Hi Lisa, I had a similar experience with many appliance salespeople and they said Samsung's customer service is bad.

I had a very similar requirement on Black Stainless steel, but, not high tech. I reviewed some of the use cases of using Hi-tech and did some research on the value of money vs the usability and apparently a majority of people who buy these Hitech appliances stop using these features within 90-120 days and HiTech appliances will need constant updating of software and we never know when the manufacturers will stop supporting the software updates at which point, we will be forced to replace the appliance.

In my opinion, a good Kitchen Appliance should last a very long time. So, I decided to invest in better quality appliances vs something fancy that will be dated in 12-24 months

On another note, if you are in the market for remodeling, I would suggest that you get your appliances as soon as possible. Since the COVID19, there is a global shortage of appliances. I put together all possible combinations and never had luck in securing appliances on time which delayed my remodel project by over four months now.

Everything I’ve read on here would second what your appliance salesman has to say: run from Samsung and LG. And run fast.

@Sunny K Thank you for the feedback! We are building so appliances are necessary :) We know all about the delays and what we are seeing is the Cafe type appliances aren't as hard to get as the Samsung and LG simply because they are more money. Our builder is asking for our selections now so he can get them ordered so they are here when he needs them. I prefer less gadgets and more quality.

Great! I like the Cafe appliances. Though, the refrigerator I picked is back-ordered till June.

Good Luck!

In my opinion, I read somewhere that the more electronics on a kitchen appliance, the more likely it is to break down. I also read that kitchen appliance companies are a monopoly, and the customer service is horrible for all. Don't listen to the appliance salesperson for advice. Their job is to sell. Do your research before you buy. I was lied to directly from a Best Buy salesperson. For advice, I would ask trusted people in your life such as neighbors, friends, family, coworkers, bosses, accountant, etc.

I have an LG range, and am very happy with it; I put in in 3.5 years ago when I did a major kitchen renovation. I didn't worry too much about brands, looking first for the features and styles I wanted and didn't want (for instance, I got a Frigidaire fridge not because I wanted Frigidaire, but because I wanted a bottom freezer unit without French doors).

@Elaine Doremus Resumes Written Thank you. I probably should have clarified my appliance guy is a repair man not a sales man. He is a local guy who built an appliance repair business that has taken over our town! He is the local go to guy.

I agree not to go by the recommendations of a salesperson - their goal is to sell, then they are done. Contact an independent repair center - they are usually the ones who do warranty repair farmed out by the appliance manufacturers. See who they recommend for the least issues during the warranty period and also ease of getting parts for after warranty. They will probably have different brand recommendations for the different appliances.

A big no to LG & Samsung. Call around and speak with local appliance repair companies. These are two of the worst brands for parts availability, customer service and longevity. Generally speaking, the less “fancy” and fewer electronic components on your appliances, the better. For instance, do you really need your oven or refrigerator to have WiFi connectivity?

GE Cafe is a good option. So are Bosch, GE Profile, Monogram, and Wolf/Sub-Zero. I often recommend Bosch to my clients who want good performance for a decent price.

I agree not to buy all one brand unless the features of each appliance fit your needs. Know that quality today is just not what it used to be. Don't get stuck on a certain brand. There are bad reviews for everything out there. Instead, shop for features you like.

Just wanted to say I've been happy with our LG washer/dryer, but it's only been 4 1/2 years. Our daughter needed a repair on her 10-yr-old Samsung washer. No problem getting that done.

I would also caution against black stainless. It's a coating that can/will scratch off. Here's a helpful explanation from the Yale Appliance Blog. Bosch seems a little better if black stainless is a must.

I’m also building and shopping for appliances. I’ve asked around a lot and was told Samsung and LG are almost impossible to get fixed. Partly because not a lot of people know how to fix them and the parts are very expensive. We decided to go with Frigidaire Gallery. Thats what I have in my current home and haven’t had any issues at all in 6 years. Plus the fingerprintless stainless steel and air fry option for my range make it the perfect fit without spending a fortune

For those of you who suggest mixing brands. How does that look when each brand of stainless is so different? I was at the store today and seriously, GE stainless steel looked different that Whirlpool which looked different from Kitchenaid. Some are more gray, some look more "tin" and some look shinier and others look a little more flat. It's mind numbing!!! I am still pushing for the Cafe platinum glass. ;)

Lisa, unless you are placing all your appliances right next to each other, no one notices the difference in the stainless. Before remodeling I had Thermador oven, close to Kitchenaid fridge, close to DCS range and then Kitchenaid DW. All stainless and no issues with the color with them being close to each other. When I remodeled I went with paneled appliances where possible, because I hate cleaning stainless!!

Samsung and LG are difficult to get service for in our area.

I have all Bosch appliances. While a single user's experience is not a good statistical sampling, I wouldn't buy them again.

I have a mix of Bosch and Miele appliances that I got in 2015. The Bosch dishwasher is great, but I am disappointed with the rest. The Bosch convection/microwave over has broken several times, the Bosch wall oven takes forever to heat up, Miele hood is just ok, Miele gas cooktop doesn’t have enough power/flame and the child safety still makes it difficult to turn on after 6 years. Bosch fridge is not horrible, but the ice maker can’t keep up with my family of 4 (and I never use ice, so really 3).

We have a Thermador induction and the rest of Appliances are GE Profile. Had them almost 2 years without any problems. Washer/ Dryer is Maytag . They are good as well.

Lisa, all of our stainless appliances are different brands and the finishes match. None are that close to each other but not a problem if they were.

My Samsung fridge is garbage. I have Bosch dual fuel range and live it. I installed Frigidaire Gallery when I rebuilt the inlaws house and two other renos and they have been great. I think Frigidaire is owned by Bosch? I cant remember.

Avoid all things KitchenAid.

Samsung makes great phones but I've heard of a lot of people having problems with their appliances. My moms brand new Samsung refrigerator stopped dispensing water and ice after 6 months. I don't know about LG but I had their dishwasher and double oven for 7 years and never had a problem. Right now I have GE. A repairman told me GE has very few problems and are the easiest to repair if they do. I always just get what I like and roll the dice. And if you want designer colors, get them.

We ordered our appliances for our new build in August. The last one came in mid December. Definitely start early. We found a store that was hooked up. You could turn on and run every appliance. Most of the store was high end. We bought KA for kitchen and LG for W/D. Why? Kitchen Aid is made in Michigan, owned by Whirlpool. Samsung chef collection was sold to Dacor. I received a lot of advice to avoid it. I liked buying American. I also really liked a fridge with stainless interior and lights for every shelf. Various other features won me over. I can't afford what most people on here can but I think it's a good product. I would advise getting the finish you like. If you love it you'll take care of it. Read all the reviews you can. Find a store where you can go play with them. Enjoy!

Opinions are all over the place. We had a repair tech come to look at our Whirlpool washer. It died after just 4 years and was replaced with our LG. While he was at our house he told me KitchenAid was a very good bet in his opinion. Another tech would likely disagree. Making a decision is a bit of a crap shoot, but that's the reality these days.

The previous owners of our house left a new Frigidaire Gallery fridge with the house. It was just 6 months old when we moved in. That was 7 years ago and it's starting to cause problems. I need to call someone to come look at it, and I'm not anticipating good news.

Whirlpool's home office is in Michigan. Their production factories are spread among several other states, I don't think anything is produced any longer in MI (laundry was but now is all in Ohio AFAIK). Some products are produced in Mexico.

Whirlpool has owned KitchenAid since 1986. Maytag since 2006, along with some other brands that were part of Maytag such as JennAir and Amana. They also produce some models for other brands that they don't directly own.

So true that stainless doesn’t need to match. I have a mix of Kitchen Aid, Bosch, Samsung and an LG microwave. Haven’t had any problems that affect performance. Since redoing the kitchen almost 7 years ago, I have come to use Instant Pots often, and more recently added a full size convection toaster oven with speed convection and it is getting more use than the regular oven. Think carefully about how you use your appliances.

I have had the GE Cafe Platinum appliances (fridge, dw and range) for six months in our new house and love them. They have the same neutral color like stainless, but the glass on the front does not show fingerprints like my previous stainless appliances. They are just gorgeous.

I got the top of the line Cafe dishwasher as it cost very little more than the other platinum dw's. I wanted the lowest decibels since the kitchen is part of the great room. I can't hear it at all unless right next to it. I now people love Bosch, but I hated mine as the tine layout wasted way too much space and I hated cleaning the filter which caused smells. The layout of the Cafe works really well and it cleans just as well as my Bosch 800.

My refrigerator is the French door model four door full depth, and the layout is much better than my previous Samsung. I know people say to get counter depth, but my counter depth Samsung really had almost no space for tall juice bottles, and I had to give up shelf space to even get that. I was always struggling to make room for things. In my new build, the refrigerator is next to a full height pantry cabinets, so I had it made the same depth as the refrigerator. None of these refrigerators make much ice, but it is enough for two of us, and we have an icemaker for larger crowds.

I got a slide in induction range. Not much to say about ranges, but I love cooking on the induction as much as my previous gas , and it sure is easier to clean. It has the true electric high temp cleaning cycle, which I missed in my gas. The cooktop controls are up front, and the

selection menus are intuitive.

I asked the repair manager who handled a repair on my old Samsung, and he too said to stick with US companies like GE as it was really hard to get parts for Samsung and LG, and this was two years ago... probably even worse now.

I also got a GE top load washer and dryer, the same model as I bought in 2016 in my old house. I've not had any problems with either set. They have a lot of nice features, especially the wifi connection so they notify me on my phone when the cycle is done. Since I pretty much always forget about my wash, this has been handy to keep me from forgetting for days.

I also moved my 240v GE Advantium speed oven microwave here, and have enjoyed the speed cooking. My model is the over the range, but I had it built in above a counter and don't use the vent function anymore.

Let me know if you have any questions, but I highly recommend the GE Cafe Platinum.

I called around to my local appliance repair shops to ask a similar question: brands to avoid? I REALLY wanted a Miele dishwasher, but they all recommended against it. In my rural area, Miele parts are too hard to come by, too expensive, and take too long to come in, they explained. (Average amount of time to repair a Miele dishwasher is 3 months in this region.) I know it is different in other parts of the county, so that's why it is important to check with your own local appliance repair shops. They know the real situation!

I've no Samsung experience, but have read plenty of horror stories about them on Houzz. We are still enjoying our 5 yr. old LG refrigerator without issues. (It's not connected to a water line, as that is a known failure point). And I still miss my LG dishwasher, but it only lasted 4 years and the pump was replaced twice during that time. So it wasn't durable. We replaced it with a KitchenAid, which is louder than advertised, but Bosch was on backorder for too many months to wait. Our cooking appliances are GE Profile with a Broan Elite hood, and the stainless across all these brands (KitchenAid, LG, GE Profile, Broan) looks fine together.

I agree to run from LG and Samsung. I'm intrigued you are selecting the Cafe platinum. Most of my clients want the Cafe because they look more like the professional appliances (Wolf, Viking, etc.), without the high price. I honestly feel the platinum line looks like my 25 year old GE profile from my last kitchen (I wish I had an picture - black glass, etc.) I fear that look will run it's course quite quickly. Cafe makes a good appliance and service is always available, however, the look may be gone before your appliances have reached their useful life.

@Susan L I would love to see a picture of your kitchen with the Cafe appliances. I really do prefer them over any of the others I've seen and I do love the 4 door refrigerator.

So cafe is made by GE?

Haier owns GE appliance division since 2016. They introduced the Café line circa 2018.

GE Launches Café Brand

DesignerAppliances.com Review - GE Wall Ovens -- GE vs. GE Profile vs. Cafe
(Scroll down the review for some details on the differences between the models)

we have a Samsung fridge. it works fine but is designed poorly. the layout is super weird -- you can't even fit a basic brita pitcher on the shelves. the cheese drawer is so flat you can barely fit anything in it. the freezer drawer is sticky -- I have a hard time pulling it out more than about 10" unless I jerk it out with force. you have to slam the french doors shut or it won't seal. weirdly, it got fantastic reviews so I guess I'm the only one who cares about these things.

so my advice is to look at appliances IRL.

also I read that with some black stainless appliances, the black is just a transparent film on top of SS that scratches somewhat easily. (not all appliances though, and that may have been an old design problem that was resolved. IDK.)

What's your budget? If you can increase it a bit look into the Blue Star, American Range, Wolf, Viking, etc... products.

ILoveMod, I had a Samsung fridge and totally agree about the layout. No shelves for anything tall - OJ, soda, juice. I could flip up the left side of the top shelf to get room for a few, but that wasted a lot of space, and the shelf could not be removed, only flipped, another waste of space. No room in the door for tall condiment bottles except for the one compartment that would hold milk. The new milk bottle had to go on it's side on a shelf. The separate fridge drawer had a really weird cross bar divider, and the freezer internal drawer stuck all the time.

By contrast my GE Cafe Platinum has a super layout.

Lisa, here are some pictures. Let me know if you would like more.

The Platinum really looks like stainless with a clear glass front that is so easy to keep looking nice. I can't imagine not continuing to like it, and I am a function over form person. The layout of this fridge is so nice, that I hope it lasts longer than what I've read is the current life of appliances...short, like 7-8 years.

Don't choose LG & Samsung! When I was in the market, I called several appliance repair men in my area and got a giant thumbs down. In the end, I chose a Whirlpool fridge and stove, and a Bosch dishwasher. I've been very satisfied with both brands and they look great together.

Thank you all!! I vetoed the hubs and made the decision to go with the Cafe'. They were the first ones I was drawn to and every time we've looked at appliances I would go back to them. My appliance repair guy gave me the green light as well. One decision down too many to go! Now if I could just pick a quartz for the perimeter to compliment the island I would be good!!!!

Multiple SZ repairmen as well as a dealer have recommended KA for wall oven, saying they’re reliable and easiest to get parts for. But then why would the same company make JA which has such a lousy reputation? I‘m convinced high end fridges last longer because they’re so expensive to replace that people put up with the repairs. I’ve got a 20 year old set that they’re trying to talk me into full rebuilds for at a grand each as I recall. I’ve got a Samsung fridge which is about 8 years old, no problems and I like it, but I’d not attempt to sway the masses based on my lone experience. Yes stainless is different, but even within the brand. My Bosch DW is significantly different from my Bosch range, my Bosch range is closer to my Samsung fridge. They‘re not right next to each other so it doesn’t bother me. I’d be more concerned about the style; esp handles, than worry about the metal as long as they’re all supposedly just “stainless.”

Oh, I was just about to say we bought an Amana refrigerator in 2003. When we were looking for new appliances during a kitchen remodel in 2014, the salesperson said to keep our fridge, because you will never get that many years out of a new one. It’s still going strong, and has never needed repaired! We are a family of five.

Admittedly, your choice of the GE Cafe is much prettier. Good luck!

@bluemarble I bought a Kenmore fridge when I moved into my house in 2000. It was one of the first brands to make a french door. It lasted 19 years without a problem!! They definitely don't make appliances like they used to!

"...the salesperson said to keep our fridge, because you will never get that many years out of a new one."

Most likely some truth there. I've had salespeople tell me to expect 5-10 years with new appliances...and to cross your fingers if you get to 5 years.

Bluemarble you probably just lucked out, by 2003 they were already complaining that appliances aren’t built like they used to be. I’m not sure how long ago “used to be“ is but apparently sometime before this century.

Lisa, good decision to go with what you love. I too kept going back to the Cafe Platinum, even though they cost more than the alternatives I was looking at. And I am so happy I went with what I really wanted. They make me happy every day.

foodonastump my last home was a rented condo built in 1983. it had its original whirlpool electric range w/ built in microwave. other than the fact that the microwave didn't have a rotating plate, those appliances worked like a dream. I've lived in tons of apartments, and that 30something whirlpool had the most accurate oven temperature ever. (just to be on the safe side, I never stood close to the microwave though.)

it looked like the range below, but in almond. it's a good thing I like vintage stuff, lol!

I have a GE Cafe series wall oven and induction cooktop on order (who knows when they will arrive?), and my normal repair guy said GE is a safe choice in terms of reliability. I always call him before buying anything and ask which things he repairs less frequently! But he also says that things are just not made they way they were and that no matter what brand you pick, they'll fail at some point. Also, some manufacturers who sell products under different brand names. I just Googled it, and Whirlpool Corporation owns the Jenn-Air, Maytag, Amana, Roper, and KitchenAid brands. So keep that in mind when choosing.

Run and run fast from Samsung