Major household appliances, which brands have given you good or bad service?

[Mokume]

Starting this thread as a spinoff on oil filter brand discussion elsewhere.

The absolute best appliance investment I've made was on a '99 Maytag top loader washing machine, this was manufactured by Maytag when they were an independent company based in Newton, IA. I bought it new in Jan.'00 from a Mom & Pop appliance store after calling around for price quotes. Pops wanted to sell me a Whirlpool, but I insisted on a Maytag based on past experiences.

To date I've spent maybe $35 in repair parts for it, everything else on the machine is original. I do, however periodically replace the water supply hoses since it lives indoors. I imagine the machine has washed close to a thousand loads of laundry and has not faltered or ever let me down

The worst has to be a Kenmore (Frigidaire) all fridge POS, it lasted barely beyond a year before it developed leaks in it's sealed refrigeration system...several of them. I wisely purchased the Sears extended warranty with it, the appliance was lemon lawed by Sears because the condenser developed leaks.

It was subsequently replaced by an exact same model which suffered with the compressor failing after 2 years or so, contaminating the entire sealed system, it was also lemon lawed by Sears.

Not wanting to do anything at all with a Frigidaire, I requested that Sears replace it with a conventional top mount Kenmore (Whirlpool) fridge, it's been going strong for the past 16 years.

You could not GIVE me any Frigidaire (Electrolux) product...

Attached is an image of my Maytag, yes it's 22 years old.

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[Dr. Zaius]

Good experience: Maytag. Our Maytag side-by-side refrigerator with the water and ice through the door lasted 18 years with no problems at all, then the water dispenser cracked on the back and flooded the kitchen. Replaced it with an Amana.

Bad experience: The referenced Amana refrigerator. Made it just past manufacturer warranty when things started going south. Multiple issues with multiple different aspects of the refrigerator so we got rid of it after only a few years. Replaced with a GE that has been OK for 4 years now.

Good experience: LG dryer. 10+ years no issues.

Surprisingly good experience: An LG over the stove microwave/vent hood that was apparently made back when it was still Goldstar. It doesn't say LG or Goldstar anywhere on it (I suspect it was a private store brand. I bought it at H H Gregg from their scratch and dent section. A dent where it would never be seen after installation halved the price), I only found the manufacturer by researching the model number. 20+ years with no issues.

 

[Trigganometry]

I have all Samsung appliances myself now. Not a problem with any of them knock on wood. Had plenty of other brands over the years but was repairing them sooner than I should have been.

 

[dtech]

Agree with your assessment of Kenmore refrig, I became acquainted with this about 7 yrs back when after 8 yrs our Kenmore refig died - compressor failed, became educated that 8 yrs is at the low end of modeer refrig life expectancy. Replaced it with a Samsung that was left at our house when we moved and now I have a Kenmore refrig - it may be 15 yrs old and may be on borrowed time as in cleaning the condenser coils I noticed it has a hard start capacitor - usually a sign that it may be nearing the end.
When was researching what brand to buy - Kenmore (Frigidaire) was using the same crappy embrarer (brazilian made) compressor, in fact the refrig was essentially the same as the one I bought nearly 20 yrs back.

You can find info on most reliable refrigs and other appliances on the web, I believe the data comes from appliance repair shops.

 

[OrangeStreak]

Starting this thread as a spinoff on oil filter brand discussion elsewhere.

The absolute best appliance investment I've made was on a '99 Maytag top loader washing machine, this was manufactured by Maytag when they were an independent company based in Newton, IA. I bought it new in Jan.'00 from a Mom & Pop appliance store after calling around for price quotes. Pops wanted to sell me a Whirlpool, but I insisted on a Maytag based on past experiences.

To date I've spent maybe $35 in repair parts for it, everything else on the machine is original. I do, however periodically replace the water supply hoses since it lives indoors. I imagine the machine has washed close to a thousand loads of laundry and has not faltered or ever let me down

The worst has to be a Kenmore (Frigidaire) all fridge POS, it lasted barely beyond a year before it developed leaks in it's sealed refrigeration system...several of them. I wisely purchased the Sears extended warranty with it, the appliance was lemon lawed by Sears because the condenser developed leaks.

It was subsequently replaced by an exact same model which suffered with the compressor failing after 2 years or so, contaminating the entire sealed system, it was also lemon lawed by Sears.

Not wanting to do anything at all with a Frigidaire, I requested that Sears replace it with a conventional top mount Kenmore (Whirlpool) fridge, it's been going strong for the past 16 years.

You could not GIVE me any Frigidaire (Electrolux) product...

Attached is an image of my Maytag, yes it's 22 years old.

 

[Mokume]

Interesting story about LG in Hawaii

About 6 years ago, I was shopping for a new french door fridge, the local Lowe's seemed to have the best choices available.

The sales associate pushed the LG brand so strongly that I thought he was a representative of the company, however, upon talking with a buddy of mine prior, he advised me to avoid LG at all costs because no one in Hawaii (at that time) offered service support on the brand.

Knowing this fact I asked the associate about local support, he told me to call an 800 number for the information. I told him that since HE was so hell bent on selling me an LG for HIM to call, as it turns out my buddy was correct.

Before I left the store I made sure that I informed the store manager of their sales policy in selling an appliance with zero service support and asked him how many left hand threaded light bulbs the store sold that day.

I subsequently bought a Whirlpool fridge, the experiences I've had with IT is a totally new chapter...

 

[deleriumtremor]

Starting this thread as a spinoff on oil filter brand discussion elsewhere.

The absolute best appliance investment I've made was on a '99 Maytag top loader washing machine, this was manufactured by Maytag when they were an independent company based in Newton, IA. I bought it new in Jan.'00 from a Mom & Pop appliance store after calling around for price quotes. Pops wanted to sell me a Whirlpool, but I insisted on a Maytag based on past experiences.

To date I've spent maybe $35 in repair parts for it, everything else on the machine is original. I do, however periodically replace the water supply hoses since it lives indoors. I imagine the machine has washed close to a thousand loads of laundry and has not faltered or ever let me down

The worst has to be a Kenmore (Frigidaire) all fridge POS, it lasted barely beyond a year before it developed leaks in it's sealed refrigeration system...several of them. I wisely purchased the Sears extended warranty with it, the appliance was lemon lawed by Sears because the condenser developed leaks.

It was subsequently replaced by an exact same model which suffered with the compressor failing after 2 years or so, contaminating the entire sealed system, it was also lemon lawed by Sears.

Not wanting to do anything at all with a Frigidaire, I requested that Sears replace it with a conventional top mount Kenmore (Whirlpool) fridge, it's been going strong for the past 16 years.

You could not GIVE me any Frigidaire (Electrolux) product...

Attached is an image of my Maytag, yes it's 22 years old.

I had to laugh when I saw the picture, but then realized it didn't have the Neptune logo on the front, perhaps a year before they introduced the Neptune? (looks very similar, but I think ours had Neptune on the front).

The Neptune series were the worst products Maytag ever made. We bought a washer dryer set new when we finished our remodel in SF in 2000. The washer was plagued with failures of the mother board (I think related to wax motor problem the unit always had), where a triac would blow and the repair procedure was to replace the whole board.

We had multiple visits in the first few months on our first and finally (after my wife did her "that lady" routine) gave us a new washer. That washer too had continuous problems. Once it was out of warranty, I figured out how to diagnose the problems fix them myself (either replacing the wax motor or the triac on the mother board.)

This series ended up with a class action lawsuit and I think finally ended up with the company being bought out.

The tragic part of the story was we got rid of a top loader Maytag we had owned for maybe 15 years before and was working fine with zero problems ever when got rid of it to. "upgrade" because we had this fancy new laundry room.

 

[deleriumtremor]

We've had an LG front loader set for maybe 6 years, no service visits yet. It does seem a little finicky with regard to the soap we have to use for clothes that are clean and smell fresh coming out if the dryer. No liquid detergents (Tide dry free and clear, oxiclean dry). I think some of the early HE washers were that way.

Sub Zero Refrigerator, bullet proof. Wolf ovens (not so good). Cove Dishwashers (Wolf owned), only a few years so far so no commentary on reliability, but flawless and great cleaning, so quiet they need a light showing on the floor that they are on.

 

[Mokume]

Agree with your assessment of Kenmore refrig, I became acquainted with this about 7 yrs back when after 8 yrs our Kenmore refig died - compressor failed, became educated that 8 yrs is at the low end of modeer refrig life expectancy. Replaced it with a Samsung that was left at our house when we moved and now I have a Kenmore refrig - it may be 15 yrs old and may be on borrowed time as in cleaning the condenser coils I noticed it has a hard start capacitor - usually a sign that it may be nearing the end.
When was researching what brand to buy - Kenmore (Frigidaire) was using the same crappy embrarer (brazilian made) compressor, in fact the refrig was essentially the same as the one I bought nearly 20 yrs back.

You can find info on most reliable refrigs and other appliances on the web, I believe the data comes from appliance repair shops.

The only issue I've had with the Whirlpool which replaced the Frigidaire from hell was the compressor start contactor/capacitor going bad (shown) about 2 years

ago.

It was a super easy fix, the fridge continues humming along...

 

[Jon Olivier]

I've been really surprised with the Danby mini fridge I bought and converted to a kegerator. I purchased from Home Depot as a display model for about $150 in 2000. The thing has been abused and is still running strong.

 

[Mokume]

I had to laugh when I saw the picture, but then realized it didn't have the Neptune logo on the front, perhaps a year before they introduced the Neptune? (looks very similar, but I think ours had Neptune on the front).

The Neptune series were the worst products Maytag ever made. We bought a washer dryer set new when we finished our remodel in SF in 2000. The washer was plagued with failures of the mother board (I think related to wax motor problem the unit always had), where a triac would blow and the repair procedure was to replace the whole board.

We had multiple visits in the first few months on our first and finally (after my wife did her "that lady" routine) gave us a new washer. That washer too had continuous problems. Once it was out of warranty, I figured out how to diagnose the problems fix them myself (either replacing the wax motor or the triac on the mother board.)

This series ended up with a class action lawsuit and I think finally ended up with the company being bought out.

The tragic part of the story was we got rid of a top loader Maytag we had owned for maybe 15 years before and was working fine with zero problems ever when got rid of it to. "upgrade" because we had this fancy new laundry room.

Roger on the Neptune series, that line of products was what probably caused Maytag to go bankrupt, and yes, my Maytag is NOT a Neptune...lol

My top loader has the original old school mechanical timer, however the part is obsolete, there was a NOS part on available on eBay, however the seller wanted some obscene amount for it.

Shown here is my backup Speed Queen which I am presently refurbishing, I bought it for $100 on FB marketplace. It'll be the Maytag's replacement when I can no longer keep 'ol faithful alive.

It too has an ultra reliable mechanical timer.

I absolutely refuse to own the garbage "High Efficiency" washing machines on the market now...

 

[OrangeStreak]

I have all Samsung appliances myself now. Not a problem with any of them knock on wood. Had plenty of other brands over the years but was repairing them sooner than I should have been.

2nd Samsung phone and it's great!

 

[Mokume]

I've been really surprised with the Danby mini fridge I bought and converted to a kegerator. I purchased from Home Depot as a display model for about $150 in 2000. The thing has been abused and is still running strong.

LOL, I don't know about you, but a fridge which serves the purpose yours does would be THE most important appliance in my home!
?

 

[OrangeStreak]

Speaking of well-constructed appliances, I have a Hotpoint fridge that is over 30 years old and working like a champ! A repairman replaced a minor part about 5 years ago and told me that that the current ones are problematic and not well made. He owns an older one himself and said he was going to stay with it and replace parts as necessary as long as available, instead of getting a newer model.

 

[Trigganometry]

Speaking of well-constructed appliances, I have a Hotpoint fridge that is over 30 years old and working like a champ! A repairman replaced a minor part about 5 years ago and told me that that the current ones are problematic and not well made. He owns an older one himself and said he was going to stay with it and replace parts as necessary as long as available, instead of getting a newer model.

View attachment 149736

Wow, I had a hotpoint exactly the same as the one you have shown there. Same color too! Think the reason we got rid of it was having 4 kids and the groceries involved for feeding them all for a week it just became to small for our needs. Good memories!

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