Check abt for appliances as they ship everywhere and tax savings can be significant depending on your local tax. Shipping is free and again, for a refrigerator or other such standard purchase, I rely more on the manufacturer than the store from which I purchase it.

Ive had my Maytag bottom freezer french door model since 2009 when the govt was giving huge rebates to the manufacturers and you could get such a model for about 1100.00 at Home Depot. When they delivered it the pinched the rear panel that you would never see and gave me another 100.00 off the purchase price. Its been pretty much a gem of a fridge but it did have a problem with the drain tube clogging and and froze over the bottom of the freezer at about 6 years. Maytag provided a replacement drain tube and I replaced it myself. Since then no other problems at all in nearly 9 years. There has been some reports of Jazz Boards failing on early models but mine hasnt had a problem. The Jazz Board is about 90 dollars if it failed and easy to replace as well. Its a Whirlpool product with Maytag nameplate but I have been pleased with it overall.

When I purchased it I purchased a 5 year warranty. The warranty company got sold to another warranty company. Fortunately I never had to use it, so you could say it was a waste of cash but like you pointed out it was a lot cheaper than a Maytag factory extended warranty.

Subsequent repair after the 5 years was an easy task for me and Maytag paid for the part even though they didnt have to because it was a common problem with those earlier models. A small price to keep customers coming back.

I have a Jenn-Air gas range I purchased a couple years later, which was essentially a Maytag range clone. It is the 5 burner model with large oven. Not one problem with that except for the cheesy plastic knobs which are easy to break if you lean into the stove alot. They arent to awfully expensive and we have broken a couple in the past 6 years. Wife loves to cook on it, she loves gas ranges. I purchased the range from a Maytag dealer in Tulsa who sold it on Ebay at a substantial discount new in box and shipped to me in Lawton for free and even didnt charge me sales tax.

I had to edit my comment, I meant to say Ive had the Fridge since 2009. Good grief its sad when you start getting old and you cant tell the difference between ten years ago and twenty

Are all of you looking at reviews on here for your specific brand and if you can serial number? On this site people talk about never buying Samsung refrigerators or GE or LG. I wish I could buy like I used to but nowadays you have to be very rich when you buy that appliance you think is going to last 30 years and find out that most washers and dryers are about 4 years of life. I would like to hear more about the Maytag refrig you bought Lizzie Benton.

maggie200 - It'll be a little while before the Maytag appliances are delivered and installed, but I'll be sure to come back and post about them once they're in.

Please call me out. Also, I looked back on your post and you mentioned Whirlpool. We had a big discussion on several places on here (if you can get in forums not Houzz) and Whirlpool is out. Bad. I'm glad you are getting Maytag as long as it is a good refrigerator. Good luck.

Maggie200 where can I find additional discussions on appliances?

Maytag IS Whirlpool. I just replaced that Jazz Board control for the freezer would not go into defrost mode and froze up. The freezer would get icey cold but the refrigerator got warm. Cost me a whopping 65.00 for the part and takes about 15 minutes to replace. Still have paid less than 100.00 in repair parts in 9 years.

Robinhome: you want to go to Gardenweb http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums. Then go to Appliances or Kitchens. Caution: you’ll be fine getting there. It is attached to Houzz. In order to comment you have to register. Look around there are hundreds of categories. I used the same name and password for both. It is a bit tricky so if you want to go from Houzz to Gardenweb scroll of the first page of Houzz and look for a header called Advice I think. It is well worth it to learn. Good Luck.

Robinhome I have better directions that are simple. Go up to the top of this page and look at the left hand side and you will see lines on top of lines. There will be a choice to press Advice. Do that and you will be in garden web but don’t forget to mark down the address for Garden way up in the future. It has a lot more things than here. It has computer advice and a nice little site called Kitchen table. Lots.

Lizzie Bennett

thank you for keeping your promise to get back to us. I wish you well with your renovation.

@maggie200 - believe it or not, the appliances still aren't here/installed. Who knew kitchen renovation would involve delays and take so long??!! haha!! Seriously- everyone; everyone knows. :(

I know I hear that to be true and I don’t understand the whole appliance industry anymore.

@maggie200 - it's not them; it's delays with permitting and construction work that prompted me to postpone delivery/install of the appliances :(

Yes, some towns are slow with permits too. For everything. Small business go crazy waiting. When you run for office you'll fix all that. ☺️

maggie200 - I got the appliances, finally! The range isn't installed yet (no electrical right now) but I did get an extension cord so I could plug in the fridge (before anyone balks: YES, I got one that was properly rated for gauge, voltage and wattage).

So far, so good! I think they gave me a bigger one than I intended - I haven't had the heart to check my original order to see if I ordered the wrong thing or if they sent the wrong one. Either way, it's a lovely fridge. I haven't filled it up much yet, but the temperature is very stable (I have a fridge thermometer in there to confirm). I feel like there's *plenty* of storage space and I really like the bottom freezer. After about a week or so of use, I'm happy thus far.

PS - here's a photo of it:

Congratulations on your nice place and new refrigerator. I ordered mine and there is a six week delivery wait for some of them. Fingers crossed that I actually NEED installation by mid June as I will have been out of my condo for three months by the end of June.

I wanted to add that I also wound up buying from a national chain (Pacific Sales which is owned by Best Buy) because economically it made no sense for me to not purchase from them.

I did not waste any sales people's time as I phoned a local appliance store and a local Los Angeles small chain (Snyder Diamond) with my list of appliances which I had researched on my own on the internet.

They emailed my quotes and I created a spread sheet which included charges for delivery and installation. I did not attempt to pit one against the other except to the extent that Pacific Sales EXPLICITLY states they will match any other verified price. Pacific Sales matched all prices and included free installation and free delivery on everything. The price differential between Pacific and the others was a bit more than $1500.

I will say that installation prices had no rhyme or reason as Snyder Diamond charged installation for everything - the local appliance store charged for everything but the cooktop and wall oven - and initially Pacific was free for everything BUT the oven and cooktop - very odd indeed. But Pacific threw in free installation of cooktop and oven.

If I had actually relied on the expertise of any sales people to do anything but provide me with pricing, I would have felt guilt at stiffing them but there really was no reason for me not to take the best deal for myself.

Obviously I had more bargaining power than someone buying a single appliance and so I might have NOT gone with Pacific in that event since I wouldn't deliberately use a price matching promise to buy from Pacific rather than another source.

Helen - I hope everything comes in on time! Yeah, I don't think you need to feel "guilty" about your purchase - Congrats on getting a good deal!! Hope you get to go back into your home soon. This part of renos is for the birds!

Thanks Lizzie - I have started whining about my need to get back into my condo at the end of June.

There are five weeks and I hopefully say to myself that the past two months (can't believe it has been that long) has been their doing a lot of stuff that isn't so apparent so I will start seeing things that make me actually believe that things are happening LOL.

I don't feel guilt in terms of my specific transaction since I hadn't gotten anything of value from the stores I didn't buy from or abused a salesman's expertise.

However, I do feel a participant in a kind of macro sense of there being a seismic shift in the way commerce is done and its impact on small businesses that can't compete but are being displaced.

Helen - I know; I really didn't want to contribute to that displacement. As I said earlier, my budget makes these decisions for me, unfortunately :(

Hey, Lizzie Bennet! I have palpitations for you. Jeez. Can you give me the serial number on your fridge so I can see if it will fit in my space? I am so glad you kept in touch. I wanted a happy ending for you. I also have a post I want to start on the worth of the sales people in these big stores. I had a sobering experience about them. I really appreciate that you had a budget. I think that is a very good way to buy. It makes you research and compare and treat our money with respect and not walk in and buy the first shiny thing you see. We ar e smarter than that.

Lizzie - Oh for sure as I couldn't see essentially donating $1500 to a store because they can't compete with the competitors. If it had been somewhat closer in terms of economics, I would have gone with the small local appliance store but I can use the $1500 more than they can :-)

maggie200 - model number for fridge is: MBF2258FEZ (that's for the 33-inch); model number for the range is: MGR6600FZ (plain ol' 5-burner:no convection, no griddle, etc. I didn't want any of that stuff).

Helen - exactly! At least for me, $1500 ain't chump change. Remember how you and I talked about how that $ for me could go to some decent flooring? Well, here it is:

@maggie200 - for the fridge, if 33in is too much, there's another version that's 30in (that's the one that I THOUGHT I ordered): #MBF1958FEZ

Thanks Lizzie. I can do 33 but it depends on the height.

I want to ask a deep question. I went to big store that is one of a kind. Huge CsllefSppliance Connection ( there is an online store called appliances connection. The difference is there is an S on the end of appliance. They get bad reviews I was greeted by a 20 something guy in jeans and sloppy shirt and A half asleep look. I said to him I wanted to look at dryers and he took me over to see general electric dryers. I got out my phone and was looking up reviews on the first one I saw and he said oh if you’re going to do that then forget it. He walked out in disgust and guy number two came over and I said I’m looking up the reviews on these GE appliances and he walked away too. I then went to Kenmore dryers and asked a guy who is answering the phones if he knew anything about the appliance and he said well they’re a good brand and I know a lot of people like them. Then he walked away when I asked him what the warranty was. He went in to what seemed to be a manager’s office and never came out. I waited and waited and I went into the managers office and I asked him if I could get some help. The other guy number three was sitting down having a conversation. All these guys looked like they were dragged out of bed into this store called appliance connection. I went looking for some help and found a woman way over on the other side and she did help me after. I told her my story about these guys who didn’t want me to look up reviews. I said do they usually work in the warehouse and something is going on today because they look like deadbeats. She said they were young and she said let’s sit down at the computer and see what we have and she showed me online all the specs and I bought it from her. I said I was going to get a hold of somebody because even the manager didn’t care and she gave me a number to call. My question is why is it rude to look up the reviews on appliances and how else would they expect me to research them? I can say that the caution the installers used in not scratching my hardwood floors and being very nice and smiling made them sealed deal as well as the woman who worked with me. Also in arrived on time. So far this dryer works but it is a 2018 Kenmore and I’ve only had it about two months. Can anybody tell me they have had better experiences than I or is this the way life is along with iffy working Appliances that I need to start saving for now? Thanks

In case anyone's still following this thread: the Maytag fridge is still great! It's no longer on an extension cord, thank goodness. The range has been hooked up, too, for less than a week -- and it's already giving me an E1 F2 error code. Google search says it's about the digital panel, sigh. I haven't even used my range yet (though I did heat up some peach cobbler thing from TJs this weekend, haha!). It could just be a loose connection, but it means someone needs to open the whole panel up and re-connect stuff to the motherboard. And now my journey with customer service agents begins..

@Helen - are you all moved back in now? How's it all look? Would LOVE to see some photos!

@Maggie, no sales persons wants to work with anyone glued to their phone while they're trying to help you. Being on your phone in general is rude. If you want to look at reviews, educate yourself on what you want and what a store carries before you walk in the door. If you want their help, then get it there but not while on your phone. If you still want to look at reviews after the fact, note the models you're interested in and look them up later.

Steve, no store is going to show me online everything they have on the floor and in the warehouse. The fellas I dealt with didn’t know a thing about the dryers. How was I to do business? Nevertheless the idea of using my phone being rude to find information makes me wonder what am I to do next after driving an hour to stare at them.

Lizzie - Unfortunately I am still weeks away from completion. The coved ceiling in my kitchen has been framed and my shower pans completed but I am still waiting to sign off on doors for my cabinet.

Having had much the same experience at a Best Buys as maggie200 had, I don't think her using the phone had much to do with their lack of helpfulness. I went into the closest Best Buy which had a Pacific Sales store and the sales person couldn't even be bothered to wave me over to the refrigerator section. I can't imagine wanting to rely on his "expertise" for anything let alone an appliance.

I did wind up buying from a Best Buy/Pacific Sales because I couldn't beat the pricing net of delivery and installation but I didn't rely particularly on sales people ANYWHERE.

At least in my experience, the best way to shop is to research appliances thoroughly online so that you are educated and hopefully can focus on the models you are interested in. I took down the Model Numbers of those refrigerators I was interested in and then went home to very carefully research my options at home. I say refrigerators because refrigerators were the only appliance which had a number of contenders as I had narrowed down my choice of everything else to a specific brand and model online although I had relied on the recommendations (and reviews) of a thread from this forum for the refrigerator as well ultimately.

Lizzie Bennet I’m glad you came back. So glad you got a good refrigerator. I hope it lasts you a good amount of time without one bit of trouble. It sounds like the stove was not properly installed. Duh right.? It seems to never end. It will get fixed. I would love the store to make you a priority feeling embarrassed that you have a problem at all. It is always in the hands of the guys hired to do the job. What I am really happy about is in the end you stuck to your budget. Good for you. I still have not bought a refrigerator. Since it is still working and what I have seen doesn’t fit in my allocated space. After you get your stove fixed I am sure you will say you have enough. I have my fingers crossed for you.

Helen can you tell me what refrigerator you bought? I narrowed my choice of dryer down to a Kenmore from here also. They were flying out of the store because it was the end of the year. Everyone wanted a 2017 model that was proven. The store only had unproven 2018 models so it was a bit of a chance because I had no one or way to compare with last years. So far so good but owning something 7 months that is new to the line doesn’t make it a good referral yet. Brand was everything. Good luck for the rest of your work.

I wanted a 36" counter depth French door refrigerator.

I considered GE Profile, Bosch, Jennair, LG, Samsung and Kitchenaid.

I narrowed it down to a Jennair or KA that were essentially the same model because it was 72" instead of the more standard 69" - obviously I also read reviews and several people recommended it. There was absolutely no difference between KA and Jennair - I tried to find differences in specifications and looking at interior side by side so I went with the less expensive KA.

I eliminated Samsung and LG because I was told their repair network was taxed. GE Profile is highly rated by Consumers Report FWIW but I liked the configuration of the KA model better. Although my other appliances are Bosch for the most part, Bosch is not known particularly for refrigerators.

I didn't particularly want water since I don't drink water from the tap filtered or not filtered but since all the models had one, I opted for one that didn't have water in the door.

Thanks, Helen. Good for you. French doors and lower freezer are out for me. I have to laugh but I can’t pull with one of my armd and I most certainly will go head first into the rump roast as I get dizzy now for over a year. It looks very pretty though and everyone is getting one. I would have to remember which side my stuff is on too if using one hand. Side by side for me. And I can look at Kitchen Aid when I absolutely have to take this on. Enjoy your choices. We need prayers for appliances.

Oh, @maggie - turns out, I ordered the wrong fridge.. I had the feeling it was me and not them.. :(

We need a reunion. How’s everyone’s appliances working? I’m still in the market for a fused by side but for now hoping you all have had great results.

Hi, @maggie - I'm still very happy with the Maytag (bottom freezer, which I know you said isn't for you). For anyone reading this, alot of reviews about the Maytag mention the crisper drawers aren't on rollers and are awkward to pull out/push in. That's been my experience, too, but I knew about it going in and it was in my price range, so I don't let it bother me much. The range has been great, too (so glad I didn't get the griddle). I do still get the error code, however - I just don't have the heart to deal w/ customer service. It seems to go on every night at 8:30pm; luckily, all my cooking is done by then, so not a big deal for now. One day, I'll have the local appliance repair place come by and fix it..

@helen - are you all done yet? I'd love to see before/after photos!

I’d go with the appliance store if they do in fact do the servicing. I bought from Pacific Sales (Best Buy) for a KA refrigerator and did get the extended warranty. Not serviced by them but it did work out, needed to use it two months before expiration. But, I won’t do that again because you don’t know what you’re getting. I got my Speed Queens from an independent, without extended, and they are there to answer questions in addition to doing any servicing. It’s your comfort level with the particular appliance that should dictate.

@Lizzie I'm soooo glad all is well for you. And glad you got my shout out. Thanks. Still lookin,

I wonder if anyone is reluctant to buy from Sears. I am. I don't know if the intend to stay in business or are just getting rid of merchandise. The auestion of service crops up again. And why does a repairman come back again and again. Are they really trained or learning as they go?

I once bought a computer at Best Buy. I took it back and the Geek Squad looked at it. I asked a young man where he went to school and he said he didn't . He just took a couple of weeks of classes on line. I won,t buy from them. They ended up admitting the computer was bad and instead gave me one that had a corrupt hard drive. The manager and employees worked for Comcast before. The city shut the store down.

I don't particularly rely on a store to provide me with repair work except for the immediate delivery of a product. I have Bosch appliances and I would contact an authorized Bosch dealer in my area or KA. Similarly my Apple computers and other devices are serviced by Apple or Apple service people once they are out of warranty - I've bought them from numerous places including mail order back in 1991 when I bought my first Apple Performa :-).

@Lizzie - Hi there! My kitchen is finally finished but construction continued around me until fairly recently as odd stuff would happen - my washer dryer was a bit too deep for the closet so that had to be reframed. My hood was the wrong size and so that delayed finishing kitchen for a while because they didn't want to install cabinets on either side until the hood was put in - and didn't want to finish the backsplash etc. etc. etc. I am still not completely finished as they have to come back for various items on the "punch" list but it's livable except for the boxes which are still in the living area as I was a pack rat and I am still slowly going through stuff - and I have furniture I can't use and nobody wants :-(

Apologies for hijacking the thread by responding to Lizzie but here are photos of the kitchen and dining area. I am really happy with the way it turned out and spending time (SO MUCH TIME) on houzz asking questions and reading threads helped me so much in terms of getting the best result possible. I worked with a very knowledgable designer but thanks to houzz, there was stuff that I asked for which she had never heard of like my toe kick step stools. It truly is correct that having the luxury of living in a space gives one a better understanding of what doesn't work in the space and what would make it work better because almost everybody has certain constraints that impact the design of the kitchen. In my case, I was working with a small urban kitchen in a high rise - the kitchen is 8' x 10' so I needed to expand functional storage.

@Lizzie - here are a few pictures of my finished kitchen.

To the left of the cooktop I have a Bosch side opening wall oven with a microwave drawer below it and a VERY shallow tall cabinet with shelves. It is in front of a concrete support beam so it is about one can deep.

This is the area behind my dining area. The tall cabinet to the left can be seen in the first photo. There is a door on the side and so the KA mixer and Cuisinart can just be slid out when I need it. The tall cabinet to the right is my broom closet. Excuse the mess on the counter as this was taken just when I moved in.

This shows the tall cabinets in my dining area better in terms of the appliance storage and how it relates to the kitchen counters. I had the interiors painted blue but the shelves are clad with blue laminate and the sink cabinet is also clad in blue laminate for easier cleaning.

This is the sink wall. The kitchen sink is disproportionately large (36" for the space) but because it's a ledge, it is super functional since the grad which you can see to the right of the sink gives me very functional "counter" space. I can store it on the bottom of the sink and I also got the cutting board. There is a sponge caddy to the extreme left which is a narrow removable shelf which is handy for sponges and other wet stuff. My KA refrigerator is on the right peeking through. It is counter depth but not integrated but I "cheated" the look by having my lower cabinets made slightly deeper than the standard 24"; having a panel on the left side and having the cabinet maker clad the sides that protrude with matching wood. With a counter depth, you need to have it protrude slightly so the hinges are clear of obstructions but since I had those parts clad in matching wood, it fools the eye.

Not part of my kitchen ha ha but this is one half of the wall unit in my office/den area. Since I have an open concept space, it relates to the kitchen cabinetry in terms of color as well as having slight Art Deco style elements.

This was my sad kitchen prior to the remodel.

Again apologies for taking this thread in a direction completely unrelated to the original question.

@Helen - WOW!!! Those art deco cabinets are just DREAMY!!! So beautiful! Congratulations!! (I hear you about the delays - started my reno in April and didn't get done until November because of the stupid hood vent, argh!). While we're at it, here's a couple from mine -- apologies in advance to anyone reading this who's not interested. :(

Here's the AFTER:

And the BEFORE (note: I did not live with the below; got the cabinets painted white and swapped out the lighting as soon as I could - there was just no way I could live with this kitchen the way it was):

@Helen your cabinets are beautiful. I never have seen anyone with those. They make a beautiful statement and will always be in style. Your kitchen looks big.

@Lizzie i don’t see your kitchen.

@Lizzie I see it now. One picture. you chose well too. The tile is clean and shiny. And the bar chairs are beautiful. I have to spend more time with all these pics. I love that you and Helen shared them here.

@Lizzie. I see the turquoise accents you have tied in your kitchen.
@Helen I like the accents you carried into your office. The color is bold and full of energy.

Try the local stores (and try more than one) on the big sales. Next will be Labor Day.

@maggie200 - Actually my kitchen is very small. It's a condo galley kitchen in an urban high rise and is 8' x 10". To create more storage, I ran the cabinets into the back of my dining area and made it look like a hutch. This was a better use of space for me since I configured it so that it effectively extended the storage of my kitchen - i.e. the tall cabinet on the left holds appliances; roll outs and shelves above and below hold pantry and other kitchen items (I am still determining exactly what goes where); tall cabinet on the extreme right is the broom closet and the drawers in the middle hold silver and dishes - since my kitchen is so small, it really isn't further than storage would be in a normal kitchen.

@lizzie - I love the pop of turquoise with those chairs and I love the retro feel the chairs brought into what was otherwise a very contemporary space. I really like the glossy white modern cabinets that go up. I visited a kitchen the guy who did my cabinets had done and that kitchen was done in the same glossy white style as your doors - very white and modern like yours. The upper cabinets went up - this was an ultra modern kitchen so they opened and closed with a push button haha. When I saw that, I realized that he was going to be able to create and install my old fashioned ones.

@Helen - yes, I wanted something "clean and contemporary" but also wanted an homage to the fact that this house is a 50s rancher - without getting kitschy about it. The dinette set is from a company that's been making them since the 40s and still in operation! They offer the original red/white 50 diner sets, but also beautiful colors like the one I got. That shade of blue/green is just my favorite. The chairs are from Amazon, but I did some research on the shape to make sure it was actually a thing in mid-20th c. It's not in the photo, but there's a sputnik light above the table (because I prefer atomic age design to MCM). So, basically, this kitchen is made of things I love: bright and cheerful but with clean lines, easy to clean, crazy functional and organized, contemporary but with some reminders of the past - and all of it was selected for my long term tastes: these are things I know I will like for the next couple of decades. Or, as a good friend put it, "this is a grown woman's kitchen," lol!