Comment on Appliances Selection Under $5.5K

13 years ago

Suggestions requested for kitchen remodel. After being a lurker for over 2 months and reading tons of reviews, I have narrowed down my selections to the following:

Background: We plan to use these appliances in a townhome for 4 years and then are planning to rent the town-home. Bake cookies and cakes 4 times a year. Use gas burners a lot for cooking and frying. Range width limitation of 30 inches. Use the fridge a lot and need a lot of space (however have a 38 inch space width limitation ie 26 cu). Dishes have food stuck on them and would like to put them in a dishwasher straight without rinsing. Over the range microwave without convection. Would prefer convection in the oven. Definitely want French door refrigerator. Low repair calls as do not want future renter to keep calling. Budget: approx $4-$5.5K. Want all metallic or stainless steel. Not sure how IÃ¯Â¿Â½ll get them to match.

Preliminary results of Research

1. Refrigerator (25 cu feet 29 cu). Samsung. French Door with freezer at bottom. Not sure if I should get the water in the door due to repairs needed. Not planning on getting counter depth to save money.

2. Range (30 inch). GE Cafe or LG or Berta. Not sure if I should get the dual option. Current range is All Gas and not sure how the electric will get connected. Also not planning on getting the hood but will have an OTR Microwave on top.

3. OTR Microwave. Sharp or GE Cafe.

4. Dishwasher. Bosch (problem is pre-rinsing required) or Kitchen Aid. I initially wanted the Kitchen Aid drawers as have small loads sometimes Ã¯Â¿Â½ however the reviews are terrible.

All suggestions including model nos etc are welcome and appreciated. Also, I am in NJ and any suggestions re places to buy from/installation would be great.

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Comments (7)

weissman
13 years ago
Skip dual fuel and go all gas - more money to use elsewhere. Pre-rinse isn't required for any DW these days but I'm happy with my KA - Bosch gets mixed reviews these days.
deeageaux
13 years ago
1) Samsung is fine for fridges.If this is for rental in the not to distant future I would skip both dispensers. The fridge will not only be less repair prone but look much better to prospective renters.

2)On this budget absolutely skip dual-fuel. GE/LG are just functinal applainces. The Berta will add value to your rental. There will be someone who picks your place over something similar or be willing to pay a little more to live there. Eye candy.

MW: Get Sharp. GE MWs are usually made by Samsung but you never know.

No modern DWs need dishes to be pre-rinsed. But since Bosch uses such little water you may need to use a dishwasher cleaner like Affresh or Glisten a few times per year if you constantly place heavily soiled items in there.Or it could lead to smells. Everything gets mixed Reviews. I have read more than one "Miele DWs/Sub-Zero fridges are the worst ever... I will never buy another in my lifetime" reviews.

The Bosch SHE5AL05UC for about $550 in SS has a half-load option.
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lithigin
13 years ago
1. We just decided on the same fridge; super-knowledgeable appliance guy illuminated the awesome features; great choice!

4. You won't need to prerinse with a Bosch. But why spend so much on a rental DW? We have loved the Whirlpool Gold that we bought for house #1 in 2005 and plan to investigate the updated version of it. I never prerinsed and I loved the versatility and price point. Guy today recommended either that or a Maytag, and it sounds like your budget and ours are similar.
64reno64
13 years ago
You might want to check out the Bosch french door fridge. I am shopping around now too and so far, it seems to be of better quality than Samsung, and I've heard that Samsung service can be mediocre.
ideagirl2
13 years ago
Bosch FD refrigerators in this price range all have external water/ice, I think. The ones without it are built-ins that cost over $6000. I agree with the poster who said a fridge without external water/ice can save you a lot of trouble with repairs and also is more likely to still look good 4 years from now.

My aunt-in-law has a Whirlpool non-counter depth FD that looks fantastic and that she loves. They're very reasonably priced--here's a link:
http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/GX5FHDXVY.html?mv_pc=fr&utm_source=google&utm_medium=base

As for the MW, I vote for one of these Panasonics (see link). They look great--they can hold their own when surrounded with nice appliances like the ones the OP is contemplating--and ours works great; they get fabulous reviews on Amazon.com, too.

I have a dual fuel but I agree that in this budget, it makes no sense. It would be better to save the money or put it towards something else (a decent range hood, for example? I don't think a microwave hood is going to cut it with a Bertazzoni or similar range).

Here is a link that might be useful: Panasonic microwave to consider
Kieffers_Guy
13 years ago
All the suggestions are really good. However, people have failed to point out that some of these manufacturers are offering rebates when you keep all of your appliances in the same brand. GE is running one right now and Whirlpool will have one starting on Feb 10th.

Of course we NEVER want to have to call service, but it never hurts to call the manufacturer of whatever appliance you're interested in and ask them if they service in your area. You might be surprised at their response.

Here is a link that might be useful: Want to laugh and learn about appliances? Read our blog!
ideagirl2
13 years ago
A rebate for buying all the same brand isn't worth it if you end up with an inferior product (say, a great fridge and a bad range), as is often the case, since nobody makes across-the-board great appliances.

Comment on Appliances Selection Under $5.5K

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