I Hate GE Appliances

Parent Cafe
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<p>We purchased our home new in 2002. The kitchen came fully-equipped with GE Monogram Stainless Steel appliances. Here’s a brief history of the problems:</p>

<p>Built-in Refrigerator-- (My 42" model costs $8.800 to replace)</p>

<p>Two weeks after moving in, the ice maker would freeze up and not work. Had 5 or 6 service calls and several ice makers replaced, before the GE tech discovered air was escaping through a mis-drilled screw hole. N/C, but lots of time off from work. </p>

<p>Milk shelf on the door has been replaced 3 times, at 2, 5, and 7 year intervals. It keeps cracking in the same corner, even though we do not put milk on this shelf and never cram lots of items onto this shelf. I was on the hook for $140 the first time the shelf was replaced and was covered under a parts replacement warranty BUT if another shelf cracks, I will have to shell out another $140.</p>

<p>The spring that closes the fresh food compartment door broke and needed to be replaced in year 4. It necessitated a service call because the removal of the old one and the installation of the new one is “blind to the eye” from the front panel. $135.00 </p>

<p>The air damper kit, which controls air flow from the freezer into the fresh food compartment needed to be replaced due to a PLASTIC hinge that broke. Why don’t they design a hinge to NOT crack in cold conditions, using unbreakable plastic or metal? $250.00</p>

<p>Microwave Wall Oven–</p>

<p>The finish, on both sides of the turntable, wore off in year 3. I was told to go buy some high temp paint and touch it up so it wouldn’t spark causing the magnitron to become damaged.</p>

<p>Magnitron replaced in year 6- $290.00. The same size microwave is no longer available. If I wanted to purchase another microwave, I would also have to purchase a new size face plate at a cost of $300.00, not including the cost of the microwave.</p>

<p>Wall Oven (top)–</p>

<p>The fan bearing is going out. It started getting noisy around year 5.</p>

<p>Dishwasher–</p>

<p>Top rack started rusting in year 4. Covered under warranty N/C. A little over a year later the bottom rack rusted and not covered under the warranty any longer. Unknown replacement cost. I was told that they no longer coat metal because the hot utensils in the dry cycle was melting the coating.</p>

<p>Misc.-- Clothes Dryer–</p>

<p>High pitched squeak developed after only 14 months. After 3 service calls and bearing and belts replaced, they finally agreed to replace it with a different model. They don’t know why it squeaks, but they speculate it is because the drum and heater assembly is Stainless Steel. They think it may have gotten tweaked slightly, when they delivered it or in the factory, and the metal is expanding when it gets hot causing it to rub against the inside of the cabinet.</p>

<p>Please boycott GE!</p>

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<p>My whirlpool microwave’s magnatron died in about year 3. It was almost as expensive to replace that as to buy a new microwave. At $300+ it really ticked me off.</p>

<p>Hate my GE dishwasher - it has never washed well.</p>

<p>Hate even more the Maytag stove top whose knobs constantly break. We have replaced all of them twice and the current set only one is not broken. They are cheap plastic.</p>

<p>The above items were all bought maybe 5 years ago.</p>

<p>In the meantime my 22+ year old GE refrigerator is still going strong, and the 40 year old wall oven still works fine (the microwave and cook top we replaced also worked, just wanted new and better - just got new).</p>

<p>I think it is the way current things are made. Badly.</p>

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<p>I agree that newer appliances are made more poorly than the older ones. Our Kenmore fridge died 3 months out of warranty, and that was when fridges had a 5-year warranty. Now they only have 1 year warranties, which I think is an admission by manufacturers that they don’t expect the appliance to last much longer than that.</p>

<p>Our backup fridge in the basement, however, is very old and still going strong.</p>

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<p>I have no comment on GE appliances’ quality, since I never had them, but one thing in the OP caught my attention. Damper kit? This uber-expensive fridge does not have a dual compressor system?! What a rip off, indeed. Fridges in this price range typically have separate compressors so there is no air exchange between the freezer and the fridge part to keep the contents fresher for longer periods of time.</p>

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<p>Got to say I love my GE range at our cabin. It is a basic slide in model, about 5 years old. It works perfectly, and heats up really fast! Unlike my expensive Dacor double oven that never holds a proper temperature and take 35 minutes to heat up!</p>

<p>Reservations anyone?</p>

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<p>I have a clunky old microwave bought from Montgomery Wards (don’t know who made it) in 1983 or 1984. It is big and won’t fit in the space above my oven meant for microwaves. So I’ve replaced it twice with newer models which have both died. I keep dragging it up from the basement and will keep using it.</p>

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<p>If any of you ever splurge for a built-in refrigerator, I strongly advise purchasing an extended warranty, above and beyond what the credit card companies will cover. At $7,500 to $9,000 cost, you’re basically stuck with them “for life”. My GE technician just recently said “they are like a Beverly Hills housewife… expensive to maintain” (his words not mine), and the service calls can get really expensive. I am not a huge advocate of extended warranties, but I am in this instance.</p>

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<p>My GE Monogram frig has a malfunctioning ice dispenser, it would be $400 to replace the plastic part which is poorly engineered. I actually know 3 other people with the same problem!</p>

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<p>Many of GE appliances are made under contract to other manufacturers.
A 2nd-hand-appliance dealer told me that motors are made cheaper for a life expectancy of 5-7 years (average time for home refi, move, up/down sizing). The lower the initial price of the new appliance, the cheaper the motor. It’s all about price and the repair warranty. </p>

<p>GE at one time made more money in its financial services arm than it does in manufacturing. It also pays very little in US taxes.</p>

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<p>I’ve had two GE ranges that I’ve loved. The first was going strong at 17 when we remodeled our kitchen 8 years ago. The one we got at that time is still working flawlessly. Our washer and dryer are also GE and are 10+ years old - one repair was needed to the washer at some point, but it was minor. We tend to buy middle-of-the-line appliances, and never get the ones with too many bells and whistles. </p>

<p>($8,800 for a fridge? Seriously?)</p>

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<p>“Many of GE appliances are made under contract to other manufacturers.”</p>

<p>You’re correct, LongPrime, and the manufacturers can be located worldwide. For example, my oven was made by an Italian manufacturer (per the technician who just recently serviced my 14-month old dryer) and my dryer was manufactured in Canada, per the “Made in Canada” plaque on the back. This same tech said that the washers and dryers will all start being made in the U.S. once again in the near future.</p>

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<p><a href=“$8,800%20for%20a%20fridge?%20Seriously?”>quote</a>

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<p>I just have to echo that…:eek:</p>

<p>When we replaced our washer and dryer 3 yrs ago, the salesman told me that washers and dryers nowadays, no matter the make, and no matter how much they cost, are made to last only five to seven years, which is the point at which “research” has shown that consumers want to move up to the latest and fanciest model available anyway. He said no one wants the old models by that time, even if they’re still working like a champ. I told him that was bull-feathers (well, no, I didn’t actually say feathers:p) to his face and said it was all about corporate greed and a total lack of shame. It also displays a shocking level of environmental waste, probably negating any savings to be had from an “energy star” designation.:mad:</p>

<p>I suppose that 5-7 year planned obsolescence extends to just about all household appliances now.</p>

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<p>GE at one time was a pretty good brand. Just like the other General. </p>

<p>Have anyone seen a low price Samsung or LG, refrigerator or washer-dryer. </p>

<p>We as a nation wonder what happened to our manufacturing capability- Ask our industrial leaders and politicians.</p>

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<p><a href=“$8,800%20for%20a%20fridge?%20Seriously?”>quote</a>

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<p>Not unusual for the top end fridges. My H wishes that the Sub-Zero I chose for our kitchen reno was only $8800!</p>

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<p>Well actually, I was exempting Sub-Zero, Thermador, Viking, et all, from my expression of shock. Everyone already expects them to be mind-bogglingly expensive. I wouldn’t expect to pay that much for GE though.</p>

<p>I’d be angry beyond words, however, if my breathtakingly expensive Sub-Zero were to cack within 5-7 years.</p>

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<p>For those who want to research appliance experiences from another friendly group, go to Gardenweb.com . I may be starting to sound like a broken record here. Meanwhile, back to trying to find an oven that doesn’t have all that touch-screen electronic stuff…</p>

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<p>Oh, and our greater than $2000 (which I thought was excessive) dual-compressor GE refrigerator has a problem with ice build-up behind the vegetable drawers. Cost us plenty, the repair guy thought there was a “service bulletin” (meaning they knew of a problem) but our exact model wasn’t included. Sigh.</p>

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<p>Three years ago we replaced our Maytag washer and dryer with GE. The washer is a front loader and is a piece of c**p. I have to re-spin the clothes about 50% of the time and have not been able to use fabric softener for the last year because it will not go in, it just sits in the little place where I pour it. Had it serviced and “nothing’s wrong”. Yeah, right.</p>

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<p>I’ve heart that is the way things are made nowadays. Hold on to your old appliances.</p>

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<p>…and a couple of years ago some CCers laughed at me when I started a thread about how they don’t make 'em like they used to. :)</p>