xualice said:Hi Mattytude,
I appreciate your sharing insights as a professional! After much research late at nights, I am picking the following appliances. Please let me know what you think...
- Range: Dacor Duel fuel 6 burner. Are you aware of any issue with Dacor? The brand seems to be more popular in California (headquarter in SolCal). I even plan to sign up for their cooking demo in their office, of course, using Dacor appliances.
- Frig: KitchenAid bottom freezer 42'' french door. Looks like there is no other brand that has this feature spec.
- Dishwasher: Bosch. People can not stop raving about the Bosch dishwasher. But the sales people at the store all warn me about the fact that there is no food grinder, small utensil holders and the filter cleaning.
- Microwave/Convection combo: GE Monogram Advantium. This one has 'speed cook' technology. It looks very useful and multi-functional.
- Small beverage center: Marvel. Similar to wine cooler but colder. We need a place for all the drinks (wine, beer, soda cans, etc). I didn't find review on this brand though.
I also researched home warranty. It doesn't say the expensive high-end appliances are excluded. What do you think of that? Better than getting extended warranty from the store?
Regarding LG, I spent around $1000 on their top of the line LG front-loading washer one and half year ago. The water keeps getting in and underneath the door gasket (that rubber ring). Over the time, mold develops due to all the water accumulated there and it is absolutely disgusting. While I am waiting to schedule repair with Home Depot extended warranty, I called LG help line. The rep said the user should dry and clean the gasket every time after use?! It is ridiculous and there is no way to clean underneath the gasket. And the rep said it is not an uncommon problem that people call in for. As soon as I mentioned the word 'mold', she knew what the problem was. And she denied it was a design flaw, of course. I am very disappointed and I will be NOT buy LG anything again!
Thanks!
As far as Dacor is concerned, I do know they make good cooking products. I dont have any retailers that carry that line, but have heard through the industry that they are well built and provide alot of features. DCS is also a good choice in the mid to high-end cooking catagory.
Kitchen Aid (made by Whirlpool) Built-ins Refrigerators have a great track record and are usually about $2000-$3000 less than SubZ, Viking, & Thermador. In fact, Kitchen Aid has made all the Thermador built in models up until last year, and they were building us a great unit, with almost no service issues.
Bosch dishwashers do not need a food grinder, they heat the water to 161 degrees and use 2 pumps for greater water pressure. The combination of the heat and pressure breaks down the leftover food and also self cleans the filter. The only time you would need to clean the filter is if a bone or something hard were to get into it, which would protect the pumps from getting clogged and jammed.
GE Advantium has really come a long way in the last 8 years since it was introduced. They have added alot of features and there is nothing like it on the market..great choice! GE makes great cooking products period! No other manufacturer can match them in quality and features for the dollar. GE also owns Hotpoint which is their low-end line.
I have heard of Marvel, but really dont know anything about the quality. U-Line is the industrys favorite choice, but their product are rather expensive.
Warranties are another issue, as I sold them when I worked the retail floor several years ago. Products like refrigerators, freezers, ranges, ovens, cooktops, microwaves rarely need service which is mainly due to very few moving parts. Washers, dryers and dishwashers are completely another story, many moving parts where water is concerned is a recipe for a service call in the first 5 years of ownership. Home Warranties are hard to collect upon, and usually require a deductable. I have never had good luck with a home warranty myself. The cost seems fairly high ($300-$400) for just a years worth of coverage. I would probably go with a store warranty on the laundry and dishwasher alone.
LG, Samsung, Goldstar are all fairly new to the upper end appliance market. These are all South Korean owned companies that are changing the industry with lower prices for the consumer and higher profits for retailers. Unfortunatly, by making a cheaper product, you have to cut costs somewhere.
LG laundry products although innovative and eye catching, have had many service problems along with Whirlpools Duet laundry, and Maytags Neptune series. These companies are new to making front load washers and have had many problems that will probably get ironed out as they re-engineer these units. European manufacturers such as Meile, Asko, & Bosch have been making front load washers for decades and have better overall engineering, but again at a higher price. |
