As a follow-up to my original post, I will say that I checked the online price at BestBuy.com and Lowes.com and also on Yahoo Shopping and this appears to be a fantastic price. I think the salesman is giving me the builder's discount. Anyway, I think I'll see if Lowe's will price-match this. I'm more confident in their customer service and I especially like their 30-day return policy in case I discover a problem with the machines.

try_hard

Seems like a really good price to me. I paid around $2000.00, including a 5 year warranty, about 3 years ago. I love the set but I think the extended warranty is a good idea. Electronics can be fickle!

Thanks for the response, ebear1271.

try_hard

Why not support your local appliance store?

They appear to be trying hard to get your business.

Gordonr: I am supporting the local store by purchasing the oven, micro, dishwasher, cooktop, vent hood, and disposer from them. That's about $7,000 worth of appliances. Oh, and I will probably order my new refrigerator through them, so that's another $2,000.

I definitely appreciate that they are offering me a great price on the washer/dryer but this will be my first HE TL (after years of a Bosch FL) and when I asked if they would allow me to return it or trade it in if I was displeased with the performance, they said No. It makes me nervous to not have that option.

I'm not sure yet what I'll do. I have to think that since I'm spending so much money with them, they will do what they can to make sure I'm happy. But if I can get the same product at the same price through a store that's known for their customer service... well, it's tempting to go that route.

Thank you for your comment.

try_hard

Hi Tryhard, I'm looking to possibly buy the GE Harmony set, but can' find a store that keeps it on the floor. And, I'd like to see it before buying. Most of my other appliances are GE profile and never had a problem. Also looking at the Whirlpool Cabrio HETL. What made you decide on the GE? Ebear1271 great to hear you've had a postive experience with the GE Harmony. I've wondered if all those electronics could be a problem. The Kenmore set I've had for ages has been really good. Remember the 'old' days when you could go to Sears and pretty much anything you'd get there would be good and last a long time! As far as shopping at the place that gives the best service and price - in your case Lowes - there is nothing wrong with that.

Onthego:

Here are some thoughts on why I selected the Harmony --
1. I wanted high efficiency machines.
2. I was not impressed with the Bosch front-loader set that I had from 2001 to 2007. I guess it worked okay, but I wasn't really wowed by the machines or their cleaning ability. And I just didn't get excited about any of the other front-loaders that are now available.
3. My laundry room configuration is such that a top-loader would be preferable over a front-loader.
4. I just think the HE TL's are a cool concept.

So after deciding I definitely wanted a HE TL set, I looked at the F&P Aquasmart, Maytag Bravos, GE Harmony, and Whirlpool Cabrio.

I eliminated the F&P because it just didn't excite me and I really liked the glass lids on the others.

I eliminated the Bravos because I couldn't easily find them in any local appliance stores and didn't want to buy them sight-unseen.

I eliminated the Cabrio for these reasons --
1. I wanted the dryer lint filter to be inside the door, not on the top of the machine. DH and I are currently living with my mom until the new house is finished and Mom's dryer lint filter is on top of the machine. I can't tell you how crazy it makes me to empty that filter and the lint flies all over the top of the machine and the nearby countertops. The Harmony's is inside the door.
2. I wanted a stainless steel wash tub. The Cabrio was part plastic, part stainless but the Harmony is all stainless.
3. Appearance - I wanted a white set. The white Cabrio dryer glass door had a sort of yellowed color to it, as compared to the bright white appliance. I didn't care for the way that looked.
4. Controls - I am a computer person and I liked the controls on the Harmony better than the Cabrio.

Also, I talked to 4 salesmen at different places about the various HE TL options. Two salesmen have the Harmony in their own homes and have been very happy with them. Both salesmen talked to me about pros and cons of all sets, including the Harmony, but the fact that I was talking to people who had owned them for several years made me feel confident in their opinions of the good and bad features. Lastly, I learned that one of my friends has had the Harmony for a few years and loves it. This woman is like the Martha Stewart of the midwest so if it's good enough for her high cleaning standards, it will be good enough for mine.

Good luck!
try_hard

I went with the Harmony after canceling my Kenmore HE4 order. My in-laws had the Calypso but I wanted a GE (thank God! My FIL ditched the Calypso after a couple of years and bought the Harmony). I found the Harmony and it seemed to have everything I wanted. The salesman also told me GE was guaranteeing the touch screen for five years because they thought people would be apprehensive about it. That was enough for me and I've been pleased with it ever since.

How does the water consumption on these GE Harmony washers compare to a Front loader? Do they use more or less water than the front loaders? I saw these at a Lowes here and thought the glass was for some kind of washer demo. I was half asleep though:)

DJ

Don't worry about GE's quality, the Harmony is made for GE by LG.

We have the LG FL WM2688 & DLG8388 gas dryer for about 6 months and love 'em.

LG's seem easy to repair and parts for most models are at

http://www.searspartsdirect.com/partsdirect/index.action

http://www.repairclinic.com/

and other places.

Most LG's service manuals (not Harmony) are here:

LG service manuals

How much water the Harmony uses depends on what you are washing. If you use just the "regular" cycles it "weighs" the load. I will wash white socks separately and it only uses enough water to cover the socks. What I like about the HE TL's is that you have the option to fill the washer. If I select the "comforter" setting it will fill all the way. I don't know the exact numbers on the difference in water consumption between the FL's and the HE TL's. If you like TL's though, this is definitely the way to go. It saves water and energy and it's still a TL.

HE TLs are better than traditional TLs, but they still uses almost double the amount of water and energy a comparable FL uses. Check out the link below to find detailed information about water and energy consumption of all current energy star rated washers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Energy Star webiste

Just bought the GE Harmony set in white today from Lowes:

Washer was $975 after GE rebate; Dryer $786 after GE rebate.
The 4 year warranty added to the 1 yr included warranty was $160 for both.
Felt good about the price...they matched another store in town, plus they're having a special that you earn $100 store credit for each $1000 spent between now and sometime in April I think.
Anyway, if there's a better deal I don't want to know about it!! Thought enough about this whole thing and don't want to know about 'what I could have got it for'..too late now!!! This forum has really been alot of help...thanks everyone.

Update to my original post:

I went to Lowe's last weekend to see if they would price-match or beat the prices quoted by my local appliance store. I spoke to a salesman, Walter, who struck me as experienced and well-informed on the store's policies, warranties, and pricing.

He said the best price he could give me was $1,049 on the washer and $798 on the dryer. (My appliance store priced the washer at $873 and the dryer at $750.)

Lowe's-Walter also said the GE Harmony washer and dryer were "special order" items so they were not subject to Lowe's "price match plus 10% off" price matching policy. Furthermore, he told me that because they were special order, I also could not use the 10% off Lowe's coupon that I received when I notified the post office of my change in address.

He talked to me a bit about extended warranties. I told him the extended warranty my local appliance store offered would be through GE and he said Lowe's used GE for extended warranties up until about 4 years ago and then switched to some other gigantic, nationwide warranty company because they weren't satisfied with GE's performance or customer service.

This guy seemed so confident in what he was saying that I assumed everything he said was accurate. I was surprised to hear the Harmony is a special order item, but I've never seen one in their stores so I suppose it's possible. Regardless, I plan to visit the other Lowe's in my town and try again, just to see if I'm being told the same thing, especially since onthego said he/she got such a good deal through Lowe's.

try_hard

I used to like buying my appliances from Lowes until this past year. I tried to get them to price match a Kitchenaid dishwasher I found $100.00 less at a local dealer (same exact model). The salesman gave me the same line that they can't price match a special order item. I asked to speek to a manager and the he was very snotty to me and said he can't sell me the unit below his cost! He acted like he didn't want my business. I said no problem I'll go back to the local independent dealer and do business with him and besides he had it in stock! Also I'm supporting a local business instead of a huge corporation.

I won't purchase big ticket items from Lowes anymore.

John_31_fl: That's something I left out of my follow-up post - the salesman did say that the price I was getting from my local appliance dealer was below the Lowe's cost. I was really surprised at how it all went down, really.

try_hard

When I went to Lowes to check out the cost of their Harmony set - I had just been to the only place in town that actually had a set on the floor - RC Willey. Luckily I had the salesperson there jot down their price (it was on sale) on their sales card instead of just on a piece of paper from my purse. This is what the sales person at Lowes needed to price match. Unfortunately I didn't know about the match +10% policy they (used to?) have. Lowes here never said it was special order...just that they don't keep in stock on floor and have to get from their warehouse which is located elsewhere. When the sales person called for permission to price match - she told me she had to fill out a form with details which they previously never had to do. She was agitated with Lowes upper management because she said in this economy you would think they would do as much as they can to make a sale and keep a customer ... she's right. Anyway, she got the ok and actually they matched the price that RC Willy had written down that also contained the GE mail in discount amount - 5% I believe. I did go to Lowes mainly because of all the positive comments on this forum -- and there's something a little 'off' about RCWilley - can't put my finger on it. But I'm glad they had the GE Harmony on the floor so I could actually look at it -- even Sears here doesn't display it. When I read what your sales person said....I wonder if he's just trying to get a few more $ out of the sale...I understand HD sales people aren't on commission, but don't know about Lowes. Only downside is that I've had to wait 2 weeks for delivery -- I missed the cutoff date but they'll be here this Thursday. I'll write a review after I try them out a few times. So thankful to all on this forum and to That Home Site for being able to read about others experiences. Have a great day!

I too have spent months on the research. Sounds like you have a great price quote. My appliance store (which I thought gave a good price until I read yours) is $899 washer, $749 dryer. Lowes couldn't come close. You said you were buying other appliances...GE has a rebate offer until end of March I believe based upon # of GE (profile) appliances.