most important factors when buying major appliance

12 years ago

hey all,

first post, so sorry if this is the wrong forum section!

when you're looking to purchase a major appliance, what are the most important factors when you choose who to buy from? have these factors ever really affected where you decided to buy from?

thanks, and looking forward to reading your responses and learning what you guys think.

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Comments (5)

Dando
12 years ago
Sure fire way to sort out the Democrats and Republicans?
For ME,
1) Style and Function: I want it to look good, look good with it's surroundings, and I want it to FIT me. (dishwashers have racks I like, Fridge has shelves I like, etc). Not everybody has this choice though.
There was a time when I'd have taken a free refrigerator, regardless of looks or age, just as long as it worked.

2) Price: I still remember those free/ugly/working days. I can probably go out and buy any fridge out there, but, being able to do so, and being able to "afford" it are two different things.
So.....PRICE: Given same / same / same / same...I'll choose the least expensive one most every time.

3) Reviews: I fully understand that NOBODY gets on the internet with nothing better to do than leave a review telling how great their appliance is.
Most reviews come from people that are on the internet, trying to figure out what's wrong with their appliance, and seeing if anybody else has had the same problems.
AND...You'll find 5 reviews on an appliance that 20,000 were sold.
But, I do look and this does somewhat affect my decision.

WARRANTY: Yep, darn near last. If you really get down to the fine print, many warranties, and store extended warranties don't really cover much. My touchpad on my oven went out in 14months. I bought the extended coverage at an extra cost. OH, sorry, that does not cover the touchpad. It only covers stuff that doesn't break or wear out.
I look for the factory/manufacturer warranty, for the longest duration on PARTS (not labor). I'm fairly proficient at parts removal, replacement, and just generally screwing up most anything. So, if I can just get free parts? I'm good.
Although, I don't usually expect even that.
I just take it upon myself to get a decent deal to begin with, and save the extra money for repairs down the road..if needed.
chac_mool
12 years ago
Availability of competent service where you live. This obviously is less of a concern for those living in a large metro area, or if you're buying a popular brand appliance made by the dominant manufacturer of that specific item.

But the farther away from a big city you live, and the farther from standard an appliance (or its manufacturer) is, the more important it is to find out in advance where you'll get service for your appliance in your local area when needed.

The coolest looking appliance may seem a lot less appealing if you learn that getting service means carting it several hundred miles away.
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Studio, well my advice would be to avoid Sears. If you must buy from Sears, buy from a local store and not online like I did. At least then you can go into the store and make a fuss if you have to. I don't know if that would've made any difference for me or not. To answer your question, I'm honestly not sure if I was within the 60 days when I asked for an exchange, it's been several years. I'm sure I was when I first started complaining to them about the washer, but they would only attempt to repair it at first. The issue I was having was from day 1. Here's my very long story, if you care to read it. It was a Kenmore Oasis. The problem I had was that it wouldn't produce warm water. I lived in South Florida, and my cold tap water was in the mid 70s. Cold and warm gave me essentially the same temperature water in that machine. I now believe this is the way the machine was designed, and it wasn't actually malfunctioning. 70 something degrees is not a warm wash IMO though. Anyway so after several failed attempts to repair it by A&E that stretched over several weeks (horrible IMO, and I'm by far not the only one who thinks this) I insisted on a new machine. By then the exact model number was no longer available. After many hours on the phone they finally agreed to replace it with the next model up. Because it was a different model they claimed that they couldn't process it as an exchange, they would have to charge me for the new machine and then refund the first one. I asked if the delivery guys were going to know it was an exchange and not a normal delivery/haul away and I was assured they would. Well of course when the replacement machine showed up the delivery guys had no record of it being an exchange. I hand wrote it on on the paper they had me sign. They seemed very to perk up when I told them it was an exchange, and one of them was very interested in knowing what was wrong with it. One of the 2 guys did hand me a business card with his name on it, which would turn out to be important later. A number of weeks later I called Sears wondering where my refund was. They had no record of my returned machine, claimed I still had it. I said no, the delivery guys took it. They were treating me like I was lying, so I said here's the guy's name, why don't you go ask him what happened to the machine. (I have a pretty good idea what happened to it, what do you think?) Anyway, I finally had to get my credit card company involved, and then I finally got my refund. Each time I called sears I got the run around. I'm not exaggerating when I say it took months and hours on the phone. Each time I would call they would put me on hold while they would read the very long notes entered in my file by previous people I had talked to. I can only imagine the things they said about me. I was never rude to them, I never yelled. One time when I asked for a supervisor I was put on hold for over 3 hours. I put the phone on speaker and did other things while waiting. The supervisor seemed quite surprised (and annoyed) I was still there when she finally came on the line. Another weird thing happened during that time. We had previously bought a Kenmore dishwasher and refrigerator, and the extended warranty that goes with them. You're supposed to be entitled to an annual check of the machines. One of the door bins in the fridge had a crack, and the dishwasher rack had a couple of places it had started to rust, so I decided to have them out to look at them. Right away the repair guy agrees to order the parts, no problem. The parts never came. I called several times, each time I was told they would order the parts, but they never did. It may sound a bit paranoid, but it kind of makes me think there was something in my file telling them not to honor my requests. We then moved out of state so I dropped the issue with the dishwasher & fridge. So, if you've managed to read that whole long story, THAT is why I will never buy another thing from Sears.
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deeageaux
12 years ago
1) Value. Not price necessarily but what am I getting for my money.

2) Performance. The flat out ability to do the job it was intended to do.

3) Country of Origin. I am not buying an appliance from a company headquarted in the third world. Made in third world by first world company? Maybe. All else being equal, I will buy American.

4) Reputation. Reputation of manufacturer and reputation for the particular appliance. Part of that is my circle of friends,reviews on GW and similar sites, and JD Powers. I used to give Consumer Reports some weight but have fallen so far I no longer care what they say. CR is so out of whack with every other source and my personal experience that I have given up on them.

5) Style. Cooks over looks. I do care somewhat what an appliance looks like but not top priority.

6) Noise. I am not hyper noise sensitive but don't want a racket in my kitchen either.

7) Efficiency. Water and Electric efficiency.

8) Warranty. I prefer a longer warranty to a shorter one but appliances rarely fail in-warranty. It seems manufactures know how long something will last and give you a warranty just short of it. And as Dando says then there is the fine print.
weedmeister
12 years ago
"choose who to buy from".

I'll assume therefore that the decision as to which unit has already been made.

1. how well can they service the unit. Do they have factory trained staff? Are they factory distributors? Is there warrantee work covered by them or a 3rd party?
2. Stock on hand? or do they have to order X weeks out?
3. Price.
4. Price.
5. Price.
glhfddka
Original Author
12 years ago
sorry I should clarify my question. Weedmeister got it right, I'm assuming you have decided what you want to purchase, but you're choosing who to buy from.

Thanks for the quick responses so far!

most important factors when buying major appliance

Comments (5)

Dando

chac_mool

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deeageaux

weedmeister

glhfddka
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most important factors when buying major appliance

Comments (5)

Dando

chac_mool

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deeageaux

weedmeister

glhfddkaOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

glhfddka
Original Author