Ha 😄

Truly - what's left?

To be fair, it does go into specific model numbers, rather than condemning an entire brand.

Many of those lists disregard 1) Kenmore appliances are rebadged from the various other brands, Sears/Kenmore doesn't directly manufacture anything; 2) brands that are tagged as bad may be manufactured by the same parent company as others that are touted as good.

I can see that being named Hubert is going to have an effect on your view of life. Who does that?

Even model numbers don't really play into it. The widgets needed to build a product are outsourced. They are supposed to all meet the specs. But it comes down to quality control at the factory the widget is made. Plus those widgets are made several brands. Parts is parts.

When it comes to appliances you try to buy the one that has repair ability. That means that parts are easily sourced and repairmen know the product. It all comes down to quality control of all sorts of little widgets needed in the window of time the appliance is built.

Many home inspectors know how to check off a list. Many are told what to look for but have little understanding of why or how something works. I wouldn't regard them as a trusted source.

I currently have a 28 year old Whirlpool. I know if I replace it, the replacement isn't going to last nearly that long.

Fisher Paykel are very reliable, but I don't know if they are available in the US.

If you want long lasting appliances look for anything w/o all the environmental energy efficiencies. Those are the killers of appliances. We are saving minute kilowatts while we fill land fills and wastefully manufacture metal--with all the enegy that takes!!! It's totally illogical!!

It is funny, and I have to say that yes all the brands and reputations have changed over the years.

I did notice that GE is not in the bad list. Not saying it deserves to be there or not, just trying to find a brand that hasn't been mentioned there.

full disclosure,when we remodeled 3 years ago, I bought GE appliances.

Amana...? :0)

The last one I bought is a GE. The one (not sure of make) I had for eons finally quit, then I tried Frigidaire, then Whirlpool - those let me down big time in a short time. So far, so good with the GE as long as I don't overload the freezer compartment (small unit for my small kitchen). It is noisy though when it runs to get up to temp. I don't know the proper term for that. ha

I have an old Whirlpool in Cathedral City (came with the house) that I like a lot better than my newer Kitchenaid fridge (which did not make your list BTW). I tend to judge a fridge by how good the ice maker is.

I have an Amana in a rental that's 13 years old...and the new GE French door with hot water...lasted 4 years...before I threw it out. The Samsung French door....also 4 years.

I've had side by side GE fridge/freezers with in-door ice/water for 40 years (or whenever in-door convenience was first available). Each new one was lighter than its predecessor -- more plastic/less mental. Last year I replaced a 20 year old GE Monogram that began leaking with same. It was hard to keep up with the number of model changes on just this one product within a year. I was told by GE that the number changes when any significant part is dropped/replaced. My model came into being because the insulation was a substitution for something no longer available. .

Colleen -- I had two sets of Fisher Paykel dishdrawers in 20 years before giving up the convenience for a full size Bosch dishwasher (for less money). I think the US F-P products are not as good as what you get 'at home'. I was very unhappy to see how much better the Bosch performed. I hadn't realized my dishes were not getting all that clean in the F-P.

Reliability by age is a constantly moving target. Referencing an old unit as reliable to support a given brand, such as my 1997 KitchenAid that has never had a repair, is always disparaged by the pundits because today's machines are said to be of lesser reliability, although that isn't necessarily true. My parents 1962 Whirlpool washer had many more repairs in 15 years than did the 1976 and 1994 replacments in 18 years each.

Fisher & Paykel laundry has been gone from the US market for upwards of 10 years. DishDrawers, refrigerators, and ranges are available. My DishDrawer reached 20 years in Aug 2023 (it has had some repairs, all DIYed).

Seems you take a chance with most brands these days. Quality is far from what it once was.

I'm not commenting what I want to comment-I don't want to jinx myself.

My 2003/2004 GE Arctica SxS continues to function, although a few repairs (DIYed). GE range of the same era is OK, no repairs. OTR microwave went bad 3 or 4 years ago, I would have repaired it but no parts available. The replacement GE OTR failed in 1.5 years, runs but no heating. I intend(ed) to repair it but haven't yet done so, am using a 16 yo compact-countertop GE that was my grandmother's.

One of the biggest failures of modern fridge design is having the ice maker and water built into the door. Always choose a refrigerator with the ice maker in the the freezer. Stay away from bells and whistles and electronics required to provide them. Buy any appliance for its basic function and you you have less to go wrong and a solid history behind the function.

My range hasn't even got a clock. The only electronics are for the thermostats and the ignitors. It will last a lifetime or more. Of course someone down the line after I am gone will dump it because it isn't "in" or something. I can't believe how so many people replace their clothes dryers every time they buy a new washer. Dryers will outlive washers 3 to one. Well at least the basic dryers will, not the new matching ones. Too many bells and whistles versus a good thermostat, bearings, and build. Marketing has made people stupider. Manufacturing/design has made it more difficult to repair yourself so people are less capable of even learning to maintain their stuff or fix small problems.

Wildchild2x2, I agree, had an old Kenmore washer for decades and I kept getting it fixed when it died on me. Finally, my repairman told me to start looking for a new one as it wasn't going to last much longer. The new one is very basic, top loader.

My oven works fine, came with the house. Bought the house around 2006, so I have no idea how old it is. One burner no longer works and I could call that repair guy to see if it can be fixed but I haven't. I haven't needed more than 3 burners at once for a long time.

I'm only thinking of getting a new fridge because it looks so bad on the outside. Inside looks perfectly fine. Outside, it is very discolored, previous owner put stickers and stick on note board so it's has discoloration from that. Then the grill on the bottom has been missing for quite some time. I have no idea what happened to it.

I am replacing the stove hood. That thing works but looks really bad.

“…had an old Kenmore washer for decades and I kept getting it fixed when it died on me.”

Same here. We replaced the Kenmore with a Whirlpool that died after 4 years. Replaced the Whirlpool with an LG that’s doing fine but I had 3 sales people tell me the lifespan of washers these days is 5-10 years. One of them said to cross your fingers and toes when you hit 5 years. We’re at year 7 with the LG.

I had a Kenmore washer that lasted 25 years and was still going strong. I sold it for $25. And back in the day my mother and I had GE refrigerators that lasted 30-plus years. Mine was avocado and still worked when I sold it because I hated the color. My current washer and dryer I think, are over 20 years old and still working well. Jinxed myself.

The repairman told me the best basic brand was Whirlpool when I asked him what to replace my washer with, so that's what I got. I just looked and my dryer is Whirlpool and so is that old stove and old fridge.

I replaced my old Kenmore washer a couple of .years ago with a Maytag, top loader and the difference in quality between the two is remarkable. The old one was so much better! I had repaired it myself a few times and we had it for over 25 years.

This new one is totaly crappy,

My daughter recently had to replace their frideg and I think what they ended up with is an LG, maybe . But I leaned against it one time and was surprised that the sheet metal on it is so thin that it flexes! They did a lot of comparison shopping and found it difficult to buy a really high quality one. This was right before the end of covid. It took them a long time to even find that one.

kathsgardn, you have a repair service where you live? I am impressed. I was reading about buying new appliances and one thing that was discussed is the availablity of finding a service that can provide support and repair. That, apparently, is not an easy task.

Not much repair work goes on anymore.

For instance, we are in the process of replacing a water heater and the real truth is that the old one really needs a new thermostat. It is really just the small contained bundle of electric controls that needs replacing . We had four ,in total. plumbers come to give us service and not a one of them even mentioned reparing it. All they do is replace. So. since I am not married to that guy on the YOuTube who just goes out and gets the part and installs with his handy tools, I was at the mercy of whatever a plumber could offer. But, to be fair the heater does have a few years on it, so we went with that logic and are chooisng to replace it. Getting anything repaired any more is not straight forward or easy.

Yes, Claudia, I still see his van around town even though I haven't had to call him in years.