jackson@curium.DEC (SETH JACKSON 297-4751) (01/10/86)
I'm going to be moving into a new home, so it's time for me to start thinking about appliances. What should I look for when buying: 1) An air conditioner 2) A washer & dryer ?? Any comments/suggestions appreciated. -- Seth Jackson
ccrse@ucdavis.UUCP (0058) (01/13/86)
> I'm going to be moving into a new home, so it's time for me to > start thinking about appliances. What should I look for when > buying: > > 1) An air conditioner > 2) A washer & dryer > > ?? Any comments/suggestions appreciated. I wouldn't try to offer a recommendation on an air-conditioner - too many variables involved that I don't know. A washer and dryer I think I can offer a little help on though. My family has had very good luck with GE washers and dryers over the years (17+ years without failure). They are usually available at lower price than competitors with comparable features, and do an above-average job for the most part (I'm relying on my memory of Consumer Report's Buyer's Guide for this). There are other machines that may do better at one thing or another, but the GE's seem to offer a better value for the money than most. One thing to consider when looking at such units is not only function and reliability, but cost and availability of parts and service. Some units may go a couple more years without failure, but will cost you *much* more to repair when they do fail, and thereby cost you more in the longe run. I found that Maytag and Amana may fall into the latter category. The GE machines are very simple mechanically, and quite easy to service. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, GE offers repair guides and assistance so you can do the work yourself. If not, the greater ease of repair still translates to lower labor bills. Hope this is of some help.