Can anyone recommend a side-by-side that isn't junk?

15 years ago

OK - junk isn't quite the word I wanted to go with, but it's a family forum....

I'm about to be rid of my 8 year old Maytag side-by-side. It has been, for lack of a better word, a hostage situation. In warranty, it broke down twice, taking two loads of food with it. Out of warranty, I repaired it myself twice, spending over $150 on parts. On something that cost me $1600 then (when that seemed to have a lot more buying power), between two loads of food down the toilet (figure $200 in total) and another $150 in parts, without figuring the cost of grief the thing has run me almost $2k and I haven't had a glass of ice dispensed to me in 4 years.

OK - grief over. It started to fall in temp the other day, and I'm putting it out to pasture. But I haven't been able to figure out what to replace it with.

The kicker is we're in the process of buying a new home, so I don't want anything expensive (relatively) - nothing more than $1500, if possible. Side-by-side, with the standard dimensions for a ~25 cu. ft. fridge.

All I want is r-e-l-i-a-b-i-l-i-t-y. I don't want it to die and take my hard earned food and money down with it. I want ice - and lots of it!

A trip to CR revealed a number of well rated fridges - each with reviews containing horror stories by end users. Went to Sears, where $1k buys a decent model, but reviews on their site (and a trip to consumeraffairs.com) aren't encouraging. Home Depot, Lowes, etc. - don't seem to come close to Sears on price, and yet somehow there isn't much of a variety (same units are sold everywhere).

Is there anything I can look for that will be a bit more reliable than the rest? A specific manufacturer? Country of origin?

For the love of God, I just want something that won't break in the first 48 hours, and then, if I'm not asking too much, might make it 5 years down the road without any repairs!

Please help....

-GC

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

weissman
15 years ago
I've had a KA side-by-side for nearly six years now and it's been very reliable, including the ice maker. I also have my old Whirlpool side-by-side fridge in the garage - it's nearly 27 years old and going strong. Whirlpool is the parent company of KA and I think their fridges are less expensive than KA.
User
15 years ago
Get the one at Sears. Since you won't be there too long, you don't need to care about reliability over the long haul.

Every company makes some lemons, some more than others, and the people that own those lemons speak very loudly. There are hundreds of thousands of people who are quite satisfied, even with the Maytag fridge that you have.

There are probably only a few companies that make refrigerators now, they just make them a little different for each vendor. So a Maytag is probably a Kenmore, which is probably a KitchenAid, which is probably a GE, etc, etc. You get the idea.

Good luck.
Related Discussions
Can induction cooktop be installed above two side by side ovens?
Q
Comments (2)
repac, yes it can be done, and we did it, eleven years ago, and it continues to work today. But our preplanning involved reseach into the vertical dimensions and the required clearances of the units that we installed. If you commit to the brands and models first, you may find that you lack sufficient vertical clearance. The depth (under counter) of currently available induction cooktops ranges from about 2 inches in a few models to as much as 18 inches in one model. Also, it happens that the thinnest, most pancake-like, induction cooktop (the LG LCE30845) vents above the counter (at the rear) instead of (as is more common) into the space under the cooktop, and so requires minimal clearance above the top of the oven. The LG is only 30" wide, however, so you would need two of them to fill your 60" wide space. Not surprisingly, there are also large dimensional differences among models of wall oven. We chose a Bosch HBL645A UC (since replaced in the Bosch line-up) specifically because it had a compact vertical dimension, and even allowed us to install a shallow storage drawer (for unused oven racks, etc.) under the oven.
...See More
Recommend your counter depth side by side fridge please!
Q
Comments (2)
I just bought a new one a month ago. I was almost crazy looking at different ones and going over measurements and prices. I looked at the KA and also at the Whirlpool and GE thinking I would get the Whirlpool. Lowes would have to order it so I happened to check this place closer to me, an independent guy that was a Maytag dealer and since they are now Whirlpool he could get me one but he also sold Frigidaire. He had one in stock--just what I needed and it was $400 less than Lowes(for the same model) plus free delivery and haul away of theold one. This ref. makes more ice than any I have ever had.(also has setting for extra ice if needed). It has an air filter inside to keep out odors, sliding, spillproof shelves, also an elevator shelf rolls up/down plus adjustables in the door. Has a meat drawer that you can even set to keep the meat at 32 if need be-this is in the ref. side. The freezer has door shelves and tilt out racks plus baskets in the freezer plus it holds frozen pizza's(Digorno size).This guy also services so I figured I could get him quick if need be--hope not needed! I talked to a couple of servicers before and they said they are all about the same now days. I did go through several on line repair forums reading about fridges and there wasn't that many bad things about Frigidaire. Did read that a few years ago they had some problems but got those worked out now so I hope so. I would think a KA would be good also. Check the repair forums and see if you see many people write in about KA. Hope this helps and good luck shopping. For the money I couldn't have gotten more features than I did with the Frigidaire.
...See More
Anyone know of a side-by-side fridge 33in wide or less?
Q
Comments (4)
We own a Kenmore elite that is 32 and 7/8 inches wide. I am not sure if that will fit in a 33 inch opening, but it slides in and out of our 36 inch cabinet easily. It is not counter depth, nor is it side-by-side. Are you sure you want counter depth? It is 35 inches deep, and it is a French door with bottom freezer. We previously owned a side-by-side, and found it didn't work well for us -- the fridge compartment was skinny (not wide enough for a pizza box) and really deep, so things would get lost in the back. Our current fridge is just as deep, but it's easier to find things because it is well lit inside, and it's much easier to maneuver things out from the back without emptying a whole shelf, because each shelf slides out independently. It does have an ice maker in the freezer, but there is no on-the-door ice dispenser, and the cold water dispenser is not on-the-door either.... you have to open the left-hand fridge door, and then push a button on the front left interior lip (which takes two hands). But we didn't use our previous fridge's on-the-door dispenser much at all, so for us, that was not a big drawback. We have had ours for 4 or 5 years, I think, and we have been very happy with it. Here is a link that might be useful: Kenmore Elite French Door fridge
...See More
Anyone else got the flu that isn't in the vaccine?
Q
Comments (15)
Got my flu shot in October and a couple days later came down with a cold. A nasty, nasty strain of cold is going around. I've been coughing for just over two months. Violent coughing at one point. So violent that I pulled a muscle in my side. Ran a fever last week and was out of work for two days. Haven't had a fever for 30 years. Have gone through two combo boxes of Day/NIght Theraflu, a bottle of Nyquil, 11 bags of cough drops, a 10-day course of Augmentin (antibiotic) that made me sicker, and finally, a 5-day course Z-pak which has nearly stopped the coughing. Saw my doctor for a six week checkup yesterday and since I'm still not 100%, he ordered a CT of my sinuses to see if I still have some kind of infection. Yep, something really nasty is going around (though I don't think it's the flu) and I'll be so happy when it's gone. Jodi-
...See More
Zoe52
15 years ago
Another vouch here for the KA side by side. I have a 48" built in that has been running very well for 12 years now. No problems with the ice or water dispenser except that we had to have the water line to the ice cubes defrosted once due to some sediment buildup (we don't filter our water here) Also had to replace a bin top recently as my DH dropped something hard on it and it cracked. Other than that it has been great!
giantcrazy
Original Author
15 years ago
momj47-

One thing I should have mentioned in my original post is that although we plan to move, we will be keeping the home and renting it out, so I'd rather have something reliable as I'd be the one responsible for replacing it in the future if it fails.

I do realize that there's been a fair bit of manufacturer consolidation (seems like GE and Whirlpool own almost the entire refrigerator market), so it may be a moot point. I don't know if these brands have been fully merged, and if they just maintain multiple brands in name only and share manufacturing processes, or if they're still very much separate and have unique failure rates.

A trip to Consumer Reports would indicate that they're all pretty much the same in terms of failure rate.

Think I might just have to buy the cheapest one I can find and hope it doesn't fail. I guess that the nasty reviews I've read will be common amongst all manufacturers, so I can just hope for the best.

Can anyone recommend a side-by-side that isn't junk?

Comments (4)

weissman

User

Related Discussions

Zoe52

giantcrazy
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Can anyone recommend a side-by-side that isn't junk?

Comments (4)

weissman

User

Related Discussions

Zoe52

giantcrazyOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

giantcrazy
Original Author