lamb@mhuxl.UUCP (LAMB) (02/22/84)
Since both Jim Roche and I submitted nearly the same article requesting
information on refrigerators, washers, dryers and lawnmowers a few weeks
ago, we decided to combine our responses and submit a single follow-up.
Since I received a few more replies than Jim, the honor of submitting the
article falls to me. Both Jim and I would like to thank all who responded.
RESULTS
The following recommendations were made either via the net or verbally:
(Note the following are only positive responses. There were surprisingly
few negative responses; these may be found in the responses following the
summary.)
Refrigerators Washers / Dryers Lawnmowers
Sears / Whirlpool - 10 Sears / Whirlpool - 10 Honda - 1
Frigidaire - 1 Maytag - 4 Roper - 1
General Electric - 1 Hotpoint - 1
Hotpoint - 1 Montgomery Wards - 1
Montgomery Wards - 1 Norge - 1
Westinghouse - 1
From these responses I concluded that, although Sears was widely recommended,
all the types listed were quality merchandise and that the best thing to do
was to get the best combination of features and service for the price I
wanted to pay. I went to Sears but they were not having a sale and the
delivery time was quoted as "Oh, about two or three weeks". I then went to
about four local appliance stores. I finally purchased Hotpoint appliances
from a store which extended the manufacturers warantee by one year, charged
nothing for delivery and installation and delivered on four days notice.
Jim bought GE appliances from a local store which had the same deal.
RESPONSES:
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I recently bought a new home which needed a refrigerator. We
spent a lot of time looking for one. We decided to settle on a
Frididaire model. It received an excellent review from Consumer
Reports based on price and quality. We also shopped around and
got a great price from Top's Appliance in Edison. They offered
a few day service.
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Our refrigerator and freezer are Norge brand, and we're very happy
with them.
Go to your local discount appliance store (I think in your area it's
Crazy Eddie) and you can probably get a substantial discount.
They will try to sell you a service contract. Don't buy it. Refrigerators
never break. Ditto for freezers. Don't know about washers/dryers.
(We have a Hotpoint dryer and it seems OK. Our washer is still an
ancient Sears model so that won't do you much good.)
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Maytag washers and dryers have a fabulous service record.
They certainly have all the features I need.
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Sears is actually pretty good for washers and dryers. We bought
our washer there 2 years ago with no complaints or problems (of course,
the maintainence contract is about to expire, so it may fall apart).
We bought a used Sears dryer (about 5 years old) about 2 years ago
and *it* seems to be doing quite well, too.
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When I lived at Home my parent"s had a GE washer and dryer. They
had few mechanical problems but the spinning action left spots on
the clothes where the water drained through. I bought a Sears
washer and dryer when I got married. I have had no problems so far
and since the water is drained before the clothes spin out I don"t
have the spotting problem. I paid ~$750 for my set. I think that
the brand is not as important as the type of machine. I would
definitely try to get one that drained before it spun. Another
thing to look for is a way to turn off the buzzer on the dryer. On
my dryer it goes off every 4 minutes for about 20 minutes and there
is no way to turn it off. Also I have found that a dryer that has
cycles which run by dryness instead of time work better and tend to
have less shrinkage problems. I think I've gone on long enough.
Hope this helps.
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When we bought appliances for our house, we picked them up at Mongomery
Wards (if you weren't back east, I'd offer them to you, since we are in the
process of moving). Our refrigerator is close to teh top of the line and
ran us about $800, including the icemaker (a necessity of life in the pepsi
generation!). I am very impressed with it and would recommend it to anyone
(I can get the model # if you are interested, but I think that most MW
stuff is of reasonable quality, and inexpensive on sale as well). The dryer
hasn't given us any problems, and has a nice capacity, but we should have
spent more on the washer (it likes socks). Both of those were the bottom of
the line models (about 300/set on sale, I think).
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I tend to buy Sears items on sale. They always supply good parts and
repair manuals which allow me to make most of my own repairs. I
believe they are Whirlpool washers and dryers. We have local Sears parts
supply offices in Denver which is convenient.
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We've been pleased with our Sears washer/dryer/refrigerator adn freezer.
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We have a Kenmore (sears brand) washer and dryer. The washer is less than
a year old, but we haven't had any complaints.
The dryer is about 8 years old, sat idle for 3 of those years, and
has been moved three times. It still works like a champ. One of the
big advantages of Sears appliances is the widespread availability of
spare parts and info on fixing the appliance.
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Believe it or not...SEARS.
1. They have a large variety of appliances.
2. With as many locations as they have...service is not
usually a problem.
3. The prices are competitive.
4. KENMORE=WHIRLPOOL=KENMORE (built by major manf.).
5. If (for example) the refrigerator goes on sale the next
month go and complain to the manager and they will usually
credit your account or refund the difference between the
"retail" price and sale price (worked for me anyway).
I would recommend Amana or Speed Queen but you have to shop around for
the best deal you can get.
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Maytag comes highly recommended for washers, but their dryers are
really no better than several other major brands (including
Hotpoint and GE). My only comment on refrigerators is DON'T be
talked into a extended service contract - definately NOT worth
the bucks.
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I have had good luck with a Sears frost-free refrigerator for 19 years.
It only needed service when it was new and under warranty and the
service was prompt.
The most important consideration is service. I bought a Maytag washer and
Westinghouse dryer, both recommended by Consumer's Report, from a
local small store which gives excellent service. So far I haven't needed
the service but it is a relief to know that its there.
I have a 15 year old Whirlpool freezer the periodically quits on a Friday,
and the Whirlpool service people will not come out until Monday or Tuesday.
That is absolutely rediculous for a freezer full of food. The same part
keeps failing. Whirlpool has not come up with a good part.
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Re: Appliances
Refrigerators: Whirlpool & Sears (Sears is a Whirlpool)
I recently bought a refrig. After comparing all
(without rush over 4 months) got best deal on
a Whirlpool.
Lawn Mower: It requires alot of warming-up-to ($$$), but take
a serious look at Honda!
Washer/Dryer: These things are getting to be commodity items
(ie cheap and equivalent overall quality). I
bought mine at Sears. One word of caution here:
SALE. Wait for a good sale. Hardly anybody
buys them (except under emergencies) while they
are not on sale. Another thing to be careful
about: The more bells & whistles, the more $$$.
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We've had excellent results with our MAYTAG washer & dryer, also with a
SEARS top-of-the-line dishwasher. A medium-priced GE dishwasher did not
clean glasses as well as the Sears (which even did pots 'n pans reasonably).
We are definitely not the type to wash the dishes by hand before loading
them into the dishwasher, as so many people seem to do. They say its
necessary....NOT SO WITH A GOOD SEARS!
Just remember....a little bit of shopping around and/or haggling over prices
can save you hundreds of dollars on your appliances. Although this doesn't
work at Sears, sometimes the salesman will give you advance notice of a
forthcoming sale.
We've had good results with both GE and Sears refrigerators.
Good luck.
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re lawnmowers: when I needed one, I looked in Consumer's Reports, and they
talked about all these $400 jobs. So I just cruised down to the local
Target, and bought a Roper for $200. I've been quite happy with it, except
when I let it rain into my gas can and spent a week figuring that one out.
Rumor has it that Briggs-Stratton engines are the good ones (that's what
mine has). All the new models have safety devices so they won't continue
to spin the blade if you walk away. The fancy ones have clutches, the
cheap ones have dead-man switches, so you have to re-start. Sounds like a
real pain, but they've invented something called a "compression release",
which makes restarting super-easy (practically a snap of the wrist on the
cord).
Mine is just under a year old.
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At the risk of jinxing several appliances-
I've always had good luck with Whirlpool.
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I'd recommend you subscribe to Consumer Reports.
The year end addition also condenses all their finding for the
past few years.
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I just did the same myself not too long ago and went with Sears. No complaints!
All quality stuff (Most is made by Whirlpool). STAY AWAY FROM GE. I have heard
lots of horror stories.
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Jim Roche, Computer Consoles Inc., ...!ccieng5!jjr
John Lamb, Bell Communications Research, ...!mhuxl!lambtackett@wivax.UUCP (Raymond Tackett) (02/23/84)
I always thought a summary was a condensation and compilation. What we saw there was not a summary. It was a concatenation with a prependage. -- /////\\\\\ \ \ / / From the brightly colored, ever opening 'chute \ / of NOID Ray Tackett