Hello there,
I feel your pain! That isn't a bad budget at all-I'm sure you can find something.

Do you have a big appliance store you can go down & haggle with? We just went to Western Appliance this week-end & spent a little over 5k for a GE CAfe double oven, GE spacemaker micro model pem31sm, avanti slide out wine fridge model wc1500dss, KA model KUDe70fvss dw, Zephyr tempest under cabinet model ak7000as and a 5 year warranty for all appliances.
Orginally I thought I'd be ordering off the web but surprisingly enough they beat any price I found online.

I agree with weissman -- if you're just a "recreational" baker and builder-grade appliances haven't left you champing at the bit, then you don't need to spend money on dual-fuel or even convection, for that matter. Save the money for a nicer DW or more features on the fridge (like rollout shelves) or maybe go french-door.

KA makes decent appliances, but KA pretty much is dressed up Whirlpool anymore, so you really should look at TOL Whirlpool before plunking down the extra for KA. I don't know as I would agree that KA's/Whirlpool's ranges stink, though -- I would put them at #3 after Frigidaire and GE at the middle-lower end of the market. About the only difference I think you'll find between Whirlpool and KA is the warranty (longer for KA, of course) and a few non-essential features. With your budget you shouldn't have many issues finding what you want.

thank you for the responses!

weissman--i actually took KA dishwashers off my list because i read THEY were going downhill! with a lot of conflicting reviews, is there a go-to source for appliance research?

jillsee--i love that oven! wonder if i can scrimp somewhere else! any thoughts on which appliance to put the most money?

steve o--thanks for the insight. is there a generally accepted appliance ranking? i believe i have always had GE appliances...i don't want to go down a level, but up if i can afford it.

I agree with Weissman, stay away from the KA ovens and ranges. Lotta problems in the past and we are still continuing to see them, in fact a "Class Action Suit" is being filed. As a whole KA Dishwashers get good reviews, ocassionally a bad one, but even Miele DW's get some of those, altho probably less than KA.

Gary

There's no one go-to source for appliance ratings. Consumer Reports is a mixed bag - they don't tend to care for high end appliances and the features they consider important aren't always the ones you'll consider important.

This forum tends to be one of the best places to get real world experience from actual owners. But like with any web forum, people who are unhappy will often post louder and more often than those who are happy.

Every brand will have some negative reviews - there are some lemons even with good brands and sometimes people have wrong expectations.

No one brand makes the best of everything which is why you're better off doing research and mixing brands.

I've had a KA DW for 8 years and am very pleased and recently there have been a number of people on this forum who have purchased current models and are also quite pleased. Certainly KA has gone downhill from when they sold Hobart manufactured DWs but that was a long time ago, and recently their DWs seem to be doing fine.

I feel your pain! I went nuts trying to pick out a fridge, and I had a smaller budget. It seems that no matter how high something cost, there were tons of reviews out there saying it was a piece of crap....I had to stop reading!

We ended up getting our fridge at sears outlet, a brand new bosch cd for $1260 (1/2 off). I really like bosch, and Im happy that I found something that holds enough, wasn't crazy expensive, and looks nice in my kitchen. I think most of them are better than their worst reviews; it's hard imo to go into such a big purchase reading mostly negative reviews about everything.

I too am on a budget and wanting new appliances. I am replacing 14 year old Frigidaire professional series appliances that work just fine so why I'm replacing them I don't know.

Anyway, I settled on a 28cu/ft Samsung French Door stainless refrigerator. Got it on sale for $17 and it got good reviews and has separate cooling for the freezer/fridge.

The DW was a tougher choice. I hate the way Bosch "feel". They seem cheap to me and a lot of money. They may be the best ever but the buttons are a throwback to the 80's. I then looked at KA and Samsung DW's. I liked the Sammy since it matched the fridge and was half price of a KA. Salesman said iKA is worth twice the price but I doubt it. I ended up getting the Sammy DMT800 for $8. It has tons of features, is reportedly just as quiet as KA and literally half the cost. Also made the CR top ten list. I pick them both up this weekend.

I have a separate wall oven and wa sconsidering an Electrolux. Ball bearing slides and wavetouch are appealing to me and it gets good reviews too. Trouble is its tougher to find a deal on Lux. Best bet is to find a big box 10-20% off coupon and start a pricematch.

Some basic questions as I have recently replaced the older appliances in our home. What type of range are you currently cooking on? Do you already have a gas range/cooktop? The reason I ask is that when your used to one type of heating switching can be a surprise. I've had the Frigidaire FGGF304DLW (in white) all gas double oven range. I've only had it for a week so I'm still getting used to it. So far I really like to double oven feature. We've only used the larger oven once, but the small upper oven preheats quickly. Can't really comment on temperature uniformity/accuracy but the temps don't seem far off. The one surprise is how much heat is 'wasted' on the cook top with the sealed burners. We had an older (not sure how old) coil top electric stove before. If I try to boil a cup and a third of water in a 6" diameter pot (an AllClad) it seems to take longer than the old coil stove. Also we've found out that our over the range microwave has a overtemperature feature that turns on the exhaust fan. It had never gone off before. I'm still on the learning curve so I won't give a full review. Just to let you know if your going to a different system, you may be surprised at how different it is. If your already using a sealed gas cook top, it might not be that different. The Consumer Reports appliance review did mention that even the electric smooth top ranges are more efficient than the 'consumer' gas ranges they reviewed.

In terms of your other selections, we have Kitchenaid DW and cabinet depth french door fridge that we are happy with.

Also look at the 'distributor's' in your area. These are the companies that sell directly to builders, they may also sell to consumers. I'm in Cincinnati and the one I've dealt with has come close to on-line prices (definitely beats big box stores). Also see if there are stores that have scratch and dent show rooms. Often the slight damage is in the unexposed area.

Do you have any room to "hide" your microwave? Meaning a cabinet, pantry or somewhere other than having a built-in? If so, you could save yourself probably $500-750. Buy one off the shelf at Target for $50 and plug it in somewhere. I've read several comments here about regretting the built-in microwave. Better to spend that $$ on an appliance where quality counts.

I went through the same thing. Every middle range appliance had bad reviews somewhere, I gave up and ordered all Kitchenaid. I bought a 4 year warranty on the steam oven just in case.

Every time I looked up a oven I liked I was disappointed in the reviews, so I just quit and bought what I liked.

I re-did all the appliances in my kitchen last year...about the same price range. I did a lot of research (this being THE best source for usable information!), though it can be overwhelming and discouraging at times! There are bad experiences with EVERY appliances, so just look for the common themes. I went with the KUDE60 KA dishwasher and absolutely love it. Cleans well, very quiet, and a year down the road not a bit of trouble. I went with a Frigidaire electric slide in range and though the brand name seems a little counter-intuitive, it has been an excellent range. I bought an extended warranty on it (the only one I bought on any appliance) and haven't needed it. It's the "professional" model, which I find funny since it's an electric slide in range. Oh-so-professional, right? Again, a year down the road, other than having to adjust the temp 7 degrees (which was super easy)....it's been an awesome range for a mid priced appliance. I bought the Samsung microwave (awesome)...and Samsung French Door fridge (LOVE LOVE LOVE). I highly concur that you're best to mix brands to pick the best of each. Sift through the postings here, make your best choices, then...try not to be filled with self doubt! Tough to do when you buy appliances, but try to just enjoy!!!

I'm bumping this up b/c it describes exactly how I feel, as I go through the same thing. I just want / need basic appliances, that will last.

If we get all KA, I can get a $500 rebate - but now I'm reading not great things on their ranges. I'm reading better things about the Frigidaire Gallery Ranges - but then I worry about their refrigerators. To mix and match them will probably cost me about the same as getting all KA with the rebate - and I'm being steered towards KA, but an entire Frigidaire Gallery is closer to where I would *like* my budget to be.

Wondering if it is worth it to spend more $$ and get the KA Ref. and DW and Frig. Gallery Range and OTR micro. - for about the same cost but potentially better quality than all KA? Or do I get all KA?

OP, What did you ultimately decide?