I can't speak to the particular appliance you saw, but every LiebHerr I saw was sturdy and gorgeous, and they offer excellent climate control, and different modular models to meet different needs. They have built-ins, panel-ready, and free-standing. They would've been my choice if I was able and willing to do 'price is no object' refrigeration, but I sure wasn't.

I've paid to replace more than enough plastic shelf parts in the past, that I'd be happy to have the metal!

I do believe Samsung to be good fridges, and think they offer the dual evaporators that the higher end brands offer, bumping them up from the rest of the 'middle pack,' in my opinion. When we were looking, I REALLY wanted their 4 door 'Quatro' fridge/freezer, but it was out of my league, pricewise, too. If they offered the models they have now, I'd probably have Samsung in my new kitchen, but I do love my Electrolux Icon all-fridges and all-freezer.

Best wishes in your fridge search. Sounds like you're on the right track to me. It's good to be happy with what you've chosen...and if you can say, "Look, my fridge is better than that one for twice the price!" so much the better! :-)

I think manufacturers from central Europe spend more on marketing, thus they are able to convince some very convincing people who then convince many others.

I think Asian manufacturers spend less on marketing (and also on factory wages) so you get a good product for a good price without any of that subtle sustained oomph convincing talk. You are on the right track liking the fridge made in Korea.

I love the bio fresh cooling system the Liebherr has and if I could have reached the top shelf or two I would have sprung for it. I also believe unlike American brands that are not made to last I do believe the Liebherr is.

1. efficiency at doing the job of maintaining the quality and condition of your food
2. fuel efficiency - infinitely better compressors add to the cost, but provide superior efficiency.

Simple engineering really. I'd rather have a German engineered car than a Korean one, for example. The Korean one is a fine car, but the German one has superior engineering providing better performance.

Some other posts have suggested that Liebherr is much quieter than other refrigerators. I'm in the process of returning a very annoying GE refrigerator that chirps like a cricket and am considering Liebherr for its quietness. I think Europeans in general place a greater emphasis on noise reduction and efficiency. Their housing tends to be smaller, so I suppose they emphasize features that enable them and their appliances to comfortably co-exist. They certainly couldn't with this GE monster, which is more annoying than my Bosch (European) dishwasher.

I appreciate all the feedback. I do understand that part of the price is hype, part is real quality. For example, I do have VW Passat and Kia Rio, and I can clearly see the difference in quality on every little (or big) thing: from cloth on the seats, how the doors close and how radio buttons work, to the steering, handling and acceleration. But somehow, the quality of Passat is quietly oozing from its every pore, in Liebherr, the insides are ridiculous. And since I do have both lower end and higher end car, same goes for appliances: I'll pay up the price if I know WHY I'm paying up. If it is quietness and efficiency, fine, might be worth the price depending on what you want. But I expected more from Liebherr. That no stop fruit drawer just screams accident to me with my two apple-a-day-self-serve preschool kids.
Maybe I can call Liebherr to swap for newer shelf/drawer?

The fruit drawer does have the stop. It may not be installed correctly on the floor model. I have a Liebherr and like them a lot. I think they look better than the SZ and GE fridges. I have a GE in the kitchen also and it sounds like a freight train compared to the Liebherr. The most noise I hear from the Liebherr is when the ice maker is filling. If you don't like the look of the Liebherr and you have good experiences with Samsung, why are you looking to purchase a Liebherr. I am a firm believer in never purchasing something I don't like. I work too hard for my money.

Good luck!

Mostly because it is European, same with the Bertazzoni

Again, there's a difference in perspective, and different market expectations: I didn't find the interior "cheap" or "plastic" - I found it to be in line with most European fridges.
On the other hand, I find North American fridge interiors to be "heavy" and "clunky" with lots of awkward parts to trap dirt - design appeal is in the eye of the beholder!

Me too. I find it "... to be in line with most European fridges... "
Also find North American fridge interiors to be heavy and clunky.

One scene in Slumdog Millionaire has Frieda Pinto open a millionaire's fridge: it's also white plastic inside. Go figure. White plastic everywhere!

Buy what you like. You should not have to talk yourself into spending more money when you like the cheaper product. When I was looking for TVs I bought the Samsung over the Sony because it was 50% less. I hardly watch TV so it wasn't worth the extra.

"Think of it like this - even BMW makes "pleather" interiors...you get the same engine as the one with leather."

Having owned both the leatherette interior holds up better then the leather and most people do not notice the difference.