Yes that is true for many mass market brands, but given the price points that BC appliances sell at, my expectations are higher and warranty costs for any brand are at least one indicator of service & defect rates. Well made appliances, and reliable consumer products in general, do not, as a rule, cost very much to stand behind with warranty service. This suggests to me that their warranty costs were rising which does not bode very well for those consumers opening their wallets. I would genuinely hope to be mistaken in my assumptions, but I sadly believe I’m not far off base this time.

The Big Chill appliances are gorgeous and when I was remodeling I had considered doing a classic 50's style kitchen with turquoise appliances.

However I never thought of them as being equivalent in quality to Subzero for example. Yes Subzero is expensive but it is also lasts for years and many people are willing to spend because of that level of quality - and not because of aesthetics or the status.

Big Chill is expensive because it is a niche market in terms of its styling so costs are higher than for a KA or LG or other more mass market consumer product.

I wouldn't consider the warranty to be an indicator of anything other than the reality that Big Chill is not equivalent to Subzero despite its higher price and is essentially a mid level appliance that has a unique look which is what is driving up the price.

VERBO: Im sorry but my expectations are no more unrealistic than were those of my grandparent’s generation. Appliances were expected to work (and last) given the pricing structures of the early to mid 20th century marketplace. For exsmple, a 12 cu ft Coldspot branded chest freezer ar Sears was listed as retailing for $232. Based on the US Govt CPI Inflation calculator, that same freezer would sell (before any discounting) for over $2800!! When one of my grandparent’s ”durable goods” malfunctioned, it was assumed that it could be repaired and with reliable service too!! They were working class folks and never owned (likely never heard of) a Subzero. Their generation would be shocked and saddened for us today given what passes for service and projected service life of so many so called ’durable goods’. If you dont mind paying for what are today; largely disposable goods, then you are welcome to do so. I, for one, refuse to pay a premium for any brand if it has been engineered to die and end up as landfill food. While I am blessed to have a budget that allows me to purchase luxury priced brands of appliances, I find many of these lacking in areas I value such as serviceability and a service life that extends well beyond a 12 month warranty. Value matters to every consumer no matter the size of one’s budget.

HELEN makes a great point about smaller, niche players in the market lacking the economy of scale to compete with larger brands. I would offer that this does not excuse poor durability given that warranty costs are often calculated similar to insurance policies with higher risk equating to highet costs. Brands of appliances on the market 75 years ago were offered at multiple price points too. What largely dictated pricing within a brand was the feature set if a given model. If you wsnted and could afford extras, then you paid more. But even the most basic models were built with longetivity in mind. It also bears mentioning that retailers were one of the key drivers of reliability. If you compare current store policies for most any appliance retailer today, they pale when you read their fine print vs. the remarkable policies of deparment stores like Marshall Fields or Sears & Roebuck (Not the remaining shell of what is left of Sears today). Perhaps you may be correct sbout Subzero projected longetivity. I have noted that their customer service reputation is heralded as being in sync with their premium pricing in the market place as compared with others.

RoyHobbs: Yes I agree that aesthetics are subjective and not related to how long things last. To your point, its essential to have a service structure and commitment to any warranty promised in order to keep any of the appliances we buy up and running. As for my own aesthetic sense, I have purchaed and appreciated a variety of design styles ftom rustic to modern. My interest in Big Chill is based on a home Im building in which several of the BC style themes (Retro being one) would work really well, but my concerns regarding quality; both of BC appliances and their version of “service” which you accurately refer to have given me enough pause to give them a pass and search elsewhere.

You want service and reliability AND are “blessed to have a budget that allows me to purchase luxury priced brands of appliances”, then your only choice is Sub Zero. Many folks here don’t like to hear that, but that, people, is the truth.

During the past 32 years, we’ve owned just 2 fridges. Both have been Sub Zero. The first was purchased in 1990, and was the only splurge (a splurge I insisted on), in that otherwise, very basic kitchen remodel…vinyl flooring, Formica counters, microwave over a 30” no frills stove.

That fridge saw us through Hurricane Sandy…staying cold for 12 full days after electical power was lost. Even the ice was still frozen! Everyone else, with lesser fridges, were chucking out all of their food, by the middle of day two. Sub Zero is the best insulated fridge on the market. It also has the tightest seals of any fridge on the market. And, btw, that SZ was still going strong in Sept. of 2015, when we sold that house.

For the house we bought and totally gutted in 2016, getting another SZ was a no brainer. The 42” FD paneled fridge is already 6.5 years old, with nary an issue. This time around, it’s not the only splurge in the kitchen…but, it is the only one i would never switch out for a different brand.

And, btw, SZ does have the absolute best customer service in the business. During the 25 years we owned the first SZ, my husband would call SZ, explain the issue, and the service department would tell him what part was needed. Fortunate enough to live 20 mins from a SZ/Wolf distributor, my husband would pick up the part (usually between $20-$50), call SZ back, and they would talk him through the repair. Only twice in all that time, did a SZ repairman actually have to come to the house, ice maker related. The repair was done the very next day after calling for service. The price was very reasonable.

Oh, and btw, any chest freezer in the early to mid 1900s, did not auto defrost. Over time, ice would build up around the cooling coils, until the ice got too thick to allow the unit to chill. Periodically, you had to empty the freezer, and let the unit defrost at room temperature. This was true, even for the freezer section of the average fridge….which, back then, were top freezers, only.

Stop looking backwards. Stop comparing yester year, to today. The appliances of today do much more than those of the last century. They have many more moving parts. Parts cost money, and parts do break down.

You want a refrigerator that lasts for decades, and has great customer service? Then pay up, and get a SZ. But, stop whining because the cutesy fridge you desire to go with your retro vibe…which all along has had a lousy reputation… doesn’t have a lenghty warranty to cover an appliance sure to break down in a short amount of time.

Buy your Electrolux frig from Ikea. 5-year warranty. Or buy a SZ. Just don't buy a Samsung. Thank the Harvard MBAs at Whirlpool for the 1 year warranty after they bought Amana and Kitchenaid to kill competition.

The Big Chill 33" Retro Original Fridge ($4,395) appears to be a repackaged Whirlpool WRT511SZDW ($1,034) which has a one-year warranty. There's no reason for Big Chill to offer a warranty longer than the appliance upon which it is based.

So, what you are saying is that Big Chill is charging $3300 additional just for the fake "retro" doors on the Whirlpool. They are laughing all the way to the bank!

@M Miller: "Big Chill is charging $3300 additional just for the fake "retro" doors on the Whirlpool..."

BC may buy cabinet-less refrigerators from Whirlpool and then construct cabinets around them. It may be a fairly expensive process -- perhaps using a lot of manual labor -- to build and custom-paint the cabinets given that the production volume is probably pretty low.