<p>I need help from the experts! I have a 15 year old Kitchenaid side by side built in refrigerator with a freon leak. Due to the estimated cost of repairing it I have been looking at replacement units. After reading reviews online my head is about to explode. It appears that no brand is reliable at this point. The repairman that was here says none of the new units will last which is a huge concern since they cost between $7000 and $10,000. Does anyone want to weigh in? I hate these decisions.</p>
<p>New side by side refrigerators are $7K - 10K?? I think that’s incorrect. Check Besty Buy or Home Depot. I think Best Buy will meet other’s prices. Best Buy has a Kitchenaid for $3,099…if it lasts 15 years it will have been $206 per year. No reason to buy on at $7K IMO.</p>
<p>$7,000 to $10,000? Nonsense. You can get a very decent fridge for $2,000, and a fantastic, fancy fridge for $3,000.</p>
<p>I just bought a KitchenAid because it was the only manufacturer that made exactly what I wanted. But GE Profile makes great stuff for a reasonable price.</p>
<p>Others will have other recommendations, I’m sure.</p>
<p>Built-ins are more expensive.</p>
<p>After scrutinizing online sites and a few trips to dealers, we just bought one at Home Depot that had store & manufacturer markdowns.
I think it was $840 after rebates & before taxes.
Plus Maytag so made in USA.
This is the first full size fridge we have ever bought- our first was an apt size fridge that had been my mothers. Then we were appalled by prices of full size refrigerators so we bought a compact fridge ( that still works great) and used it for five years, but since my knee surgery, I couldn’t really stoop down anymore, so we went for a bottom freezer. ( which I love so much)
Not bad considering we have lived here since 1983!</p>
<p>Its silly that built ins are more expensive since there is less to it.
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<p>Sadly I am restricted to a built in model and they are significantly more expensive than free standing models.</p>
<p>This thread is timely as I am researching fridges for my mom. Planning to check out the consumer reports from the library this afternoon. :)</p>
<p>What is a built-in-model fridge? Would that be a regular fridge with moldings built around it? Not sure why they would be so more expensive than free standing? Pardon le ignorance!</p>
<p>Do you have to get a built in? At that price you could purchase a freestanding side by side refrigerator every few years.</p>
<p>Did you expect to get more than 15 years out of your current refrigerator? If not, I would be interested in learning what the benefits are of having a built in to justify that price.</p>
<p>Good luck. I’ve also heard that today’s appliances are not built to last.</p>
<p>ETA: Wouldn’t it be cheaper to fix it?</p>
<p>Yes, I am restricted to a built in. It was a design choice we made 15 years ago when we renovated our kitchen and I prefer to stick with it rather than attempting to rework the cabinets and floor plan.
Yes, it would be a lot cheaper to fix it but I suspect I would just be postponing the inevitable. I may still end up doing just that.</p>
<p>I’ve got a SubZero fridge; it’s a built-in. We have two units–fridge and freezer–side by side. We got them when we built the house 12 years ago. I also have SubZero refrigerator drawers, which are really, really convenient. Never had a problem with the drawers or the freezer. However, I have had many problems with the built-in refrigerator. It was fine for about 4 or 5 years, but since then I end up calling the repair people at least once a year. Everything has been fixable, but it seems to me that for the price, these units should perform better. Maybe I got a lemon, but I wouldn’t buy SubZero again.</p>
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<p>Be sure they have the latest edition. The cover says, “The Kitchen of Your Dreams.” There’s a lot of refrigerators covered in it.</p>
<p>Since you have a crazy expensive built-in and want to keep it that way, I think you should get some more estimates on repairing the the one you have. It’s hard to believe that fixing the freon leak, which likely means replacing the compressor unit, would cost anywhere near what a new fridge would cost unless the parts are unavailable.</p>
<p>^RacinR, thanks for the tip!</p>
<p>I have a friend who has a 15-year-old SubZero built-in. She had to spend $4,000 for a repair, but a new one would have cost her $15,000.</p>
<p>Ouch to both solutions, in my book.</p>
<p>If you do get a new fridge make sure the shelves don’t stop short of the walls. Mine do and it drives me bananas. Small things fall into the crack all the time and the “no-spill” edges insure that everything that gets shoved to the back tips over. I can’t tell you how much I hate my fridge!</p>
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<p>It’s hard to imagine why anyone thinks they need a $15,000 fridge, especially given that it’s likely less reliable than one that costs a tenth of that.</p>
<p>I wonder if they just want the look or if they really think then need whatever additional functionality it has and whether that functionality is really worth that cost.</p>
<p>The “in” look is the French door, which comes in counter or regular size. Almost all the ones I looked at (36") ARE less than $2700, above 2400. LG has a small ice maker, Samsung’s is big, GE and Kenmore’s are comparable. Look for the LED lights in front, rather than rear.</p>
<p>Personally, I think the side by side will stay more organized. </p>
<p>I’d only consider a sub-zero if I was moving into permanent home when kids small, and expected to be there for years. </p>
<p>Racin R is correct, latest CR is all about kitchens.</p>
<p>Note to self … veto any kitchen design with built-in fridge. </p>
<p>We seriously considered french door model, but the freezer food seemed less accessible than side-by-side. We are lucky to have enough room for a larger side-by-side. The smaller ones have realllllly narrow freezer.</p>
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<p>As someone who bought a Sub-Zero, I can tell you that I bought it because I trusted the recommendation of the kitchen designer. When you’re building a new house, there are millions of decisions to make and you can’t possibly be knowledgeable or research every choice, so you trust the folks with whom you’re working. The kitchen designer recommended the SubZero–so we bought it. It looks great and works with the rest of the kitchen. Unfortunately, it breaks down more often than one would expect given the price.</p>
<p>^^ I’m not a very trusting person, especially when it comes to trusting someone else’s profession of knowledge, so I do my own research, especially for big ticket items like a fridge. I don’t see the utility of a huge fridge unless it’s for a very large family because really, how much stuff does one really keep in a fridge? I’ve also read that SubZero in addition to being expensive up front is not very reliable and when it breaks, is very costly to fix. It sounds like you mostly bought it for the look from what you said (almost any fridge will work with the rest of a kitchen).</p>
<p>Note - my Kitchenaid fridge (regular side by side) broke once but I fixed it myself with about a $20 part. I’ll admit that looks were a factor in my choice of the fridge but the cost of the looks (stainless curved front) was trivial.</p>