<p>Counter depth refrigerators cost a lot more because they hold a lot less!</p>
<p>I know, makes no sense, but just thought I would throw that in for the folks who think you get what you pay for.</p>
<p>And built-ins are even more expensive than counter depth (counter depth doors stick out a bit past the cabinets while built-ins are completely flush)! Some people recess a regular fridge to get the look of built-in or counter depth. Many people I know who have one of these keep an additional refrigerator (in a basement, garage, mudroom etc) to make up for the lost storage space. Apparently, even when less is more - it’s still less!</p>
<p>OK, I bought a new fridge! A Samsung french door with freezer on the bottom. I was able to get a smaller one than the standard 26 cubic feet (empty nest here). They make them in 20 and 18 c.f., so got the 20. It’s very reasonable, listed for $1299. “Platinum” finish, which is a brushed stainless look. The white was $100 less. It’s being delivered Thursday. Can’t wait!</p>
<p>I was shocked to find that as of very recently there is only a one year warranty on refrigerators! Our fridge died only 5 months out of warranty (it was a 5-year warranty then) and we ordered our new one yesterday. Bad news was that the color we wanted has been discontinued across the board–bisque. So now we’ll have all appliances in bisque except for the fridge, which will stick out like a sore thumb. I’m very angry that ours failed, and that we can’t replace it with what we want. I’m assuming that the new one-year warranty is admission on the manufacturer’s part that this refrigerator is likely to fail soon after the warranty expires, as did our last one.</p>
<p>Can frigs be painted?</p>
<p>^^ Yes - I recall seeing a specialty company that can come to the house and do it but that was afew years ago. Maybe the current trend of ‘stainless steel’ is putting a damper on that business though.</p>
<p>One of the salespeople I spoke with said the cost of bisque touch up paint is 20 times the cost of white; I don’t know if that’s part of the problem or not. I think I’ll try to cover as much of the fridge as I can with “fridge art.” It’s very depressing to spend a huge chunk of money on something you don’t want, but need!</p>
<p>In my previous house, I lived for 12 years with a Harvest Gold Kitchen-Aid dishwasher that worked perfectly. I painted it when we did all the little “touch-ups” to sell the house. It looked great! No idea how it held up, but I certainly wished I had done it 12 years earlier…</p>
<p>I’m disappointed to know about the bisque. When we re-did this kitchen, I did the self-made “flush” appearance–inserted the fridge into a prior closet and trimmed the drywall to fit close to the fridge’s perimeters. My walls are cream colored, and I get lots of favorable comments about how people didn’t even know the fridge was there. I always hated how far fridges stuck out into the room. I’ll hope my bisque model keeps plugging along until it’s available again.</p>
<p>I want one of those Samsung french door refrigerators so bad. But I am praying our 21 1/2 year old GE will last at least into 2011. If it doesn’t we will probably be using my daughters dorm fridge for a while!! Mind you I have a long lost of things that need fixing or replacing (car, fridge, bath tub) once college is over - I think I am being a little wishful thinking that we will be able to afford it all.</p>
<p>So far our GE has been good. I will miss it when it dies. it has an external door for accessing milk and juice - don’t see them nowadays. And a really useful sliding storage thingy with 5 microwaveable storage containers that slides in *under *a shelf - so useful and such a space saver. We use both things a lot - if I could find a new fridge that had those it would be top of my list.</p>
<p>swimcatsmom, Our old fridge, the one I’m replacing, is also a GE. It has been going strong for 17 years without a single problem. The refrigerator part still works fine, especially after cleaning out the bottom as per suggestions here, but the freezer is definitely on the blink. The new one only comes with a one year warranty and we didn’t buy the extended plan. Hope that wasn’t a mistake. The Samsung has a drawer in the freezer, right under the fridge.</p>
<p>Oh do I understand the problem finding a bisque fridge. Our fridge died five months ago and all of our appliances are bisque. I finally got what I want by going to Sears online. I couldn’t get the french doors with ice crusher in bisque but I did get almost the same one that I had: side by side with ice maker and water in the door. So go online and look. It was super easy to order that way too. My new bisque fridge looks good in my kitchen with the other bisque appliances.</p>
<p>It is frustrating that you can buy a washer and dryer in lots of colors but can’t get a refrigerator in a basic neutral color. You would think one appliance maker would jump at the chance to offer something different. I think the thing that got me the most was the fact that not only could you get stainless steel, you could get one in silver. Seems pretty close to the same thing to me.</p>
<p>I had some momentary panic, thinking perhaps that I hadn’t looked at Sears online, but I did and I guess we’re not willing to compromise on what we want in terms of style and features for the color. We want the French Doors with a water dispenser inside the fridge, not through the door. Can’t find that in bisque but I did see one without the water dispenser. I personally don’t care but my husband really wanted that filtered water.</p>
<p>We really like not having to bend down to find things in the fridge and love the french door style with freezer on the bottom. I wouldn’t like a side by side. It’s hard to change when you find something you really like! For example, when we moved into our house there was a Bosch dishwasher, and we sure do like that. Well, that broke just a few weeks after our fridge went, and it turns out that’s not available in bisque either. But it was fixable and the repair guy said it should last for some time. I love that Bosch so much that I’ll never get another dishwasher–it’s so quiet.</p>
<p>Oh well, white fridge coming early next week, hopefully. We have so much ice and snow that getting it into the house should be interesting.</p>
<p>I was on another board that showed a chart of Whirlpool - it’s up over 300% since last March! So I connected it with this thread to think - they’re making appliances that last a year or two now and will make a killing! They do washers and dryers but maybe it applies to refrigerators too.</p>