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Marengo, Iowa | We (Koskid and Flowergirl) just went through our 30-year cycle of replacing appliances installed when we remodeled ~ every salesman warned us not to expect the new appliances to last any where near that long ... we did tons of Internet research on maintenance histories, etc., and shopped several stores in the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City area before settling on Sears at Coral Ridge shopping mall, Coralville, which had a big special on all their appliances at the time ~ they had to order the frig and delivered all of the appliances at separate times with service men to install them who seemed competent ~ sales staff was as helpful as could be explaining energy rebates and other details and taking follow-up calls with new questions ~ that said, Koskid is good at cutting deals and got his way on several points of discussion.
That was a year ago ... here's the run down ...
I love the Bosch dishwasher!!! I (Flowergirl) have a friend who owns a drycleaning business ~ she said buy Bosch for water using appliances ~ she swears by their mechanics for longevity in her water pump equipment (??? never seen it) in the laundromat (of course she has a water softener, too). We have the model with a stainless steel interior ~ it is quiet quiet quiet and does a superb job of cleaning dishes ~ I must remember we have rural water and others don't ~ I'm sure that helps, too. Downside: it was hard to figure out how to load dishes after 30 years doing it one way in the GE (the current GEs struck us as cheaply built) ~ it's designed to offer many configurations and I finally settled on one that works for me. Most of the new DW models are built with the door and "floor" 2-3 inches lower to make more room inside ~ that's fine if you bend over easily but it's a long way down if you have back issues or other disabilities. There are half-sized DWs built like a drawer.
We chose an LG refrigerator because of the good reviews on maintenance and because it has a pull-out, bottom-mount drawer freezer with an ice maker (note we have rural water ~ BRW = Before Rural Water the ice maker would have crapped out in months because the water was so hard) Where the freezer unit is seems to be the selling point for a refrig. ~ to each her own (yes, this is the decision of the person using the appliance the most!! I would be furious if Koskid went and bought a household appliance w/o my OK ~ I sure don't tell him what farm stuff to buy if I don't use it.)
The washer and dryer were a shot in the dark ~ we studied all the new whizbang energy/water saver inventions and got totally confused ~ finally we looked at each other and saw two 70 year old retirees who probably don't need the biggest and hardest working laundry equipment any more so we went with Kenmore's standard issue. All the new W&D looked cheaply built to us in our price range. I just noted features I wanted for sure ~ a polite "done" signal on the dryer I could turn off and on, a lint filter easy to clean and that was that.
Our sister-in-law recently remodeled their kitchen ~ she chose a microwave oven (don't know brand) that pulls out from under the counter like a drawer ~ she is short and finds it easy to use ~ I'm not short but for sure would hate a microwave oven mounted over the stove top ~ it's an accident waiting to happen! It was a tall guy that designed that idea! Bought our Amana Radarrange in '94 and it's still going strong ~ we hear from people who have worked in the local Amana plant that the Whirlpool-built Amana brand isn't built as well tho.
Bought a Jenn-Air stove about 5 years ago ~ drop-in model with a full-width oven ~ because that is what fit the space ~ it was a chunk of change but again, I love it! Always use the convection oven and get great results. Never had a fireball incident baking brie, tho! We use two burners and the grill regularly.
Koskid thinks I write too much ... if you don't want the info, don't ask the question, I say ... these are tough, expensive decisions you are making ... take time to do your homework and make lists of the features you want ... it's easy to get caught up in sales pitches if you don't have hard criteria.
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