OT: best place to buy appliances, don’t send me to Worst Buy

[sdduuuude]

+ 1 on Sears Outlet. Love that place.

If you can find a contractor, architect, or interior designer who is willing to let you purchase at Standards of Excellence using their wholesale discount, it’s the best pricing there is.

There is a dude at the Sears in UTC that is like the “Rainman” of dishwashers. Most of the time, those sales guys don’t know crap about the product. This guy was awesome. Knew everything. Explained it all in terms an engineer can appreciate. Pulled together all the pricing/features etc. Forgot his name. Sorry.

[meadandale]

[quote=flu]I like Pacific Sales, and never had issues with them…

Costco…Well, they don’t usually have top of the line..So I wouldn’t go there…

For slightly less than top of the line….normal stuff, I’d say Sears is pretty good too.

Lastly, you could go to Fry’s for the $199 special 🙂 (just kidding about Fry’s)[/quote]

I’ve had some of the worst service ever at Pacific Sales. I’ve bought appliances in the past at Sears but would never use them now (they are probably a close second for customer complaints on Consumerist.com to Worst Buy).

[Coronita]

[quote=sdduuuude]+ 1 on Sears Outlet. Love that place.

If you can find a contractor, architect, or interior designer who is willing to let you purchase at Standards of Excellence using their wholesale discount, it’s the best pricing there is.

There is a dude at the Sears in UTC that is like the “Rainman” of dishwashers. Most of the time, those sales guys don’t know crap about the product. This guy was awesome. Knew everything. Explained it all in terms an engineer can appreciate. Pulled together all the pricing/features etc. Forgot his name. Sorry.[/quote]

I know exactly who you’re talking about ……Hoh, shit, I’m back… I said I wasn’t going to post again today on piggington…oops…….

[Anonymous]

Pacific sales is really good. We had bought our furniture for bathroom from there. They are of good quality and are also water resistant.

[mike92104]

We craigslisted all our stuff. Got some great stuff (used of course) for cheap.

[timtoomey]

Hi:

I thought I would put in some helpful advice on this issue even though the thread is old. This info is as of March 2013.

I know someone who used to sell appliances for Sears and is now selling for Lowe’s.

I purchased a Samsung refrigerator French Door back in 2010 and have not had any issues with it. To be fair, I do not use the ice maker in the freezer nor do I have a water dispenser. Samsung’s line of appliances have won top reviews such as JD Power and stuff. According to reports of sales from around the country, Samsung appliances have sold the most and have had the least amount of issues. Another brand I was recommended was Whirlpool. Avoid KitchenAid because although they make great counter top appliances, their refrigerators are just Whirlpool with extra buttons and things.

The company I was told to not purchase was GE. I am not sure whether that meant the Profile line but the fact is many people are returning the refrigerators because of poor performance.

Another thing in purchasing from Lowe’s over Sears is that the warranty coverage is much less $$ and at least with Lowe’s, if the price on your item drops within 30 days, you can go into the store and get your difference.

My contact told me the other hassle right now are the new water-efficient washers. People are complaining that their clothes are not rinsed well, there is a funny smell etc. The issue is that you can no longer regulate how much water you use. The machine weighs the load and determines how much water. The settings are complicated esp. when you want to wash a comforter that is big on size but light on weight. Some of he fancier front load washers have to be ventilated correctly or else you start to develop mold. I still have a 2003 Kenmore washer with agitator and love it because I took it apart, cleaned the tub and there are plenty of videos on how to fix them.

One more piece of info…Aztec appliance. I had a co-worker purchase some Kitchen Aid appliances from them and he liked their service. He mentioned that when you purchase the extended warranty from them, you have to option that if it expires and you never used the policy, you can go to Aztec with the original paperwork and they will refund you the cost of the policy.

[jpinpb]

I also recommend Sears Outlet. You can check for specific particular appliances on their website, but no guarantee the store has it b/c inventory turns quick. Calling the number on the website doesn’t help b/c it’s not the actual store, so you’d have to go there in person.

[jstoesz]

Buy the least energy and water efficient models you can find.

Screw all modern clothes and dish washer water efficient models.

Front loaders tend to vibrate your whole house unless installed on a slab, and do a piss poor job of washing and rinsing your clothes.

On the plus side they tend to be gentler on clothes, because they don’t actually wash anything.

[jstoesz]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704662604576202212717670514.html

My experience has born this out. I picked up a 90’s maytag top loader on craigslist after a similar experience.

I hope I can always find parts for it.

[CA renter]

[quote=jstoesz]Buy the least energy and water efficient models you can find.

Screw all modern clothes and dish washer water efficient models.

Front loaders tend to vibrate your whole house unless installed on a slab, and do a piss poor job of washing and rinsing your clothes.

On the plus side they tend to be gentler on clothes, because they don’t actually wash anything.[/quote]

Not only clothes washers, but dishwashers, too. Back in the 80s, you never thought twice about a dishwasher cleaning and drying your dishes. Now, they might either clean them or dry them, but very rarely do they do both. All too often, they can’t do either properly. While the dishwasher itself might use less energy and water during the cycles, I’m willing to bet that we are using MORE water and energy for every load when taking into consideration the fact that people have to pre-wash their dishes and then dry them afterward (possibly putting them through the “drying” cycle twice after the initial wash).

Regarding the clothes washers, I’ve heard that even the top-loaders (which I will always use) have new governors that restrict the incoming temperature so that the “hot” wash is now just warm because it automatically adds cold water to maintain “energy efficiency” standards.

And how much water do “efficient” toilets save if you end up having to flush them all throughout the process because you’re afraid they’ll become clogged? (Not me, of course; I’m referring to other people.) 😉

This topic is a pet peeve of mine.

Oh, one more thing: If you try to buy a dishwasher that will last 20-30 years (like they used to — the MOST energy-efficient and non-polluting way to manage appliances) the salespeople will laugh you out of the store. The new appliances are now designed to last about 5-10 years if you’re lucky. Apparently, the energy required to…

-harvest raw materials
-build the appliances
-ship them overseas
-deliver them to the homes

…isn’t as much as using a bit more hot water (maybe, see above). Let’s not forget the pollution involved with all of these processes, too.

Then, you have to deal with the disposal of the old appliances which uses energy and causes even more pollution.

But hey…they’re “responsible environmentalists,” right?

[Author]

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