The good news is that as a brand, KA has a good repair/durability record. I still would be worried not having a warranty, but that's just me.

In a previous post, I thought you were a little concerned about the space in front of the fridge. I personally would be hesitant about a single door (versus french doors) on this fridge. I love my KA counter depth, have you checked this out (only if you're open to stainless instead of panels). I believe it has the same capacity as the one you are looking at.

Here is a link that might be useful: KA counter depth french door fridge

Hi Dream. I cannot do a french door because I have a corner pantry door immediately to the right of my fridge. A french door fridge would bang into the pantry door. Also, the fridge door wouldn't be able to open all the way.

KA is a good brand, but the warranty issue seems big to me also.

If it comes with the factory warranty then it should be fine. That'll cover you for the fridge not working out of the box, which would be my biggest concern.

No factory warranty. None. Zip. That's what bothers me.

I called KA to ask. They said as soon as I buy the fridge, ask for the serial number. Then I can buy their extended warranty on it. I can't sort out how it's different than a warranty that would come from the factory. I'm sure it's not as comprehensive.

I bought a used KA 36 inch CD Built in (Classic series) off of Craigslist. I paid next to nothing for it ($400 plus $220 for delivery), and a friend who used to sell appliances says it's a great deal, KA's are fantastic fridges and it will probably last for many years.

It recently started to have some issues with the freezer frosting up, so I called the repair man out. It ended up costing $179 for a simple part (and labor) that fixed the problem. The repair guy said the same thing my friend did.

So, I have no warranty, but I'm also in for less than $900 on a $6K fridge that is 7 years old. But most importantly fits into the space I needed it to. Without this type of refrigerator, I couldn't have the island that I wanted. I have to say that I love this fridge and I'm really not worried about it. Of course, I'm willing to put some money into it because of it's original purchase price and the price that I paid for it. There is always a tradeoff.

If it's an bay vendor, will they stand behind it working for at least a certain amount of time? Most new appliances only have a 1 year warranty as it is...
Here's an article on that from Consumer Reports.

Here is a link that might be useful: Consumer Reports article on appliance warranties

If there is no warranty at all, I would not do it. That's just asking for trouble. If the warranty is through kitchen aid and not the seller, then I don't think it's a problem.

If you really want it, does your credit card company offer any kind of extended warranty? Maybe that could help for at least immediate or short-term problems that might come up.

It doesn't look like it comes with a factory warrenty and while I doubt you would have a problem (I own a counterdepth KA fridge) I DID have an out of box failure on my new cooktop. It does happen. It also doesn't look like a spectacular price, at least for no warranty.

Don't feel too bad about your measuring mistake - it happens to everyone. Since your hubby is understanding about it I would relax a little and work with a local retailer to get a fridge that will meet your needs.

Oldhouse--I'm glad you're happy with the fridge. Thanks for that informative link. Very interesting.

And the ebay seller makes no guarantee whatsoever. They say that they "want you to be satisfied with your purchase," but then go on later to say that "as is. No warranties are written, expressed, or implied." All sales are final. Still makes me nervous. They have 100% positive feedback though.

I think i would feel good about the extended factory warranty over a store's warranty. Hopefully they are the same thing ya know?
Stores tend to send a "repair man" and maybe KA would send someone more knowledgeable about KA's...
I'd do it.

Can you get the serial number BEFORE you make the purchase to make sure KA will sell you an extended warranty. You don't want to buy it and have KA say sorry. Also, can you pay with a credit card? That way, if it arrives DOA, you'll have recourse. Personally, the as-is, no implied warranty, etc. would make me nervous. Is this a used fridge? If not, why is there no factory warranty.

There does seem to be a sort of mismatch between KA saying it is just fine but last year's model and the ebay guy saying it is brand new, on the one hand, and KA denying a new product warranty on it. I would certainly try to sort it out, just so you go into it with your eyes open.

By comparison: In a determination to avoid Vista, I bought a new but discontinued Vaio on ebay a couple years ago in order to get XP. When it arrived, I registered it with Sony, and I received no indication that the warranty was not good, although I never had occasion to use it.

Don't do it. Come on, sometimes you just ought to bite the bullet and spend what it takes or be frugal for real and use your old fridge, ugly as it might be, until YOU feel comfortable buying new.

Just because DH says do it doesn't make it okay. If it bothers YOU to splurge on a fridge enough to be looking at unwarranted fridges on eBay, then it's not okay and you should just live with an old fridge until you feel okay spending what it takes (or you find a good sale or something).

Well, that's what *I* think!

(Oh, remeasure...since your standard depth fridge now sticks out, you may have enough clearance between fridge and pantry for a French door model after all.)

well, Breezy - this may be something between you and your conscience - that is, your willingness to take a risk. This is probably not something "we" can help you with: it's you who sits with the risk.

You say the seller has 100% satisfaction - what's the denominator? That is, out of how many transactions? How long have they been selling? What have they been selling? If you click on their comments, they tell you what and when and for how much was sold. This can tell you a lot, really. Still, it may only take you so far with your bottom-line dilemma: how much of a risk am I comfortable with?

Unlike fori, I might do it. And I'd ditto what Weissman said (whatever it was; I've already forgotten!). I think it was credit card and try to get serial number before.

Can you contact the seller and ask why there's no warranty? Maybe there's none from them but KA still would accept it?

Also, there are third-party warranty providers. This was news to me. There are threads about this. I don't remember what the biggie company that does this is called; I'm sure someone will chime in with the name though. People seem to really like these third party places as much as the stores and manufacturers' themselves. Actually, the consumers' article talks about them too I think. I'd consider giving them a call, explaining the situation and asking what kind of policy they'd write you. It sounds like they're more free-wheeling; just you, a salesman and an actuary. You can be sure they'll come out ahead statistically, but you don't have the same perspective as they over a big population; their deal might be well worth it to you. If it will buy you more peace of mind, that might be a good route.

But again, risk-taking is an incredibly personal thing; it's kind of what defines us, actually. From one point of view at least. So it doesn't matter at the end of the day what I'd do or fori or weissman, etc. It's actually one of those decisions I think might be worth sharing with dh as the result of losing your bet could be potentially expensive. Could all be just fine too - it's a risk, that's hard to calculate, and IMHO, it's better sharing the risk you embark on taking, with dh by involving them and their sense of risk! Likely he'll know no better than you, but by sharing your difficulty in deciding, you're also sharing responsibility if the risk goes south.

Good luck! Again, fwiw and depending on questions about the seller and what you could wrangle insurance-wise with 3rd party vendors, I'd definitely try it. It's a lot of money you're talking about saving I think....

Breezy - first I'm so sorry to read of your fridge debacle. Something similar happened to us when we realized the refrigerator wall was 6" closer than the plans read.

We ended up okay, but I wanted to share an ebay link with you. We bought our appliances from this seller and they still carry warranty. I can't remember where you are (fl?) but it's worth taking a look. http://stores.ebay.com/Buy-Appliances?_trksid=p4340.l2563

The only disclaimer I'll give is that we haven't officially moved in, so I can't vouch past the installation guys saying "They work!" but at least there is a warranty involved.

A couple of thoughts:
- What's your plan for receiving, inspecting, signing for the fridge when it arrives on the driveway; moving the pallet into the house, unboxing the fridge; installing it in the space, leveling and hooking it up? I don't necessarily mean doing that yourself, but having friends or tradesmen lined up?
- How much will the moving/installation, and new cabinet and panels cost? Maybe the extended warranty cost too? Check if there is a delivery fee (don't trust the ''free shipping'' language, does that mean to your foyer, your driveway, the curb, or the shipping company's local terminal). Need to factor that stuff in.
- What is the cubic foot difference between this fridge and a counter-depth? Make sure you are going to all this trouble and expense for a goodly amount of space.

I won't pooh-pooh the idea of buying an unwarranteed refrigerator off the Internet (I did the same recently), just make sure you're up for the hassle factor and know the total cost.

I briefly checked around AJ Madison and saw:

KA KBRS20EV 19.9 cu ft
Counter depth, 36'', bottom freezer, single cooler door, Architect series
About $1800

KA KB36FT 20.5 cu ft
Built in, 36'', bottom freezer, single cooler door, Architect series
About $4600

If (?) these are representative of the unit you are looking at and the counter-depth alternatives, I don't see a (practical) reason to get a built-in. 0.6 cu ft won't make any difference. That's about one gallon jug of milk - no big deal.

I am not sure what full-depth unit you were looking at, I see most 36'' models have 24-27 cu ft. Okay, 4-7 cu ft makes a difference. But that's spilt milk, no point crying over it. Anyway, I think it will look a lot better to not have a fridge sticking way out past the pantry and counter. I'd give up some cu ft for a sleeker look.

Last thought . . .

. . . Can I talk you into a True? You know you want it . . .

:-)

Beagles--Trouble is what I could end up with.

Skyedog and Celine--Thanks.

Weissman--Good point. If I have time today, I'll try to get the serial number from the seller. The fridge is not used. It's new in the box. Just discontinued a year ago.

Honor--it's new in the box. The seller claims there is no warranty on it.

Fori--Good points.

Aliris--It is a lot of money to save. Interesting view on this being a personality definer.

Alabama--I'll check out that link. Thanks!

John--I checked out the delivery. I'd have to get it from the curb to the house. I hadn't thought about "free delivery" not being free.

Yes, the cu ft difference is not as much as I remembered when I wrote this thread the other night.

And no, I so do NOT want a True. And you know why... ;)

I have no words of wisdom, and can't be sure what I'd do, but . . in my experience (kitchen aid dishwasher and GE Profile refrigerator) my high priced appliances broke down just months out of warranty.

I am in the middle of a kitchen reno and I purchased ALL of my appliances off of ebay for it. I did not buy from that specific seller. First, there is a company called "Square Trade" that offers warranties on appliances. I purchased a warranty from them for the dishwasher I purchased from ebay that did not come with a warranty. I always ask for pictures of the exact item I am purchasing. I always look at their rating, yours is 100%. On the appliances I purchased that did not come with free freight, I got a good price from freightz.com. The only issue I had was one item not being properly prepped for transport and it got a scratch inside which I was able to touch up with a touch up kit from the manufacturer. Good Luck.

Pigeen--oh gee.....thanks! ;)

Montana--Thanks for the tips.

Breezy, I think I ticked you off in the other thread, which was not my intent, so I'm hesitant to post here but I want to scream PLEASE NO! I would not make a purchase without a manufacturer's warranty off ebay. That's just a huge red flag to me. Don't even consider it unless DH is a refrigerator repairman or you can get the serial # and KA will verify that it is still under warranty. The thing could have been delivered, registered to a previous owner and returned, so that as far as KA is concerned it is out of warranty. It may have been damaged and they may know it is not operational. KA may have junked it out and not honor an extended warranty on it -- you just don't know.

I bought a dented freezer open box from Best Buy. It had been returned and I got a good discount on it, but I still got the original warranty. And I had a service call the day or day after it was delivered. It wasn't cooling at all. Turned out to be a loose connection from all the transit, but it could have been worse.

My other concern is KA's extended warranty. I won't have another one. I had one on a washer. I spent weeks trying to get my washer repaired and waited on some rather inept repairmen to come, make a diagnosis, order a part, schedule another appointment, watch the washer not work, wait for another part to be ordered, rinse and repeat several times. The last guy was supposed to come between 8 and 10 -- arrived at 7:30 that night, barely spoke or seemed to understand any English and creeped me out to the point I was glad he came late so that DH was home. He installed a part and the washer still didn't work. By this time KA told me they would not spend anymore to fix the washer. I could get a small amount towards another KA washer, but their current model has a bug-eye front that wouldn't fit in my laundry room. I wound up with nothing but headaches, delays and the foulest, smelly water in a heavy washer to haul out and dispose of (we'd bailed and mopped out all we could, ut there is more behind the drum). You don't need those kind of headaches. There is a value into knowing you won't have a problem and this is one of those times you should have that.

I'm with fori -- either find the deal you are comfortable with or plug in one that you have and sticks out a bit until you can find it. Don't stress yourself into forcing things that don't work for you in the long run.

KA does make good refrigerators and we looked at them, both the 72" tall counter depth SXS and the built-ins. I won't tell you not to get a KA, but please buy one with an original manufacturer's warranty. Don't rely on being able to get an extended warranty. That fridge could be a junked out washer like mine and they'd never honor the extended warranty. Please be safe and not sorry.

Hi lascatx. I'm still waiting to hear back from the seller on the serial # and why there isn't a warranty. Then I'll call KA and check. If there's no warranty, I'm not buying. And still might not buy even if there is. My appliance saleswoman/family friend has been checking on what shes got in her stores and clearance center that might be good for us. She was off today but will call me tomorrow. I will make a decision (on a new model of some variety or something she finds) on or before Monday morning and be done with it. I'm sorry about your washer problem. I definitely don't want that!

You didn't tick me off on the other thread. You hit a sore spot or three. ;) Redoing what's been done, the island, and my previous regrettable post title. I value your input on my threads and others. Thanks for commenting here.

OK, now I see a red background and I don't like it either, but that's another thread.

Sounds like you are taking a good approach on this. On the other thread, I guess I just read mixed messages both in that your DH said get the built-in, feeling like you wanted one, feeling like you didn't want one, the crying, etc. Maybe it was more about too much stuff to deal with than the fridge itself. There's also the point that a lot of folks wouldn't go that route period and would have to look at other considerations. There are a number of potential fixes, and I think the others were brought up because it sounded like you were more upset with the fridge than perhaps you are and wanted to help with alternatives. We can't help you that much with the other stuff, no matter how much we'd like to do more than tell you to hang in there.

Hope you have a gem come Monday.

The crying was the initial shock that night of the mistake I had made. Gotta move on. Maybe onto a CD or maybe on to a built-in. Whatever it is, it'll work out, and I'll go back to hounding the drywall subs to show up and bid.

I understand others thinking I was looking for other alternatives. Thanks to them, I'm looking at counter-depths again.

I'll let you know what I buy.

Sending you good drywall vibes. I'm doing some DIY work with my brother on my dining room. We recently lost a cat who had been marking in there and we've cut it our and are cleaning up and restoring. Clean, new work would be much nicer to deal with. Bet my brother would rather be doing that too. This too shall pass -- and you'll have a new fridge and kitchen when it's done. I'll have a repaired old DR. ;-)

FWIW, I have Square Trade warranties for all my appliances and electronics that I have purchased in the last three years. I have had to file four claims for four separate items. I received my entire purchase price back for all claims. One of the items was a built-in microwave that was fried by three consecutive power outages. I obviously did not have to send the microwave to them; they had me sign an affidavit. Because my items were under $500, they just refunded my money. They will send someone to repair, if your item is more than that amount.

The really great thing about ST, is the warranties are usually at least 3 year warranties, and they are much less expensive than store warranties. My fridge, for instance, is under a 5 year warranty.

I am NOT affiliated in any way with Square Trade--I just wanted to share my good experience with them.

Square Trade guarantees they will either fix your item or refund your money within 5 days, and I have--so far--found that to be true.

I see that this particular seller has a Square Trade icon on the page, so if you wanted more info about that and what it would cover, etc., you could contact Square Trade directly and talk to them.

FYI, on Tuesdays, they usually have a 30% off special on their warranties, and you can purchase one within 30 days of any ebay transaction (that has the ST logo/link), or within 90 days from any retail store--brick and mortar or online.

Just thought I'd throw that out there. :^)

Shelayne--Another in favor of Square Trade. I appreciate the info and the discount day tip. I'm going to check them out. Thanks!

shelayne,

It is nice to know they will honor my warranty. And, you are right, it was very reasonably priced. Also, they called me not long after I bought the warranty to make sure I didn't have any questions or need anything and to tell me that they are there for me should I need them. I believe if you are careful, you can get very good deals from ebay sellers. You can tell by ratings who is honest and who isn't.

Today's code for Square Trade 30% off warranties is JULY04, in case anyone is interested. :^)

I think the sellers on ebay just don't want to deal with all the drama that can come from dealing with the public after a sale so sell things "as is". If someone bought the wrong size, they could sabotage it just to have it taken back. Consumers do all sorts of things to work the system. Most don't but the few that do are enough to scare off guarantees. This way, the seller is free and clear to move on. Not giving any guarantees means their butts are covered.
Another option for you could be Craigslist. We got our wall oven on there for a song (brand new, out of box, from a retailer). We took a chance on it but had 30 days to check it out. Since it was the hardwired kind, we had to pay our electrician to fire it up just to be sure, since we were well ahead of having a kitchen. In the end, it cost us less than half of msrp and works just fine.

Breezy what happened with your fridge? Did the appliance lady get back to you yet or did you find one?

Dianalo--I've been watching CL also. No luck yet in the two biggest cities near me. I had my eye on a used SZ in Seattle, but the seller sold it the night before I had scheduled to meet with him.

Beagless--Thanks for asking. My appliance saleswoman got back to me. Between their few stores and clearance center, she only has a Monogram and a T'dor, both of which are still very spendy.

I decided that a built-in KA would be the best way to go. I'm watching one up for auction now WITH a full KA warranty. Price is great and with free delivery. In the meantime before that auction ends, I'm still calling around to other appliance stores to see what's out there. I've exhausted every store but three minor ones in a 75 mile radius.

The good news is that my cab maker suggested we wait to build the fridge surround and the peninsula until after the drywall is up so our measurements are accurate. He's got another job to start, and we're obviously still many weeks away from needing cabs so this works out well for all of us. I'm very lucky to have such an understanding and nice man building our cabs. He's a bright spot for sure!

Keeping my fingers crossed for you on the KA auction breezy!! That's great about your cabinet maker too- I think you will be so much happier with the built in once the kitchen is done!