<p>I have a Kitchenaid with the ice in the door and it works fine. I liked it better because it doesn’t take up room inside the freezer. It’s also very easy to remove the rather large ‘ice bucket’ from the door and dump all the ice into a cooler if wanted.</p>
<p>Unless things have changed for Sears recently, Kenmore and Kitchenaid are both made by Whirlpool.</p>
<p>I hate ice and water dispensers in the door because they take up a lot of space and don’t look sleek.</p>
<p>I have a side-by-side GE Monogram in black lucite. My contractor thought it looked like something from NASA. It shows fingerprints, but they’re easily gotten rid of. It doesn’t hold magnets, but that’s fine with me – I got a bulletin board with a fancy picture frame for that sort of stuff. Keeps the fridge looking nice and sleek and uncluttered.</p>
<p>Ice maker has had a few minor problems, but the whole thing is eight years old now, and I expect it to last another ten. Very happy with it.</p>
<p>I have a built in side by side by Kitchen Aid with doors that match our cabinets. So no magnets. It is about 10 yrs old. Have not had any problems except I do find that sometimes the top shelf items freeze. What I don’t care for is that it is hard to fit wide items in the freezer. I still have my old refrigerator out in the garage so Costco size items and frozen pizzas end up outside.
I know many people getting freezers on the bottom and most find that arrangement preferable.
What I have a problem with is the ice tasting and smelling like garlic</p>
<p>Love, love, love our bottom-freezer Amana – now about two years old. That’s two votes.</p>
<p>Go to sites such as Sears and read the customer reviews for various models. Amana got good reviews from Consumer Reports and its physical features sound good. I’m waiting for my 15 year old 25 cu ft Kitchenaid top freezer model to die, had it repaired a few years ago and now it wants to live forever… I’ve researched and it seems as though they don’t build them like they used to, so old favorites may not be useful in determining quality in new models.</p>
<p>Here’s a third vote for bottom freezer Amana - love it; we’ve had it for over 3 years. We bought the stainless one since H cannot stand magnets on the fridge and I like the stainless look.</p>
<p>We had a bottom freezer Amana for ten years and it was great. A few years ago we moved and got a large Kitchen Aid Superba side by side and we like it even better than the bottom freezer.</p>
<p>We have a GE Profile counter depth side by side. I’m with others…when you figure out what I should get to replace it…I will. It’s running now… but one year to the date of purchase (12 years ago), the condenser died. A neighbor had the SAME problem. I ranted and raved and they DID pay for some of the EXPENSIVE repair, but not all of it. I don’t know if the Profile line is better now or not. I don’t really like a side by side anyway…no way to fit a large pizza box in. BUT we need a counter depth fridge…and the three door models are very expensive. Yikes.</p>
<p>And then there’s the Sub-Zero - absolutely divine, but unfortunately, I need the money for tuition.</p>
<p>Second vote for the Kitchenaid Side by Side Superba (counter depth). Fine fridge and it looks great. Also very quiet. Love the in-door water and ice. Cool blue lights on that panel. I fit a pizza box last week in the fridge no problem. Not sure about a frozen pizza box since I don’t “do” frozen pizza. Expensive though. Yeah - would have loved a sub-zero but no way with the price. Our old Whirpool monster fridge is in the basement (it was h*ll to get it down there). Nice to have for extra storage though.</p>
<p>What’s so great about the Sub-Zeros? Why are they so expensive? I’ve heard (obviously anecdotally, from maybe all of two people) that they break more than they should. It’s not in my budget, but I’m curious.</p>
<p>Two friends with subzero fridges. Both had problems…repairs VERY expensive.</p>
<p>Hmmmm. There’s a universe of four. Unless Thumper and I have the same friends.</p>
<p>We also have Kitchenaid…one of the stainless built-ins (architect series I think?). </p>
<p>Hate it. Hate. It. We have had the compressor replaced 4 times, it goes into crazy defrost mode causing the pan to fill with water and leak all over the kitchen floor, icemaker has been replaced twice. My neighbor has the same fridge, same problems. But, both were installed 8 years ago and hopefully improvements have been made. </p>
<p>On the other hand, my old GE Profile in the laundry is 11+ years old and has not required one single repair. It’s the best oversized soda and wine cooler ever. ;)</p>
<p>Don’t have a subzero myself but know some folks who do. They look marvelous - really built in - vs the counter depth with the doors sticking out. Plus, they’re very big - LOTS of storage. Temp control is good. Plus, of course, it’s a status symbol. If you look around these kitchens, you’ll also find Viking stoves, fancy double ovens, built in wine coolers, custom cabinets with lots of crown molding-the whole bit.
Me, I’m getting my cabinets painted and they’re gonna look great…</p>
<p>Other websites to search- PriceGrabber and, to get ratings of the reviewers, ConsumerSearch.com.</p>
<p>Thanks to all who have given information. We are still searching. I was originally drawn to the “french door” models but am rethinking - would I end up digging through large numbers of mystery packages in that deep,deep freezer bin? Is having an ice maker in the refrigerator section just asking for trouble? The new line of GE Profile have 2 compressors so the dry freezer air and the more humid refrigerator air never mix. Pricey though. Adding to the confusion: some GE models are built by Samsung and have “twins” in that brand. Fortunately the old one in the laundry room is still chugging along - displaced cases of diet pepsi are the latest in dining room decor, right?</p>
<p>We purchased the side by side GE profile 3 years ago…no problems, and really like the stainless look…fingerprints arent that big of a deal and the lack of magnetic ability has kept me from junking up the kitchen. We were spoiled with having the water/ice on the door in our previous house, so that was mandatory. If I were replacing it NOW, I would definitely get the 3 door model w/ freezer on the bottom, with the water/ice on top. It wasn’t invented yet(!) when we bought our refrigerator 3 yrs ago. The refrigerator section on my current (2 door) side-by-side is occasionally not wide enough for party trays, etc. </p>
<p>We have a stand-alone freezer in the garage…we’re supposed to be using it for most things…I fill the kitchen freezer just because I’m too lazy to take something back out to the garage.</p>
<p>Speaking of fridge issues, my 15 years old Kitchen Aid is doing fine, aside from the produce drawers that have cracked on the edges. Duct tape and super glue works for awhile. I’ve tried to buy new drawers, but only hear that the fridge is too old, so no replacement parts are available. Very frustrating. I don’t want to buy a new fridge just to get more functional drawers. </p>
<p>I can’t imagine having a side by side without at least a small supplementary freezer. Mine was cheap, low on the energy usage, and holds the frozen pizzas the kids deem essential, and a frozen turkey on occasion. Impossible to store such items in a side by side.</p>