Whirlpool. I admit I've loved my Duet washer and dryer, HOWEVER the Whirlpool top of the line dishwasher doesn't dry dishes (YES, I do use rinse aid). There is something grungy about removing the still-dripping flatware from every load. Because of the dishwasher I will never buy Whirlpool again. We'ver bought a new dishwasher (awaiting our remodel) and it is a Miele.

Oh, and by the way, we did have the repairman out numerous times until the warranty expired. Never did dry, never will. I should have asked when we bought it if it dried as well as washed. My bad.

Caloric ?

Estate ?

Magic Chef ?

Frigidaire. Every builder I know buys it because it's cheap. It's pretensions to grandeur are what's really irritating. When you buy a $200 Americana DW, you know what to expect, you bought cheap. When you buy a $600 Frigidaire, you have different expectations and yet you aren't getting anything substantially different.

I haven't yet had a truly "killer" experience with any brand of appliance.

Over about forty years I've had some I liked better than others. Can't say I've ever had an experience with any that put me forever off of a brand. Could say the same about friends' machines with the exception of a couple of Maytag Neptune FL's of my acquaintance many years ago.

@ athomesewing

Rinse aid use/non-use wasn't your problem. I've had three Whirlpool near-top-line DW machines over the last couple of decades. They all dried fine. Your description sounds like failure of heating element or of the control board that turns it on/off at the proper times. If that element was operating as it should, your dishes would have dried OK. They wouldn't have had any choice but to become dry. Your repair guy should have diagnosed and fixed under warranty. Failing that, you should have asserted your rights under the warranty. Your machine simply wasn't operating as it should have. Happens once in a while to all brands.

Did you happen to notice if the water in the machine reached nominal temperatures during the various cycles? Heating element failure is rare. Failure of it's controlling components much more likely. Usual culprit is the element's relay which is an integral part of the control board. Did your repair guy ever take the screws out of door and examine/test the control board?

JennAir. I bought my Jennair range and I hated it from the first month I had it till the day, 16 years later, when I sold it for $50 for someone to use in a temporary apartment. The oven was crap and the cooktop burners never did work right. It might be better now than it was then, but I'm holding a grudge. :-)

Cj

Hotpoint? It's not that I have a grudge against them, but in various rentals of my youth, I never had a Hotpoint range that I was happy with. I did have built-ins in a couple places that were better.

I truly hated the gas oven that came with my house. It was half dead and wouldn't hold a specific temperature. Any temperature. Even after being "fixed". But it didn't have a badge, so I can't even rag on it...

I wish I had my 20 year old, ugly, stained Whirlpool dishwasher that came with the house back. That was a mighty fine dishwasher. Didn't do anything fancy, but did what it did very well. I hate all new dishwashers. All of them. I almost liked the Viking, but the supposed heated dry it had didn't actually do any drying. The Whirlpool was excellent. I doubt they make anything comparable today...

I can't stand my Bosch dishwasher. Will never buy one again and my friend has all of the same complaints with hers too. So sick of running the cycle for an hour and a half and finding dirty dishes. I have a new Kitchenaid at our summer place and I just adore it!!

Viking. Super expensive hood wasn't manufactured right, took forever to get someone on the phone. Weeks to get it replaced. And after it was replaced the filters didn't fit properly and had to be remade, after that the blower was making a rattling sound which had to be fixed, took another few weeks. Also the stainless steel on the hood is very low quality. On top of that my Viking microwave has broken twice already and been replaced. Impossible customer service to get answers from, everything about that company makes me rage.

Dacor.
4 years "old" and my oven control panel needed to be replaced $1400 part and labor 2 years after purchase and very light use. Maybe twice a week, rarely in summer.

My plumbed coffee system worked for about 16 months then I couldn't get hot coffee. Turned out I need another boiler- $1800 which I didn't repair. Replacing with Miele.

Mind you both fell out of warranty after a year. Very convenient. Thought I didn't need extended warranty because I don't use the oven that often. Ha!

Also Bosch dishwasher. Not top of the line because I didn't think we needed all the different cycles. But you'd think $700 would buy a decent DW.

No actual latch, just a recess in the top panel. With weak hands I need a knife to pry it open.

Rinse aid container apparently clogs easily, though running vinegar through has cleared it so far.

Early on it smelled horrible inside, made the dishes and utensils smell, too.

Older KitchenAid that we borrowed from contractor's rental unit cleans so much better.

Done with Bosch.

Tappan gas range
It used to be a good brand 30/40 years ago but they all were right?...but alas went out right after warranty. Stupid mistake was to get it repaired. My old Magic Chef, refurbished, works fine for now.

Maytag washer. got a set of washer and dryer in January, 2011. washer has been nothing but a piece of trash. still under warranty, right now it's being worked on. Into 2nd week and still not back from repair shop. think they are waiting for parts from company. customer service stinks.

Also hate my Bosch dishwasher. I pretty much have to wash the dishes by hand before I load them into the machine. And my Bosch cooktop has annoying little quality issues, like screws falling off in its first year of operation and the "Bosch" name wiping off the surface after five years of normal cleaning.

NXR

Miele owners.

Oh brands? I've never had a really bad bad appliance.

Dacor

Nightmare experience about 4 years ago. It was horrible to have $10,000 in a range and oven and no working oven for 7 mos while they tried to fix it. Computer boards were the main issue but also the enamel came of in big hunks and the knob broke and the oven door was crooked. When I finally told them I have to have an oven for the holidays, they said you'll just have to wait, everybody wants their oven fixed. After the corporate office promised a new oven "in time for Thanksgiving" and then never bothered to send it, I demanded my money back and they begrudgingly sent it. They told me I was lucky it hadn't been a year or I wouldn't be getting my money back(even though the ovens NEVER worked!) They said it would take a month to "process" it and it took about 8 weeks. They later wrote me privately from this forum and asked that I not disparage their company. They claim to have improved. Let's hope so-anything would be an improvement.

JennAir electric cooktop with a side grill that I purchased years ago and hated from the 1st day. Tried to call and finally wrote Jennair about the poor performance and they never returned my calls, etc. I replaced it 'finally' this past year with a gas Kitchenaid cooktop and I love love love it. As usual there is a problem... small burner left rear goes lower than the center simmer burner. Knobs turn too easily and one must clean clockwise to avoid turning on the gas.
Frigidaire 30" gas range. The vacation house that it is in is near the ocean and the black top rusted within 6 months. I never used a cleaner of any kind on the top. It actually cooked and baked fine. I never used the self cleaning oven to burn out any of the electronics.

"Miele owners"
@fori, that was so funny, thanks a lot for the laugh!
I am one of them but I know what you mean... :-)

We live where appliance dealers are few and far between. A few years ago, I called Sears to tell them exactly what part was dead on my dryer. 5 weeks and 3 visits later, they finally got it right! I now avoid the bigger stores and work with dealers who offer prompt, reliable service after the sale. Sometimes this means moving up or down a grade, but no brand is worth the hassle of lousy customer service.

Nmchugh6, what's your issue with NXR? Mostly good reports here, except for one Sinophobe.