Just starting to shop around for appliances and I was wondering about the collective experience with the choices of white, black or stainless steel and the pros/cons. Thinking back to Glen's note on his S/S fridge weeping, it's back to that question of: "If you were buying new appliances right now, what would you pick and why?" The guy at Sears says one customer uses Pledge polish on her stainless steel fridge to protect it. Also, what about dishwasher interior coating for wear in this climate and for noise barrier - does anyone have stainless steel interior and does it rust or do you think it was worth the extra expanse? Thanks, Laura
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I bought all new appliances from Sears when we moved here eight years ago. Stove is white with black trim and top, dishwasher is black the fridge was a nice side by side white. I ended up replacing the fridge last year after it rusted out on the side, plus I could never keep it from icing up here, and it was a frost free. Sears kept telling us, when they would come out, that the side by side types do not breath well here with all of the humidity and they are notorious for freezing up. Mine would get about three inches of ice from the bottom to the top and then the fans would quit working, towards the end I was manually defrosting the stupid thing every two weeks. So I replaced the fridge with a black one that has the fridge on bottom freezer on top, and have not had any problems with it at all. The interior of my stove is pretty well rusted out as well, but I am not replacing it until absolutely necessary as I know now it will not matter, the next one will do the same. Turtle wax polish was recommended to us by the sears repairmen when they came, and I think it does help. The dishwasher is plastic inside and so far no problems with it.
I had extended warranties on all of these when they were new and kept the one on the fridge going all along as it was such a pain, when we got rid of it it still had some warranty left.
I usually say "no thanks" to extended warranties but your note made me pause to think it may be worthwhile. How many out there have purchased and then tried to apply/use the extended warranty? Is it mostly the fridge that takes the beating in terms of wear and tear? In my comparison shopping, I find the cost of the refridgerator to be the most expensive compared to the mainland but then I'm always looking for a deal! What kind of dishwasher do you have and does it do the job in a quiet and efficient manner? What breaks down first in this climate?
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Aki, I bough a gas range, gas dryer, front load washer, side by side fridge, and a dishwasher 4 years ago from Sears. No rust problems but there have been other problems. I didn't buy any extended warranties as I was always like you and said "no thanks" when asked. The fridge die on me while still under warranty (a relay went out) and the tech said that quit often when that relay went out the compressor usually went too and was surprised that it didn't. With that knowledge I bought an extended policy for the fridge, just in case. Flash forward a few years and "shock!" I noticed the washer was doing an odd thing once in a while. I checked through on the internet to see if I could diagnose what was taking place but struck out. About a week later Sears called up and wanted to know if I wanted to renew the policy on the fridge. I asked if it would be able to get policies on my other appliances too, and they said yes!! So for 500 bucks I got policies on all but the dishwasher. They hardly ever die and I can fix one of those. 3 weeks later the washer died. Tech came out and had to replace an electronic module and the motor. The bill came to almost 550 bucks! I don't know if I'll extend next time or not as money is tighter now. It is like life.... just one big crap shoot! Good luck guys!
Royall
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As far as applinces rusting out: I think being close to the ocean would have the greatest rusting impact- moving farther inland, it would be the general humidity. From this can I assume appliances last a bit longer the father inland you go?
Puna: Our roosters crow first
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"...What kind of dishwasher do you have and does it do the job in a quiet and efficient manner?
answer: renee [:o)] lol.
SS white refrigerator came with this house that was built in 2004. tiny rust spots on outside. no problems with ice build up or weeping. white gas stove came witht the house, too. rust is appearing on the burner thingies.
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"a great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."
w. james
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Well the only thing I can add is that be sure if you buy SS you get SS. Hint a magnet will not be attracted to Stainless Steel! MANY appliances including some hi- end ones claim to be SS and are not!
A friend who lives at the 4000 ft elevation has a refrigerator, rusts there just the same as low elevation, just perhaps not as quickly. Turtle wax will help but in time the rust always wins.
Luckily Sears doesn't put a Hawaii premium on their appliances.
mella l
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mella l
Art and Science
bytheSEA
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I found the biggest problems to be with my front load washer/dryer and the electronics boards. I had both replaced by warranty service under the lemon clause with the same problem three times in a row in a certain period of time. I did find it necessary to be a little difficult with them about just how much it would cost to replace appliances (they wanted to give me a check for the lowest price they could find online without consideration of shipping) but a little persistance won out. Then I went right back to Lowes and bought the new ones and another extended warranty! I like not dealing with Sears. They don't come to our area often enough and they have an established pattern. You wait two to four weeks for the appointment. A man comes out and figures out the problem. They do not carry parts on their trucks. You pay a service charge for the visit, they order parts and have them shipped to your house. You give them your credit card to pay for the parts. When the part arrives they call you to verify it is available and then they make an appointment to come back. Of course, three times out of four, it is either the wrong part or there is another problem..... I know this is a bad attitude but I went through it over and over.
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That did happen with my TV. They had to replace the motherboard, and the replacement sent was defective. It did suck. I didn't have to pay for any of it under the extended warranty though.
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On the mainland, we avoided extended warranties like the plague. But when we bought a new washer and dryer for our vacation rental here, we figured a warranty made sense -- and sure enough, two years post-purchase, we needed a warranty repair on the washer. In our first year here, we've learned Hawaii is tough on machines and appliances, so the extended warranties might not be such a bad deal after all...plus, with the cost of labor and shipping of parts here, I wouldn't be surprised if they replace rather than fix at a higher rate than on the mainland.
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