Also, is it really true the two-compressors really makes things fresher? Does the KA just pale in comparison and makes things rotten faster?

I just asked a similar question and wish I had solid info for you... but a question instead. Did you also consider the Thermador? I"m considering the Sub Zero , Thermador (I prefer the sleeker less industrial look), and Kitchenaid because of price. Looked also at the Monogram but I think their warranty is only a year, I couldn't confirm that. Supposedly, two evaporators, which GE has, is suppose to extend fresh food life, not the compressors. I believe Sub Zero and Thermador have very similar warrantys. Do you know the price of the Sub Zero 632?

I think you should consider more options:

SZ 632 is about to be replaced with the new BI series. Purportedly available by this fall. There have been debates on this forum about whether it is a good or a bad thing to buy one of the last of an old discontinued model coming off the line. Not even sure if they are taking orders for the 632 now.

I have not seen any info on BI pricing. The 632 was quoted to me back in March, before we decided to go with the Therms, at $6879.

Therm columns are very popular on GW, and that swayed us. So did the fully integrated look (matched by the SZ 700, not the 600 series), the greater sizing flexibility vs 700's (Therm has 18'', 24'' freezers, up to 30'' fridges vs SZ only avail 27'' for both), bottom compressors (less noticeable), much lower price vs 700's.

If price is a consideration then you could also consider the Bosch version of the columns, a few hundred dollars each less than the Therms. You give up the motorized top shelf and get somewhat less fancy shelving on the doors. I can't see the new Mieles--same columns with some bling (WiFi monitoring) at a cost about 50% higher than the Therms.

I know nothing about them but Liebherr's get lots of positive feedback on GW.

I don't know if two compressors keeps things fresher, I would think not. That should seem to depend on what the unit is doing inside in each compartment.

I do think two compressors may allow a better dedicated temperature to the frige and freezer sections. Maybe some improvement in energy usage. Also if you do have a compressor failure you may still have the other one so you may not loose all of your food.

I've had both and prefer the SZ. Build quality is superior (IMO) and it really does keep produce fresher. I have a discontinued floor model (642) that's been totally trouble-free since installation 18 months ago. Wolf/SZ customer service is excellent if and when you need it.

Thanks for all the quick responses posters! ^^

I did consider the Thermador, but after looking at the price tag, it ended up costing more than the Sub-Zero. I know Thermador offers more customization for its panels, but I'm not looking more than stainless steel or the current black flat panel I have.

Speaking of which, the kitchen appliances currently installed are all colored panel black when we bought this house. They feature a variety of brands from KitchenAid, Thermador, Dacor, and Sub-Zero. Because of my naivete in house design, I was wondering if I should match my new fridge to these old colors or go with I believe is the new trend of stainless steel.

BTW, the Sub-Zero 632 for me was quoted at $8400. I asked this at Pacific Sales, which some of you may be familiar is a SoCal appliance chain store. They offered free installation, delivery, and tow-away of the current fridge I have. I know nothing about installation of these built-in fridges. Are there better alternatives? I also asked Home Depot's Expo Design Center, and they quoted me for much more. Plus, their services required additional fees.

The KA I'm looking at is quoted to me around $5100. The salesman said he could offer me a bigger discount. Are these prices too high or is it because due to inflation and the decreasing American dollar value is causing me to pay more?

Also, how is it that home buyers look at kitchen appliances these days? Is Sub-Zero still considered king and adds to your house features list?

Right now, I'm leaning towards the Sub-Zero due to previous one's lifespan. Anyone have a KA or Thermador that has lasted more than the 2 year warranty period and would care to comment about any issues?

Do you know anything about the Kitchenaid warranty?

KA offers the same warranty as Sub-Zero I believe. I was comparing the plans just yesterday.

2 years for everything, then the limited warranties begin up to 12 years for different parts.

However, I just read a bunch of complaint stories about the KA product line in general. It seems like their quality has really gone down the line after the warranty period expires (after 2 years).

Wow:
Either the SZ price has skyrocketed since March, or prices in Cal are much higher than in Ga.

BTW: don't know where you got your Therm prices, but based on our quote from one week ago, a 30'' fridge plus 18'' freezer came to $6950, much less than your SZ quote (and that >$8K SZ price is for a model which is about to be discontinued). The Therm prices were comparable to our original 632 price and much less than a duo of SZ 700's.

Well, out of all of this, my main concern is the lifespan these products.

Will I get more from a Sub-Zero than a KA or will it be the same?

Our former home had the following SZ units going strong at 19 years old: 601R, 601F, and 3 undercounter R/F units. We repaired some of them around the 15 year timeframe. We have a lakehouse with an 18 year old side by side SZ that just recently needed a compressor replacement, and it now runs like new.

We bought SZ units for our new home, based on these experiences.

I bought the Sub Zero 48" wide side by side, but only because I had selected it before I knew about Liebherr and part of my kitchen cabinetry was designed around it. I WISH I had learned about Liebherr refrigerator's first. Cheaper to buy, cheaper to operate by FAR, freshness claims seem to rival if not surpass SZ.

I couldn't make the swap b/c my fridge was designed to go on a short wall alone and the narrower freezer door was mirrored with a cabinet on the other side of the wider frige door, and the whole effect would have been skewed if I got the Liebherr, which has equal sides.

I'll post a link to the Liebherr I wish I had if you are curious.

I also considered the KA, and the Monogram, and if you go to a store and see the SZ, KA and M in the same day you will see MUCH higher quality in the SZ and the price spread in my area store was not enough to justify the step down in quality. The floor model Monogram I saw had a broken crisper drawer, and I thought if it can't stand up to people checking it out while shopping it sure won't last with MY kids hauling on it!

But, again, wish I had designed my kitchen around the Liebherr instead. The only reason I would say don't get Liebherr is if you are a bit short, b/c the top shelf is taller than most American fridges.

Here is a link that might be useful: Liebherr 48

smarge: I considered the Liebherr, but because the dimensions don't match the original cabinet (the height is 80", not 84"), I can't use it. I want something that matches exactly the old fridge did.

SZ may be superior, but I think the design is sure ugly (stainless steel). I always thought its competitors did their designs better.

However, if you do say it'll last longer, then I'll probably go for SZ.

As it turns out, I did a little research on what happened to the old Sub-Zero fridge. It seems the drain pipe that collects the condensation behind the fridge became clogged and possibly frozen. I think I'll end up saving this old fridge if I find a way how to unclog this tube. Any ideas on this would be appreciated.

So you would buy 48" fridge with 4.1 ft3 of freezer space? (Lib) over a US made top quality fridge and be happy with that? I'm a Canadian unless there is a clear advantage I would chose the North American product.

sonic... try this site. If you don't see your issue/problem listed. Post your own question and see what happens. I was able to fix a problem with my washer and dryer when I didn't want to wait 4 days for a service call.

Let us know how it turns out.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fix it site.

Well, I called the local service man that came up last time to replace the evaporator and told them about my clogged drain problem. I've tried to fix it myself, but I had trouble getting the tube out from the pan tray.

Within a couple hours, he arrived, installed a new tube, and blew out all the air in the coils above for a total charge about $220.

I asked him what brands he often encountered issues, and he gave me an indirect answer.

He told me since a lot of these new fridges want to be eco-friendly and use less electricity, the compressor is running with less power, causing it to work very hard. Also, fridges are probably the only appliance that run constantly 24/7, so a lot of stuff can break.

Anyway, thanks for all your help guys. I'll bookmark this and bump it up later if something happens to this 18 year old fridge again. I'm pretty sure the fridge market and reputation would have changed again.

Hm... wonder why there's no edit button on this forum.

To add, I called up Sub-Zero CS to talk about what's happening to their 600 series, and yes they are discontinuing it.

The problem here is if you have a fridge like mine, the SZ 532, the new IB series is supposedly taller than the old one. I think they're adding another 4-5 inches to it. Great! So cleaning those coils are just going to be even more joyful.

Has anyone been able to confirm when the new SZ is coming out? I cancelled my existing order on GE all fridge and all freezer after learning of their plans to auction off thier applicance division and the SZ was the only configuration to work with my new cabinets that were designed around the GE. I was told around Oct but wanted to hear what others have been told.

sonicpower

That indirect answer sounds like no answer at all. It seems like he would have a better idea of what brands he gets the most calls on unless he is trying to say all brands.

But if the newer compressors are smaller and run more then maybe having two of them sharing the load between the fridge and freezer might be better. ??

We just went through the same exercise and chose the KitchenAid KSSO48QTX 48" W/Dispenser (panel ready). From what we've read in this forum and in talking with various salespersons and owners, the SZ's icemaker capacity is less than the KA (a big issue in our house with two little kids), and we liked the KA's through-the-door cubed & crushed ice (plus water). We are doing white cabinets and will use the same paneling design over the refrigerator. The thought of constantly fingerprinted stainless steel horrified us (our kids are 7 and 4 and will be getting their own ice and water from this appliance).

Many posters on this thread have had great luck with SZ longevity/durability, but many other posters on other threads of this forum have experienced far too many repairs to justify the large SZ price premium.

We also considered the 48" GE Monogram (my brother owns the 42"), but while the "light column" is attractive, it takes away too much useable room. We looked at Northland and Liebherr as well, but the Northland had poor build quality and the Liebherr has a tiny freezer area.

I am leaning towards the Kitchenaid mainly because I just can't seem to justify spending over $8000 on a fridge/freezer. The Kitchenaid Architect series 48" KSSC48QT comes in at around $6100 from what I can find so far in my research online. My main concern is capacity. Freshness of food- I can handle grocery shopping once a week with 3 boys to feed plus DH. Do the SZ last that much longer to justify the extra$2000+++?

I LOVE my 642 SZ that was installed about 8 months ago. I have not had any problems and love that food keeps much longer than my old refrigerator.

I would most definitely buy a SZ again--in a heartbeat!

I haven't had a Kitchen Aid fridge but we do have a Sub Zero refrigerator, a Model 165 which I believe may have been installed in the house when it was built in 1965 or possibly when the kitchen had a slight remodeling in the early to mid 80's. So the fridge is either about 23 years old or 43 years old. Either way it has lasted a long time.

I have not been able to find any information on the Sub Zero Model 165 fridge so I have no idea when they were made (or anything else about the fridge).

Have you checked out the Thermador built in (not the Freedoms). I was all set to order a KA and ran back and switched to it - I'm glad I did. I really like it (we got the 42" w/ dispenser)

The Thermador is beautiful and preferred by us except for the roughly 2K difference in price from the KA. It may be enough to make me consider the KA.

Skwid - FWIW the SZ 165 was manufactured from 1965 to 1976

Thanks Icebox, I guess that means that my SZ was installed in 1965 when the house was built. I'd just like to get a manual and some information on the SZ 165. I haven't found anything on the internet and nothing on Sub Zeros website.

I was out today looking at the same two models. I have a 21 year old Sub Zero and really like it but will be remodeling in the next few months and don't know whether to keep the one I have and buy new wood panels or start out new. My SZ is working fine. We inherited it about 7 years ago when we bought the house. We invested $500 over the years to buy new shelving, etc. and had to have the drain in the back unclogged but that was due more to the fact that the people who bought from didn't care for things very well. The repair man literally took a turkey baster, filled it with water and unclogged the drain. Worked great. Couldn't believe he charged me a service call for that repair. Hope that helps someone else.

Oh and by the way, the Sub Zero rep that I talked to today said the new models will be out in October.

I've had a KA for a little over three years and I've been happy with it so far. I had nothing any more upscale than a basic Whirlpool fridge prior to this - Whirlpool brands have served me well - so this was more than adequate for me. Some good friends needed several repairs on their relatively new SZ fridge and went out of their way to recommend I not get one. Obviously lots of people are delighted with SZ but since people I actually know were not, that did influence my decision. I did want a built in with cabinet panels and KA was outrageously expensive enough - no way I was going to pay thousands more than that. For that I would expect flawless performance for at least 15 years and I just don't think they make appliances that way any more. What might have been great quality 20-30 years ago I really don't think is the same these days - SZ or otherwise.

Pix,

Is that available to see or purchase? When do you think you could order it?

Let's see if I can give you a quick comparison...I have a SZ (purchased last year...sbs 36") and a KA (in our corporate rental where we're living now). Hands down, the SZ is the better appliance. It's in the garage, but when I leave something in it stays fresh for weeks, (since I forget to check it often) and the KA...well it's better than our old fridge, and looks nicer, but it's no SZ.

Canuck,
I was under the impression that they would be available to order in October.

I bought a 42 inch subzero while doing a kitchen remodel in 2006. The icemaker was so loud we could hear it from our bedroom. It also produced an error code every year or two that would require service. We moved into a different house in 2016 that has a 20 year old KitchenAid superba. aThat works flawlessly.