Generally you'll want to SKIP the box stores I.E. Menards, Lowes and the Home Depot when buying appliances.
Seriously. I can explain why tomorrow.
Seriously. I can explain why tomorrow.
Input on "best" refrigerators on the market wanted
- Thread starter The_Eric
- Start date
this is correct.
On 2018 there was an import tarrif on appliances. It's said that imported appliances had to get cheaper to build to sell them competitively hence all the negative press.
I have a 2014 era LG fridge that came with the house no issues at all.
I recently bought a Frigidaire Freezer for my garage, runs good but the shelves inside are too small...
I have a 2014 era LG fridge that came with the house no issues at all.
I recently bought a Frigidaire Freezer for my garage, runs good but the shelves inside are too small...
You have my interest!
Upgraded from a 2019 Samsung fridge to a 2014 Kenmore.
I thought Samsung and LG were 2 pea pods from the same plant. Unless Samsung owns the Monopoly on junk fridge compressors.
If I could find a new 30 year old fridge and run that I would.
I know they don't make them like they used to but my Sears Kenmore (Whirlpool) refridgerator, washer and dryer were purchased in 1994. I never had a problem with them and are still going strong. My Whirlpool dishwasher was bought in 1988, still going. I don't know how well Whirlpool is today.
We have 2 homes and have Frigidaire dishwAhers in both and one is builder grade and other is gallery. The gallery is used daily with no issues for 8 years. We also have a Frigidaire refrigerator with con ebtional top freezer with ice maker. No problems but it does make weird sounds. Bought a 5 year extended warranty. I hope it's a waste of money. It's at 3 years now with no problems. Also have a Frigidaire freezer in my garage and haven't had any problems with it either. Maybe I was just blessed with good ones.
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
What time?
My feeling.....whatever brand you buy, get it WITHOUT the ice maker and water dispenser.
A floor model. 
Some have their quirks like ridiculously thin wiring which powers the door mounted water dispenser/ice maker. The wiring breaks over time from the constant flexing every time the door is opened.
Some have their quirks like ridiculously thin wiring which powers the door mounted water dispenser/ice maker. The wiring breaks over time from the constant flexing every time the door is opened.
Bought our Maytag french door with no door mounted ice maker/water dispenser about 19 years ago. Ice maker is in the freezer and water dispenser is a little spout inside the left side door and doesn't encroach on any space. Happened to match the Kitchen Aid appliances when moved into current house 17 years ago. Had to replace a fan motor for the fridge portion, and an ice maker mechanism, but purchased the parts easily and did the replacement myself. NO other issues until I punctured a condenser coil about 3 years ago vacuuming underneath it. Replaced with an identical unit, but it wore a Whirlpool badge. Love it and has been humming along just fine. Y'all can keep all the electronic gadgets and other complex novel features of the other brands like LG, Samsung etc., especially with how they dispense water/ice. A TV in the door? Why?
GON
$150 Site Donor 2025
Below pictured is a just turned five year old, $3000 USD LG fridge that is broken and will be going to dump in the next few days with zero value. The next picture is a $200 USD used fridge that we purchased to replace the LG fridge while we shop for a replacement fridge.
After much research, we discovered the LG fridge is simply not worth repairing. The very well known error is the compressor which is a very high failure item. Because of a class action lawsuit, LG warranties the compressor for ten years, but no warranty on the labor. The labor is about $800 USD, and that is if you can find a tech willing to replace the compressor. Many published stories report the replacement compressors continue to fail. NO way would I buy a LG fridge.
My research points to Bosch as being the best refrigerator to buy. About 2X the cost of a LG, but who needs the hassle of a failing and unrepairable LG fridge.
After much research, we discovered the LG fridge is simply not worth repairing. The very well known error is the compressor which is a very high failure item. Because of a class action lawsuit, LG warranties the compressor for ten years, but no warranty on the labor. The labor is about $800 USD, and that is if you can find a tech willing to replace the compressor. Many published stories report the replacement compressors continue to fail. NO way would I buy a LG fridge.
My research points to Bosch as being the best refrigerator to buy. About 2X the cost of a LG, but who needs the hassle of a failing and unrepairable LG fridge.
Why do you say that?
I see a few remarks that don't favor the bottom freezer configuration - I'm curious what it is that makes it unappealing?
To my lizard brain it would seem that you'd be in the fridge more often, so potentially less stooping over for things that would normally be at the bottom?
I like the idea of a door mounted ice dispenser (and water too) - are they failure prone and difficult and/or expensive to repair? I'm certainly not against skipping them - I've been toying with the idea of adding an RO water filtration dispenser to the sink anyway which negates the need for a fridge mounted dispenser.
To my lizard brain it would seem that you'd be in the fridge more often, so potentially less stooping over for things that would normally be at the bottom?
I like the idea of a door mounted ice dispenser (and water too) - are they failure prone and difficult and/or expensive to repair? I'm certainly not against skipping them - I've been toying with the idea of adding an RO water filtration dispenser to the sink anyway which negates the need for a fridge mounted dispenser.
I have a 12 year old double door, bottom freezer Whirlpool Gold. There is part and that is long and narrow that rides vertically between the two doors, where a piece of plastic broke off making it difficult to close the doors. He ordered the new piece and replaced it for $300 CDN. ( $210 US ). I mentioned the fridge is also making an occasional popping noise. He just smiled and said time to buy a new fridge.
Im surprised you are finding too many options. My wife and I didnt feel that way when shopping for Washer, Dryer and Refrigerator for our new home less than 2 years ago. We are particular though, maybe that is why. We shopped online, in Best Buy, HomeDepot and Lowes, Sam's Club, Costco possibly another place or two that isn't coming to mind right now.
As far as refrigerators,
We found it easy to eliminate brands. We opened the doors to look inside, we found many cheap plastic feeling drawers, with cheap feeling "rollers" (lack of better words) when opening and closing the drawers and cheap plastic shelves on the doors.
Next was fit, finish and hardware. Many of the handles on the doors felt cheap and the worst were the more expensive Kitchen Aid in that respect. The handles are nice but seem to be secured with Allen screws and almost every store we went in they were loose. On top of it the Kitchen Aids were priced higher. Much higher/ We also found foam insulation and ragged edges on the doors of most all the Whirlpools. Other brands, cheap shelves and plastic bins.
So, for my advice, buy whatever brand is going to look best in your kitchen and whatever brand that will make you happy. I know the stuff I mentioned isnt important to others.
We also looked at endless reviews and product evaluations for specific models.
Forums like this are great to get a wide range of thoughts, use those thoughts to see what makes the most sense to you and then follow up by checking things out for yourself using common sense. Because like automobiles, someone will have negative things to say about brands, yet we are talking different models and some will post endless social media commentaries on past models that had issues like LG is the most famous one in here. Yet what you are buying today has nothing to do with those posts.
So ,we went with what worked best in our kitchen, beautiful fit and finish LG refrigerator and the price was the same or better then other junk we were seeing. Also of course, satisfaction scores of the brands as well as reviews and price. We bought the brand everyone hates in here and we absolute love the LG refrigerator, washer and dryer. No way was I going to settle for sloppy construction, materials and plastics.
You say you dont want to fancy, how about this for nice clean look and you will marvel at the attention to detail.
We bought a counter depth so it didnt stick out too far past the counter and cabinets and they are a little more money, it also comes in a less expensive larger model.
This is the larger model - https://www.lg.com/us/refrigerators/lg-lrsxs2706s-side-by-side-refrigerator
This is the one we bought (counter depth) but we didnt buy in Same Club, it was either Homedepot or Best Buy.
https://www.samsclub.com/p/lg-23-cu...234752590470425&wl16=&wl17=&wl18=&wl19=&wl20=
We found one other nicely constructed brand and that was Samsung.
If you get into past models you can find anything negative in social media. Go with what you like.
If you one to think social media and class action lawsuits matter then you will drive yourself nuts. Of course the most famous is LG, here is another more recent from Whirlpool.
Thing is the top selling brands of which LG is one, wouldn't be a top brand if everyone had issues. Same goes for a 60 page proposal for a class action lawsuit against Whirlpool below.
If you subscribe the the lawsuit thing, here is the latest on Whirlpool. BTW, we tried desperately to buy a Whirlpool but to us, all we saw was cheap construction.
https://www.classaction.org/news/ce...fridges-plagued-by-wiring-defect-lawsuit-says
This is our LG counter depth
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I would be concerned that it would be more difficult to find a repair shop willing to work on a Bosch refrigerator than a LG unit which has a broader presence in the U.S. appliance market (e.g., TVs, Washers & Dryers, Refrigerators and Ranges/Ovens). Bosch is well known in the USA for their dishwashers, but don't have much visibility outside of Europe for their other major appliances. I'm sure that parts availability for a Bosch refrigerator would be more limited than a unit from the Whirlpool, GE & Frigidaire families. Your research may have already led you to this informative video that makes some good points when shopping for a refrigerator.
I know the OP doesnt want to spend a lot on a product like Bosch. But I see reference to it in here a couple times.
All well and good. Buy what you like but just remember you can have an issue with any product.
Which leads me to this.
You can buy a Samsung or LG that REALLY looks sweet and close to the quality feel of a Bosch. Actually what I didnt like about a lot of Bosch, if you are one like my wife and I, we drink a lot of water and use ice. Many Bosch models lack ice and water in the outside door I think.
Anyway you can buy the Samsung or LG for half the price. So why not just get the LG or Samsung for half the price and in 8 years or so throw it out and buy another new one. Instead of having an old Bosch, for the same cost you can replace your refrigerator every 8 years and have a brand new one instead of an 8 year old Bosch.
(but you wont have to if you dont want too)
This post in made in fun but if you really think about it... then again, the OP is not looking at Bosch price levels so maybe this will make him feel better.
PS, we would N-E-V-E-R buy a refrigerator without water and ice in the door. This is where side by sides make sense for our use, we dont drink sugar (or fake sugar beverages), we do drink a lot of water. The ice maker is in the freezer section = less problems then a French door model with the ice maker in the refrigerator section.
Another issue we noticed when looking was the amount of broken rollers on French Door refrigerators, we find the side by side jsut makes sense. SO much to break on French doors.
All well and good. Buy what you like but just remember you can have an issue with any product.
Which leads me to this.
You can buy a Samsung or LG that REALLY looks sweet and close to the quality feel of a Bosch. Actually what I didnt like about a lot of Bosch, if you are one like my wife and I, we drink a lot of water and use ice. Many Bosch models lack ice and water in the outside door I think.
Anyway you can buy the Samsung or LG for half the price. So why not just get the LG or Samsung for half the price and in 8 years or so throw it out and buy another new one. Instead of having an old Bosch, for the same cost you can replace your refrigerator every 8 years and have a brand new one instead of an 8 year old Bosch.
(but you wont have to if you dont want too)
This post in made in fun but if you really think about it... then again, the OP is not looking at Bosch price levels so maybe this will make him feel better.
PS, we would N-E-V-E-R buy a refrigerator without water and ice in the door. This is where side by sides make sense for our use, we dont drink sugar (or fake sugar beverages), we do drink a lot of water. The ice maker is in the freezer section = less problems then a French door model with the ice maker in the refrigerator section.
Another issue we noticed when looking was the amount of broken rollers on French Door refrigerators, we find the side by side jsut makes sense. SO much to break on French doors.
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