Shock! the cost ofappliances...

[sisterpine]

Just about fell of my chair a bit ago. Was online looking at appliances at the Lowes site. I have not purchased any appliances in over ten years and was awestruck at the price increases and the complaints about lack of longevity. sis

[snoozy]

That's why God invented craigslist!

[Caz]

Four years ago we went to Lowes and bought what for us are "up town" appliances. The range is a Frigidaire ' Professiobnal Series' gas range - 5 burners, convection oven, warming oven, electronic controls, and electric ignition. Now the Off, 1,4,& 7 buttons no longer work. A simple homeowner repair but get this - the parts are $300. A measley $75/yr. for parts. Should of stayed with our old used $75 gas range which is still going. I gues it's the way of the 21 century.
John

[TNHermit]

When housing took off in the 90's the big push was the kitchen by designers as the center of the house. Appliance manufactures saw there chance the last ten years and are sticking it to us. Nothing is really any better or even as good as near as I see it. This kind of thing is what makes people hate big business.
You can buy a "cool-bot" and make a 10x12 refrigerated room cheaper and a lot more useful.
If there is some around you check out commercial appliance used outlets.

[Laura Zone 10]

Originally Posted by sisterpine

Just about fell of my chair a bit ago. Was online looking at appliances at the Lowes site. I have not purchased any appliances in over ten years and was awestruck at the price increases and the complaints about lack of longevity. sis

You think that's shocking.
Wait till you pay 10x what you did 10 years ago AND when it breaks in 1 year and is USELESS in 3.....and the COMPANY TELLS YOU "hey, did you expect it to last forever"?......
That is shock.
Like throwing a toaster in the tub, shock.

[Harry Chickpea]

Also, do not use the Home Stores as your guide for lowest pricing (even with sales). When we were buying our home, and didn't want the builder grade appliances, our salesman told us to give him model numbers and he would get the exact appliances for the lowest cost, through a small dealer he used. I checked pricing everywhere online and at stores, and he DID beat those prices significantly except on a freezer that we got for a really good price, and a closeout high-end stove.

Many appliances are still made to be repairable. I replaced the motor on our dishwasher recently without too much difficulty.

[whodunit]

We have a dishwasher that's 2 years old.

Its had the display board replaced under warranty as the lights quit working. Now the circuit board has a bad connection which requires one to tear the door apart in order to jiggle the wires to get the dishwasher to run.And now the lights of died again. To order the parts to repair myself will cost over $300. Crazy!!!

Next dishwasher we get we will buy the Maytag Dependability Plus.It pays for itself every year on our washing machine.

Its just makes me shake my head at how 'green' we as a society have gotten yet our appliances last only a year or 2 before they go fill up some landfill.

[Nette]

I probably shouldn't write this, but...My Kenmore dryer was purchased 21 years ago--used. My GE refrigerator was purchased new 21 years ago. Both are still going strong. I'm on my second washing machine, second stove, and second television in that same time-frame, and based on what y'all are telling me, I shouldn't expect the same longevity from those last ones. TV's, I hear are terrible.

[Lizza]

Same can be said for for cars too. We have a newer work truck that constantly needs some sensor or some part that is malfunctioning and of course we can't work on it ourselves because it has to be hooked up to a machine to even tell what sensor it is and then you have to have some special tool to replace it. All our other vehicles are 14-20 years old and drive perfect with just maintenance.

And yes, I have noticed that about appliances, what happened to grandma & grandpas frig that they got for a wedding present and lasted their entire lives??? No such thing now.

[nancy237]

Just in case this helps..

We had a frig go bad after a year (out of warranty) and the price to repair was more than he frig.
I called and complained (alot) and the company paid 1/2 of our new frig.

The 20 year appliances are a thing of the past I think.

Our kids will be bragging when they have one that last 5 years

[Hoop]

When corporate america decided to start using chinese/india labor, rather than pay a living wage in the US for workers, quality plummeted and prices escalated.

[Nette]

I forgot to mention...I also have an extra fridge. It's a side-by-side "Harvest Gold" thing that someone gave me when they were upgrading appliances. Works great. Maybe from the early '70's?

[kan-green]

My wife and I had a room mate once we had to kick out for not paying rent. We kept her Maytag washer that was about ten years old. We used it up till five years ago and have been thru two new washers since.

[salmonslayer]

When we remodeled our last house we went fancy with professional grade stainless steel appliances, ice maker on the fridge, ceramic cook top, built in microwave with exhaust fan etc. and everything was digital and from an upscale manufacturer. We had problems after the first month and had to replace circuit boards, the cook top, the refer literally fell apart and it was very frustrating. So when we moved to this old farm house we decided to try and keep an old fashioned look (no digital controls or clock, no microwave) and we bought all plain jane white appliances from Lowes for a couple hundred dollars (plus we got an energy star rebate).....and....zero problems. We have missed none of those bells and whistles and if the stove goes out and is too expensive to repair we will just get another one (it was $139.00 on sale and after the rebate). In the mean time we are looking for an old Western Holly, GE or Westinghouse type stove and oven from the 50s or 60s and we just picked up a perfectly functioning white refer we have in the garage for storing our veggies and berries before we can them...cost us $50.00 and a yard sale.

I'm just convinced that the more complicated the appliance is the more problems and it doesnt seem to make any difference in what manufacturer you like. I would even go for an old wringer washer....but when the Mrs said she was all for it if I took over the wash ...you know it didnt seem like such a great idea anymore.

[JHinCA]

When we last bought new appliances 5 to 7 years ago, a salesman told us that appliances over 20 years old (would be 25 to 30 years old now) would last for ever, but anything newer you would be Very lucky to get 10 years out of.

[MO_cows]

My mother recently retired a dryer from the 1960's. It was still working, she just figured a new one will be more energy efficient and she had to replace the washing machine so she got a set. We have a frig from the 1980's that still keeps beer/pop/water cold for DH out in the garage. I always thought putting electronics in dishwashers and washing machines was a questionable idea because of the moisture they are exposed to. I have my grandmother's gas stove from the 1940's. She was still using it when she died in the 1990's. I would like to have it worked on to convert to propane and make sure everything is safe, then use it someday.

[FarmerRob]

TNHermit said: "You can buy a "cool-bot" and make a 10x12 refrigerated room cheaper and a lot more useful."

That is a brilliant idea, especially for someone planning to build or expand. You will get a huge cold storage area--no crowded shelves.

[Beeman]

If you want the latest have to have trendy one of those appliances they are expensive. But if you buy a standard top load washer or a normal refrigerator they aren't priced that far out of line. I've had my best luck at Sears and they seem to run better sales and have full time commissioned sales people, or at least they do by me. Same guy has been there for years and has sold us our appliances one piece at a time.

[yikes]

Our freezer is Montgonery Ward. So is my 1/2 " drill.

[PhilJohnson]

I don't like spending more than 50 bucks on appliances. My stove is 60+ years old, the refrigerator is an old GE from 1936. The freezer part is super small but it was cheap and I figured if it ever broke the thing is made to be repaired unlike the new throwaway appliances today.