You could do a lot of custom cabinet for $6000-7000. It would be relatively simple to get a decent counterdepth fridge and finish the inside of the current opening to match the cabinets. You will need to make sure that the non-built in has enough circulation room around the sides. A non counterdepth may need an inch or more on each side while a "counterdepth" may require as little as 1/8". If your choice needs more circulation than you have you may need to go from 42" ---> 36" wide.

This is from a Subzero owner who has spent around 10% (which isn't a Lot)for repair over the last 7 years, and lives in fear I will need a major repair or replacement (my unit is 27", so I don't have a lot of choice.

I'm not sure what your dimensions are but I have a 48" Thermador that is built in. Bought it at a Sears scratch & dent store for $3500. The delivery guys scratched the door when making the delivery and Sears covered the replacement of the stainless skins. Pretty good deal, since the "scratch" that was on the fridge was on the door to start with, but they delivery guys made another one that I couldn't live with. The original one was really tiny and up high.

Antss and palimpsest, thanks for your quick replies. We have a 42" wide GE Monogram and it is 25,75" deep and 84" high. I will go to our local stores and get some prices on what might be available in that size once I find out if the existing refrigerator is beyond repair. I will also call the Kitchen-Installers to see if they have an idea what adjusting cabinetry will cost. We are in lower CT and that might cost, too.
Antss, where do you suggest looking for built-in-reviews?

You can look at the appliance forum here, but folks get pretty intense about certain things over there.

The 42" width is the most limiting factor -- but you have plenty of room to do a counter depth. There are a a few 42" built-ins. Look at ajmadison dot com and shop the built-in choices to get an idea of what is available -- they have customer reviews on some too.

I remember the Kitchenaid 42" French Door being one that I looked at and liked pretty well. The Thermador 42" was made by KA at that time -- not sure if it still is.
We wound up with Thermador columns and a total of 48" though. You could do those with 24/18. Good luck.

We just snagged a 42" Electrolux Icon built in for 4500 it was a floor model, We passed on a 5300 SZ 42" BI.

Check around we really like the Electrolux which replaced a 25 year old SZ 36" Built in.

One of my friend replaced the compressor(s?) of her 20 year old SZ refrigerator. It was cheaper and easier than replacing the entire built in refrigerator. The rest of her kitchen is also 20 years old... They may be delaying the kitchen remodel til later. This may not apply to you but I threw it out there any rate.

The effort it takes to replace the BI refrigerator is not insignificant. These are big items and there is always a small chance that the delivery and installation does not go as well as you think it will.

Either way, good luck.

Thank you for this post. I have spent hours searching for options for replacing our 24-year old 30" wide Subzero counter depth built in refrigerator. Talk about limited options, not to mention sticker shock. I finally began to think that it would be cheaper to get rid of the "built in" and go with a freestanding. Your messages have confirmed enough that I will be getting some estimates on redoing the cabinetry.

Wow, here I am again - a year later, same refrigerator. This time a longer power-outage has killed the motor and I am googling again for a replacement and found my old post. Still hoping that GE can repair the old one once again. Still not ready to spend a fortune on a built-in...

Hope this helps ...

http://www.ajmadison.com/. Refrigerators Search

To kaismom and annemouse, how long has the repair lasted? Is your repaired refrigerator running without other parts breaking? Are you happy with your decision to repair your frig?

I have a 2000 GE Monogram Built-in refrigerator. I had a repairman look at it, and he found that a $160.00 part needed replacement instead of the expensive condenser. The repair cost $350.00. I found that not all Appliance Repair people work on these refrigerators. I hope the condenser continues to work.

I’m in the same boat, I know this thread is ancient but hoping for help. We have 42” Kitchenaid built in that was new when house was built about 19 years ago (we’re original owners) we had to have it rebuilt after only 5-6 yrs old, compressor went out and more, and that doesn’t impress me with Kitchenaid. Now ice maker doesn’t work, water dispenser leaks and a couple of refrigerator shelves freeze food. When some suggest a counter depth- what does that mean exactly? Are there only two options, built in & counter depth? Some are telling me appliances can be a yr wait due to covid. I’m not interested in spending 10,000 for a year wait but could be the same with all fridges/appliances. How do I know if my depth will be enough for a counter depth fridge? I have paperwork Kitchenaid provided but not showing depth for some reason. Annemouse what did you end up doing and are you happy with your decision? I’m blown away built ins cost average $10,000, more than my first car :) but should certainly last more than 5 years and have better reviews. I want reliability for that amount of money. Thanks

Built-ins are typically 24 inches deep with handles. The space it sits in might actually be deeper though .

Counter depth refrigerators are typically 28-30" deep. In our case, the space where our built-in sits is actually 28 inches deep. So many counter-depth fridges would fit - assuming that the unit isn't sensitive to being close to a back wall. So you should check to see what the depth of the space where your fridge sits is.

I remember thinking 20 years ago that the $4000 we spent on our 42" built-in was kinda ridiculously expensive for a refrigerator. Now they are $8-10,000!! Joke's on me I guess.

Anyway, ours is giving us some headaches but has gone 21 years now with one fan motor replacement (that I did) and recently the topping of of the "freon" by a service tech. I suspect that the compressor is beginning to go since it stopped for a few hours yesterday and needed coaxing to start cooling again.. Or it might be a valve or relay. Either way, key parts are 21 years old at this point.

Given the price of a new unit, I'm going to talk to a repair tech about the cost of replacing most of the key components. Even if the cost is over $1000, that lots cheaper than the price of a new built-in. The next sensible option is to spend money on a new 36" counter depth stand-alone (they don't make 42" stand-alones) and have some cabinet work done. That's probably a net cost near $4000 - half the price of a new built-in.

Those are the two economically smart ways to go. But if this all gets to be too much of a hassle we may end up spending the big bucks and just buying a new unit. But its hard to justify doing that "on paper." OTOH, that's the lowest hassle factor way to go.

Jay Turberville, Thanks for all that, appreciate it. I’ve decided to bite the bullet for new built-in. If I didn’t go for built-in replacement, they would have to cut into granite countertops, carpentry work on both sides and above (and lumber prices are crazy in itself now, 3 book shelves cut to size (NOT large) at Home Depot cost me about 250.00, (they were hard wood but still). I also think it would be nearly impossible to match existing 19 year old cabinetry that’s still beautiful to me, so not doing a kitchen cabinet makeover. Then of course something always seems to go wrong doesn’t it 😁.
I’ve done a lot of research and went to brick and mortar stores and decided on Sub Zero 42” with French doors. The wait time is 7 months, ouch! Something to look forward to I guess. Best of luck with your fridge decision.