Sometimes a few extra dollars gets you more insulation which means a quieter dishwasher. Not sure what the extra several hundred dollars buys except more cycles and maybe a brand name?

"Beyond a certain price point, it's kind of a waste of $."

Well, that all depends on who's paying and what the criteria for purchase is, LOL.

jasdip, I have to say we switched to the bottom freezer Amana and have been VERY happy we did so. Worth every penny, great design.

To each according to his or her purse.

Yes, to the bottom freezer, Jasdip....love mine.

My parents had a bottom freezer back in the 60s. I thought that was pretty cool then, but it's not something I'd want at this stage of life. When we did the kitchen remodel one of my splurges was a built-in fridge. Love having easy access to everything.

I've had a dw for 6 yrs and have used it 2x. after the 1st time I forgot about it. it took several months for me to remember it. I spent several months (off and on) looking for dishes I was sure I had unpacked! there they were on those racks!

if I spent money on a dw, it'd probably be a dish drawer.

I think I'd like a freezer drawer - but won't spend the $s for one. Most with those are too big for my space or my fridge needs. I bought 2 extra ice cube bins and am going to use them in the top freezer, 1 for meats, and 1 for sauces / broths and pup's pumpkin cubes and I might get a 3rd if there's space for bread and other stuff. right now it's a jumbled mass of freezer bags mostly. it drives me nuts.

We have a Samsung refrigerator with bottom freezer. It's convenient but we use an app to keep track of bottom and top drawer inventory. Without knowing the inventory/location, you may have to dig deep to find an item.

You don't have to spend $2,400 on a dishwasher to get quality and performance. An entry level Miele full size dishwasher can be less than $1K (USD). And entry level with Miele doesn't mean less quality, just a few less features.

And you can do a half load with less water and run time. Save $$

The nearest Miele service to me is 85 miles away ;0( Rules that brand out if the possibility of prompt service is important.

Jasdip, I know. I'm amazed at the price tag on things like a simple manual defrost freezer - and years ago I did bookkeeping in an appliance store. This house when we bought it had a Jenn Air combination convection oven smooth topped range with a downdraft. I don't especially like it, but when I looked up the model (was just a few years old) it had been over $2000 so I'm still using it 5 years later. And still don't especially like it.

I'm not looking to buy a new frig, that's on my wish-list when I redo the kitchen after my lottery win. :-)

I live in a rental apartment, which is why I mentioned I'd still live here, and not buy a house. As long as I can still walk up 3 flights of stairs, I'll be here.

Hmmm now that I've said it, maybe I should start looking into a scratch and dent sale :-)

With those multiplied extra dollars ... does one get a warranty that's good for many more years? That's included, at no not-obvious-at-first extra fee?

AND ... how many of you remember the days when the purchase of a new appliance included a warranty covering a substantial number of years, no extra charge? Those extra charges for a warranty on new ones these days adds an extra fee on those large base prices.

Have the engineers that plan the new models become less skilled, to build fridges that last about ten years (maybe) ... when many of the ones built ten years or so after they were first produced, about 70 years ago, ran for about forty years?

ole joyful

"The nearest Miele service to me is 85 miles away"

I have a Miele washer and dishwasher. Service is an in-house department so wherever they are or aren't is their problem to deal with, not mine. The products are relatively trouble free but when you need service, you call them and they come when scheduled from wherever they are.

I bought a $700 dishwasher. I was told that if the inside is stainless steel, it'll be a lot quieter than one that is white. The salesman was right. I barely hear mine. It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but does just what I need it to.

One thing I have decided I will do next time I am shopping for a refrigerator is not wait until the current one breaks down if I can help it. I will just go ahead and replace it when I get ready.

Our old side-by-side died far earlier than expected and we had to shop quickly for a new one. I did get a French door with a bottom freezer that I like ok. But it wasn’t the one I really wanted, because I would have had to wait 3 weeks to get the other one. If it had been a dishwasher or oven I would have waited, but it is pretty hard to do without a refrigerator that long. And at the time I thought the other brand would be ok. Nope.

Outside, I think I posted this on a similar thread recently, but I'll write it again because it might help someone. My refrigerator died and I didn't have time to shop for one before everything spoiled, so I called a local furniture rental place and rented one! They delivered it before the day was over; I had them put it in the garage because the old one was still in place in the house. It was SO reasonable...I can't recall but maybe $15 a week or something? Saved me a lot of trouble and even though it wasn't really too handy to get to because I have a detached garage, it was great when I shopped and just opened the garage door to put the food away.

If I remember correctly, I kept a small ice chest in the house with things I needed often, or quickly, like milk for my morning coffee. I made ice in the rental refer by freezing refilled plastic water bottles and just rotated them into the ice chest when needed.

I can't imagine having only one fridge. My self, my parents, grandparents and friends parents all had a second fridge or at least a freezer out in the garage and all of my friends do as well. Many times, the garage unit was the old kitchen unit.

I don't know what I would even do if I only had one fridge and it crapped out.

I know it costs a little extra to have a second appliance running but to me, it's worth it. If/when we've had issues and a unit went out, we simply crammed everything we could into the other unit.

I'm going to guess this may be a regional thing??

Many times, the garage unit was the old kitchen unit.

A garage unit (especially replaced units) consumes massive amounts of energy to keep cold on those hot days and due to age of technology steals your money.

I believe in conserving energy on a daily basis.

When we have the next discussion about global warming and wasting energy, let's talk about those aged refrigerators in the garage or basement.

while i agree with the aging refrigerator comment r^^^, we have a freezer in our laundry room from 1989!!! Yes, its an original Kenmore, back when Sears made their own appliances! When we bought it the salesman said "you will have this forever". i don't know about forever but 30 years is pretty darn good!! is there any appliance built in the last 10 years (guess?) that will last this long??? Maybe SZ frig???

FYI: we also had Kenmore W/D. washer lasted 18 years, dryer was fine but replaced both to have a "set".....

like the saying "they don't build them like use to" certainly applies here!!

OP: yes to bottom freezer, we have a Liebherr -Love!!! we also have a Miele DW, soooo quiet and cleans beautifully!!!

That more expensive dishwasher is probably using the new waterfall technology instead of the spinning arms. New technology = higher prices. I'd prefer to wait several years until all the bugs are worked out on the waterfall technology before I purchase one.

sprtphntc7a, we have a mid-sized deep freezer downstairs. I bought it used, 30 years ago and it's still going strong. I often wonder though, how much more energy it's using than the new energy star rated freezers. But I'll keep using it until it dies.

There is something between a $500 dishwasher and a $2400 dishwasher in terms of price correlating with desirable features.

For example, Bosch make dishwashers that are quiet and reliable at considerably lower price points than $2400. I just finished a remodel and replaced my 2004 Bosch with a new one because I wanted a paneled model - and I gave the old one to one of the workers so no waste there.

I think it is the same as why the most popular cars are Accords and Camrys - they are in that sweet spot where they deliver reliability and comfort/features at a price point that is affordable to a broad swath of consumers - especially those who look at cars (and appliances) as items that are amortized over ten years or so.

I'm on my second set of dishdrawers. First set lasted a dozen years. We seldom use the bottom drawer, but it's there when we need it. No bending to load/unload. Uses teeny amounts of detergent and water. Some nights there's hardly enough to run the drawer, with just two adult here.

GE Monogram fridge/freezer is now almost 18. Hope it lasts until we're out of here, as it is built-in. An appliance tech told me it could last a long time, and that many families replace fridges because they've bashed them up, not because the motors gave out. (Not our experience.)

texasgem, it may depend on the size of the kitchen. There are units that are all fridge or all freezer that when one has both likely provide more space combined than two conventional units.

I think there are people who store food and those who don't. Those who don't can usually get by adequately with one unit.

I won't say that one always gets value for money for higher priced appliance choices but often it's the difference between features and reliability.

We have a small fridge in the garden shed. The shed has a/c in the summer months and we run a ceramic heater when outside temps are predicted to drop into the 30s overnight.

Texas Gem I agree with you somewhat and we do have two. A small inexpensive ‘beer fridge’ in the garage holds mostly beer and other spillover from the counter-depth in the kitchen. The freezer is full. Edited to add, the fridge is actually in a side storage room off the garage and is well insulated so it’s not as hot as the actual garage nor as cold in winter. We put a fan in there if it’s really hot and a small heater nearby if it’s really down low in winter.

And of course this one I don’t care for in the kitchen will probably last forever. We had an ancient fridge in our garage years ago we had bought used. That tank lasted forever. It probably was over 30 years old and would have lasted longer had we not had water from a flood come up in the garage and kill it.

In this area unless the garage or other space is heated it is unwise to place a frig or freezer where the temperature drops to freezing.

I have a 4 door refrigerator and absolutely love it!

phoggie, I had to look that up to see one. I really like it and next time I'm in 'L or HD' I'm going to see if they have one in stock that I can check out. I've been trying to keep up on what's out there these days (every 6 months or so), in case mine decides to retire on me.

Debby, you mentioned wondering how much more energy an old appliance uses compared to an energy star appliance. Energy use is just one dimension of a complicated problem. It might well be more environmentally responsible to keep an existing appliance than to gather, mine and refine the raw materials to make a new one, package it, transport it to the store, etc.

"It might well be more environmentally responsible to keep an existing appliance than to gather, mine and refine the raw materials"

Wishing won't make this so. It's not the case.

Much of the material used in a fridge is steel and steel is one of the most recycled materials. Also, older refrigerators and freezers use now banned atmosphere damaging freon as a coolant. If the old unit is properly disposed of, the dangerous coolant will be recovered before it leaks into the environment. Units built in the last upteen years use safer material as a coolant that doesn't cause environmentalal damage AND, newer units are more efficient and use significantly less electricity than older models.

Most appliance owners fail to keep cooling coils and fan motors/blades clean. Imagine how much dust and pet hair has accumulated over 5, 10, 15 years.

The accumulated dust and pet hair causes the refrigeration unit to switch on more often and run longer to achieve proper cooling.

Your cleaning lady/guy probably doesn't clean that area. :)

And then there is the whole food hoarding issue. But that is for another thread.

I think we're agreeing that math is easy if you only look at one variable. It takes energy to gather and recycle steel -- it doesn't happen magically. Good point about the coolant. Then there are the plastics, paints, chips, and multiple other bits that make up an appliance. Still takes energy to transport everything assemble, package, ship, etc. Have to consider how well or how poorly the existing appliance is working. Which can be influenced by your cleaning of its coils, filters, etc. Environmental responsibility is not a one-dimensional problem; there's not one right answer that fits every situation.

Our GE Monogram has the motor on top. I use a step stool to vacuum up there every so often. Front panel lifts off. Easy with the central vac hose.

I had to teach a cleaner to remove the grille and clean the coils at the bottom of our fridge on Maui. She was a mature woman, but had never known this is necessary. (Remove grill; brush coils with special long thin brush; roll fridge all the way forward; clean up the dust from the floor; roll fridge back; wash grille and replace it.)

nickel, I think it's a microeconomic question, not a macro one, and one that requires little analysis. The new fridge is already made. The old one is inefficient. The effect of buying a new one is to use much less electricity for the coming many years and insure the coolant is properly disposed of.

The consequence for the greater good is using less electricity. Not buying the fridge and continuing with the old one is a negative for the greater good in my view.

Elmer, you and I can differ in our assessments. Or we can say the same thing using different words. The more variables we restrict, the tighter we define a problem, the more math can help inform us and the more we are likely to agree. But there's lots of ways to look at environmental responsibility, not just one. Except: long term, "mother nature" will decide if we as a whole are making wise environmental choices as a whole. It's food for thought.

I agree I love a bargain and thrift stores are the best.

Nickel, I hear what you're saying but I don't think such a decision requires anything more than common sense to find the better course of action. You seem to want to obfuscate the question. I've heard similar rationalizing attitudes from people who can afford to do otherwise trying to justify keeping an old car. "Well, I don't drive all that far, how much of a difference in gas use and pollution could it make?"

Do you have an old fridge you don't want to get rid of?

LOL Elmer. Using your example, explain the steps it takes to get a new car to a consumer. It's not without an environmental cost because we agree magic doesn't happen, right?

It's already there or going to that or another dealer/retailer no matter what you personally do, there's no incremental effort involved. Buy it or not, there's no marginal consequence from actions of the manufacturer or the supply chain of the purchase by you. There is a consequence anyone continuing to use something old that's inefficient and wasteful.

Not what I asked, Elmer.

Jasdip & readers of this thread, sorry for the detour. Anyone who cared to, would have understood my point the first time. Over and out -- thanks for your patience.

The price range available always surprises me. For us, we buy what suits the situation best. For example, we have an open floor plan and when we first bought the house had a loud builder special DW. We were always shutting it off to watch TV or talk on the phone (and forgetting to turn it back on). When we replaced it, buying an ultra quiet one was worth the price.

We also paid more for a fridge because the kitchen is SMALL and a fridge that isn't counter depth juts out into the room in a very inconvenient way :^s

Our washer and dryer were purchased because they were the only good quality, high capacity front loaders that would fit in our walk through laundry room.

Our stove is basic, because it fits and extras there don't much matter to me. Same with the OTR microwave. The chest freezer we have in the garage is also very basic, and small- suits the needs and not much more.

One of the biggest problems DH and I run into is that we like white appliances and that can be very limiting. Recently I was fantasy shopping refrigerators and was unable to find anything counter depth and white. We'd compromise where necessary.

"Not what I asked, Elmer."

No, I think you were asking for me to agree with you. I don't.