibly same company brand even with the same model number!, can be manufactured differently depending on the destined vendor. For example, one might use plastic parts while another supposedly the same, uses metal instead.


"dirty industry secret" (unsure if it applies to all companies) as I ask about advice on a fridge choice, in case it influences you.

I need the same fridge (outwardly, anyhow) because of kitchen design - want to stick with present basics in color and cabinetry. For the fridge - again, black side-by-side.

One problem with the present fridge may be insoluble in replacing it. In designing the kitchen to maximize its small space, I built the countertop to the left of the fridge extra deep (31"). That was to allow me to store small appliances in the back while still leaving me more counter work space.

Unfortunately, that little bit the fridge sticks out (30" or 30 1/2?"), slightly blocks a lower cabinet door to the left so it can't open all the way. I can still access all the built-in storage on the inside of the cabinet doors. (I used every inch of space. throughout). Alas, though, the slide-out drawers inside that cabinet (used for heavy and light cookware) is partly blocked. That's created quite a nuisance retrieving contents. Don't know if this is remediable by finding (?) a fridge that's slightly less deep - or are all of them standard? (Otherwise, I'll have a carpenter cut down the cabinet door slightly per his suggestion.)

For the record, my friendly appliance repair persons tell me from my description of the issue, it's either a failed compressor (if so, fageddaboutit owing to price), or the compressor switch has broken (cheap), or freon has leaked. (Symptoms: neither side is cooling, but lights and power are still on and a slight humming seems to cycle on and off for seconds at a time). I think I might as well give up on even having fridge checked out ($90) given its many failings.

Not counting the availability of a black side-by-side in the requisite dimensions, what brand and specs do you recommend (if indeed brand even matters)? I definitely want another ice and water dispenser, but otherwise have no special preferences except that it not be another piece of flimsy junk.

Recommendations appreciated too about vendors.
I looked up Lowe's delivery reviews and they were execrable, but then it turned out so were those from Home Depot (Both "the worst delivery service I ever used").

About to toss out all the food contents apart from the stuff I hope to have salvaged, so I guess this is no longer an absolute emergency except that I sure hope to have a new fridge for the High Holidays - they begin after Labor Day - when both sons are coming.

A few miscellaneous queries: to purchase an extended warrantee again? To tip the deliverymen? Any make to avoid at all costs - or they all really just permutations of the same master template variously named? Should I even have the repair guys out ($90/visit)? Note: I still want to sell the house within a few years, and was hoping to get by with this and a few other problem appliances as long as they actually work and aren't too unsightly.

Please also opine in separate less complex thread, pertaining to this question about merits of new/newish appliances when selling a house. How much does it affect you in the role of purchaser?

In no particular order:

1) I would avoid Samsung large appliance products. They have a terrible track record with their designs, builds, and customer service.

We had to replace an old gas range in our vacation home a couple of years ago before we sold. The original one went out and it was cheaper to just buy new. The Samsung range got good ratings and was priced right.

I called the local appliance stores on the Door peninsula, and neither one carried Samsung. We ended up buying from Best Buy in Green Bay, which is an hour and a half away. They still honored free delivery and offered installation services. Also matched lowest price. They were great to work on everything.

When the guy that Best Buy uses to install gas ranges and to convert them from natural gas to propane came to install the unit, he said "good luck trying to find someone to fix this if it goes south". Apparently Samsung has a terrible reputation among repair people when it comes to warranty work. The repair folks all refuse to carry or do warranty repairs on any Samsung products.

We have a Samsung front loading washer in our Chicago home, and when we had a problem some years ago I had to really work to get a good repair place out to do the warranty work. The ones that came up on Samsung's site had absolutely the worst ratings on Yelp and were a nightmare to deal with on the phone. When I finally pressed Samsung, they gave me the name of another company that had great ratings and that did a good job fixing the washer. But based on my experience I wouldn't risk buying Samsung again. TVs and phones, no problem.

2) Refrigerators are all different sizes. Check the dimensions where the frig goes and also note the size of the current unit. There are units that are "cabinet depth", but I don't know if side-by-side designs come that way; we prefer French door units and they often come in cabinet depth. Of course you sacrifice cubic feet of storage.

Sounds like you have a bad kitchen design, with your frig near a cabinet that prevents the cabinet door from opening fully. A shallower (cabinet depth) frig might help that.

3) We have a situation where our frig is next to a wall and we have to be careful to buy something that has a zero clearance feature for the door. On some refrigerators, the hinge is built so that the door, when it's open, is actually wider than the refrigerator itself. In our case with the frig next to a wall, we literally wouldn't be able to open one of the doors if the hinge wasn't zero clearance.

4) We never buy extended warranties.

5) I don't know what the current design trends are and if black appliances are back in. If they aren't, I wouldn't worry about replacing your appliances before selling. If someone hates black, they'll just be replacing them anyway.

Everybody seems to want stainless and that's what the manufacturers are making. We had all white appliances and prefer them but have started switching to stainless as various units conk out because the choices available in white are so limited by comparison.

We bought a higher end Dacor cooktop about three years ago; they stopped making any of their cooktops in white a couple of years before. We got stainless and it's ok, but the white is much easier to clean and keep looking good, IMHO.

6) As to whether to call the repair guy out to look, I guess he's best qualified to tell you what's likely to be wrong and how much it would cost to fix.

You could also look up your model online and see what homeowners with the same or similar unit say is going on. There are fora where people grouse and exchange info about stuff like this. I found some of those places, and they confirmed for me that the problems with Samsung design and warranty services was as bad as I suspected they are.

7) Availability. There were huge supply chain issues some months back, with lead times stretching out months to get appliances delivered; stores simply didn't have them in stock. I don't know if that's still an issue, but it may affect the choices that you have available to you.

8) As a rule, we don't drink cold beverages, so we never do through the door ice and water dispensers. They increase the purchase price and are problem-prone, too. I could live with no ice maker altogether, but the units that fit all our other needs always seem to include them. I'd be fine with ice cube trays. If there's one in our next frig I don't think I'd even bother to hook it up.

That's all I can think of/have time for right now....

I avoid Frigidaires. The two I had in apartments were junk in three years. Literally, things fell off of them. I've never seen anything like that.

People seem to like LGs but I have no experience with them. I know GE has brought appliance manufacturing back to the US but I don't know any more than that. Whirlpool is still in Mexico.

Many thanks, Steve and WTG (WTG you really go to town when it comes to research and detail! )

Guess I'll stay away from Frigidaire and Samsung - which helps narrow the field (n.b., seems to me I've heard Frigidaire and GE are the same under different names - or was it Whirlpool and. GE??). I know. Kenmore were made under any number of aliases but at least, that's no longer an issue.

Re the fridge color, I know stainless is in now, but all the appliances are black and I like it. Even if a prospective buyer would have preferred all stainless, I'm not going to change all appliances to go that color scheme (even my double sinks, admittedly somewhat scuffed, are black ceramic.)

If I. can't find a size that doesn't create the same problem with cabinet blocking, I guess I'll just have to cut down the cabinet a bit as carpenter suggested. It REALLY helps having what amounts to double counter space because of the depth.

I don't know what I'll do if what I need is way backordered. We're only supposed to fast on Yom Kippur after all!

I'm thinking I'll use sturdiness of materials as a standard in choice. Seems to me this Whirlpool was a cheaper version of other Whirlpools then available at Best Buy, chosen by price. Perhaps a poor yardstick. (It was so great then, as I got that and another appliance at significant reductionS because my son then worked at Best Buy!)

Oops, other thread about how much new appliances matter as selling point...

In your position, I'd seek out a used appliance store and get whatever they have. Black is not going to be easy to find and most places are back ordered for weeks.

Agree with WTG on all points.

I would not be wedded to black. Even if you have all black appliances elsewhere, it is good to just get stainless as you replace things. I am now down to just the dishwasher being white, and it does not look as bad as you might think.

I love my current refrigerator, which is a first for me. It is a GE profile, french door, cabinet depth, stainless unit. We had almost no choices because of the height of the cabinet above the refrigerator. I like the fact that it is on the small size. We're only two people, so why do we need a fridge suitable for a catering company? Less to clean, less food rotting in the back that no one could see.

Ditto the poor reviews for Samsung. And honestly, I am not a fan of bells and whistles on a fridge. See-through front door? Uh, I won't be able to see through the things stored on the door anyway, right? Internet connectivity? Why? Giant computer screen on the front? What happens ifwhen it breaks? Give me shelves that won't break and can be moved around and good lighting inside and I'm a fan.

We are big fans of ice. Big. Fans. So we have a dispenser in the door *and* another ice maker in the pullout drawer in the freezer. And still we run out of ice. So if you are Ice Hounds like us, definitely pay the extra money for the second ice maker. We don't freeze food other than bread (and icebags for our aching joints), so we didn't need much in the way of freezer space.

And no, we never buy extended warranties, either. We self-insure.

Anyway, good luck. Every time I have had a repair person out to fix an appliance, it works out to be Not Worth It, so I wind up replacing.

Many thanks for your perspective, Cindy.

Don't forget, though, that my plan is to move relatively soon so gradually matching a desired (by me) appliance color scheme doesn't make sense.

(That's what I've been doing with my crowns and finally, I DO have all the teeth that show in the A-1 shade of lightness! )

How soon is soon?

A couple years ago when my fridge conked out, I bought the cheapest one that would fit in the space. Okay, I did plunk down an extra $10 to get the almond color one. I expected to be gone in a few years and that the house will then be torn down.

But it took two weeks to get the fridge I wanted so I bought a waist-high one for $25 off Craigslist to hold me until then.

If you can’t find the fridge of your dreams right away, maybe grab a cheap, clean, functional one off Craigslist to make do.

Another option is Costco--it seems like when I've bought appliances (multiple washer/dryers of late for multiple houses) they've had a few cost leaders in with their higher-end stuff. It might be worth a check.

I've been very happy with their delivery service (it's subcontracted but the guys I've dealt with have been great), and their warranty/return policy is great.