Wouldn't buy a subzero, ever! I've known several people who have bought them and none are happy. We are hoping to get the new Blue star refrigerator. Good luck!

This shouldn't be this hard! Was totally going to do KA panel ready, but it just doesn't feel right. Thermidor panel ready has the compressors at the bottom so the refrigerator reaches sky high. I really liked the feel and layout of the SZ, but reliability is most important. I'll check out Blue star. Thanks.

You can search the site for SZ - you will find many happy users. They offer 3 year warranty with certified install. I have an integrated fridge and freezer - 2 1/2 years all trouble free and work great. Very quiet which was paramount for me.

I have a SZ side by side with water and ice on the door. First SZ installed in 2001 was a lemon. Lots of service calls. They replaced entire unit AFTER warranty was out., The second one has been running without a problem. They are expensive but when we remodel the house we just bought, it will be a SZ. Once you get used to ice and water on the door, it's hard not to have. We never had a problem with our 25 yr old Frigidaire with ice and water in the door nor with the two ZS. I am having problems with the Kitchen Aid which makes ice but refuses to dispense. In addition, the Kitchen Aid fluctuates in temperature which I am not accostomed to. SZ is the way to go IMHO

Good luck with whatever you buy.

Inga

I have a Thermador panel-ready French door. I absolutely love it. Food is always a perfect temp. The freezer holds tons. The filter is easy to change. The ice is great.

That said -- because the compressors aren't at the top like a SubZero, you will need to be at least 5' 7" to reach the top shelf without standing on tiptoes. I can handle it, but I have friends who could never have this fridge.

Mine is between the two glass hutches, focal point of the kitchen. See the height of the freezer drawer is almost at countertop. That gives you context for the height of the interior top shelf. 9' kitchen ceiling.

Exactly my concern- we are not a tall family. Thanks for your input. Your kitchen looks great by the way!

I have the Integrated 24 inch subzero all frig and freezer, with panel doors 4 years now. The compressors are in the bottom. Easy to remove hidden panel at bottom to clean.

I have the SZ 42" French door. Love it, no problems to date.

kimmis2, I can't comment on how long they'll last lack of service issues... yet. We were in the same boat, wanted panel ready and because of the specific cubic feet capacity we needed our selection was narrowed to the 3 you've mentioned. We decided against the Kitchenaid pretty easily because it was in the same price range as Thermodor and SZ's, and the quality wasn't comparable from what we could see looking at them. We also saw the Thermodor and SZ in person, and decided on SZ because of the quality (we could see), the dual compressors, and the layout of the interiors (we looked at only side by sides). The Thermodor was a bit more in price, but our appliance guy recommended the SZ's as did the 2 other appliance people we spoke with... however, we went mostly by comments from GW'ers regarding long-lasting fridge's. We've yet to start our reno, but have paid for half the SZ.

I agree, this shouldn't be that hard - and no, we didn't intend to spend so much either! Our current fridge is a Whirlpool, about 17 years old, no issues other than the internal ice maker piping froze twice. I've owned 2 refrigerators in my life that have lasted over 15 years, so I'm not impressed when someone tells me a specific brand will last 15 years!

I have had excellent luck with my previous fridges, too. Even just shopping now, I can't believe the difference in how solid my Kenmore feels compared to other choices out there. Never had a single problem.

Thanks for all the help. I think it will be a SZ for us.

Before you eliminate the Thermador as an option you should go and take a look at them in person. I am 5'3" and I have no problem reaching the back of the top shelf of the Thermador.

Sherri1058 -- is yours a French door Thermador with bottom freezer? My friends have trouble reaching that top shelf in mine. 2015 model

That could be the difference. We are looking at the French door one.

We went with a 36 in SZ French door/bottom freezer 2 years ago, have had no issues. We looked at many other French doors and wound up with the SZ because it saved 9 inches of space to open the bottom freezer. We put an island in when we remodeled and the SZ was the only one that would give us plenty of walking and door-opening room without whacking to the island. We weren't planning on spending that kind of $$$ either but now are very glad we did. I find food stays immensely fresher also with the way the French doors seal.

For you SZ owners I've a question please: Do you find the door(s) hard to open?

We are going with a side by side because I freeze a lot and prefer not to dig through the bottom freezer... I realize this makes the single fridge door bigger, plus we are going with the 28.3 cu ft (18.8 for the fridge only). I was told they can be hard to open. We did test a fully stocked model (same as the one we've pre-ordered) with the door full of soda bottles and I found it was heavy but ok for me. I do understand it has a tight seal and to wait a moment if I have to open it a second time (also tested this with the floor model).

We also have the Thermador French Door fridge/freezer. I am 5'2" and the height of the top shelf has not been a problem for me. We store cartons of milk (soy, lactose free, regular)/oj/etc. up there and it is not a problem to grab them. One negative about the Thermador is that the shelves are very shallow (even for a built in fridge) to allow room for the shelves on the door. But because of the way the shelves on the door are designed, not much fits in them, so to me it feels like the space in the fridge is somewhat limited. (Look at the door shelves in the Thermador fridge with the single door on top and freezer drawer on bottom. It is amazing how much more they hold!)

Thanks for that thought!

kimmis2 - While I am not seeking a French door necessarily, I could have written the rest of your original post. We had no intention of considering buying anything as expensive as a SZ but it suddenly now seems to be our main contender. A real kick to the wallet coming from a 17 year old KA that came with our house and has had no problems.

I was afraid SZ, or any counter depth, would not have the capacity I need when we entertain or when I do volunteer cooking for a homeless shelter. I brought my honking huge pans and trays to the appliances store and the SZ fit everything the best. And, it seems far sturdier than the KA or the Thermador, which felt like they belonged in a child's play kitchen. I also brought a measuring tape and measured tons of interior dimensions of all fridges and the Thermador shelves were much more shallow.

I don't remember the model numbers, but one of the SZ (and the Leiber) were very hard for me to reach the top shelf and I am almost 5'8! The other SZ model was just the perfect size.

Maybe it's the configuration of my top shelf? Thermador French door.

I can't imagine having that middle shelf with less height, but now I think it's shelf arrangement, after reading these comments on the same fridge.

This was very helpful. Thanks. We are going with the 36" French Door. On a daily basis, it is just my husband and I and we have been "practicing" the smaller space in our current regular depth FD. In the basement, we have full depth one for the times we entertain and willed larger. I like the visual of the compressors on top. The Thermidor's compressors being on the bottom, made the fridge side look too tall, and therefore, a bit contemporary for our primitive home. One complaint I heard a lot about one of the panel ready KAs was that there was a 2" space at the back of the shelves. Not only did that reduce actual shelf space, but stuff fell through easily. Thanks again! Everybody's input is helping us be more comfortable about spending the $$.

I have the 36" SZ French Door. Love it! I too was worried that it would be too small (we entertain frequently) and it is not. I love how many configurations you can put the shelves in and I have no trouble storing large platters / trays. It is also built like a tank. Nothing flimsy there! Also produce stays fresh for weeks, I usually throw it out first.

Just committed to the 36" SZ French Door. Thanks everyone!

Congrats on your SZ. Ours lasted 20 years before the refrigerator compressor went out. Easily repairable but expensive to repair, you can almost buy a top-of-the-line "regular" refrigerator for the price of repairing the SZ. But that's a cost you accept when opting for a high end built-in refrigerator. One intangible bonus with SZ, it's a family owned company and the last refrigerator brand made in America.

I am definitely happy with it, but I'm not sure if its worth all the extra money. We needed a paneled counter depth so that kind of dictated it for us. Don't see it keeping my produce any fresher and my ice cream is never really hard. It is pretty sturdy and I think it does feel like a well built product. I loved my LG and would not have replaced it but it didn't fit the design.

Hi Kim! Are you still happy with it? Any problems? It’s a bummer you didn’t notice any tangible difference in food freshness!

I’m about to commit to the SZ 42” French door. I’m also reluctant to go this route but three years in, “regular” fridges seem even flimsier than before and the negative reviews are REALLY negative, even for highly rated models. Any thoughts are appreciated!

I am happy with it. And I think that I do see it keeping food fresh a bit longer now. Be prepared for less depth, but that's not a huge problem for us. We have a small full depth fridge in the basement if we really need to fit that huge pan or pizza box. Makes lots of good tasting ice. Freezer storage is adequate, but I do use the freezer in the secondary fridge, too and so it's perfect for us. It feels really well made especially compared to some of the new fridges my friends and family have recently purchased. If you can feel enjoyment when using an appliance, I think I do with this one lol. All in all I'd buy it again. Good luck.

Thank you so much, Kim! That’s nice to hear you’re getting enjoyment out of it!

Hi - anyone have recent insight to the Thermidor top fridge/bottom freezer (36"). We looked at Thermidor, Miele and SZ. I know the reputation of SZ but we were unimpressed with it as it really looked like every fridge i have ever had (meaning older interior, cheap looking). TIA folks!

Kendrah, what SZ did you purchase?

Hi,

If you're near the Illinois area, best buy appliance outlet in burbank,il is overstocked on thermadors. They are pretty heavily discounted on their appliances, and have a lot of wine coolers and refrigerator units. If you ever need parts I recommend going there.

Here is the email to my guy that works there: A1545127@bestbuy.com.

I personally think that Thermador makes better looking fridges. The Sub Zero drawers remind me of drugstore acrylic makeup drawers. Its just aesthetic though.