I am very frustrated about the lack of apparent quality in all the so-called brand name refrigerators. From all the posts I've seen on the internet it's apparent that refrigerators that used to last an average of 13-15 years, now suddenly only last for the 3-5 years of the the extended warranty. My 14 year old Kenmore refrigerator died (not cooling the fresh food area) and cost to fix is $190 and the possibility of another $200 repair down the road from the independent repairman we called. Using Consumer Reports as a guide, it doesn't seem as reliable a source as it once was for the most reliable appliance. Seems like all the brands, Kenmore, Whirlpool, Maytag, and Frigidaire, all have problems within a short period.

What brand seems to be the most reliable? Consumer Reports ranks the brands in this order for Top freezer/icemaker models: Whirlpool, Frigidaire, Kenmore, and GE, but from all the posts I seen, they all make junk. What do you recommend for under $1000?

Hi,

Yes, most appliances nowadays only last on average about 10-15 years. I own an Admiral refrigerator(Division of Maytag) and bought it new in 1999, had only 1 issue when I first got it, the condenser fan motor was defective from the factory, making a terrible bearing noise, I changed it myself under the 1 yr. warranty and its been working good since.

I still recommend Admiral, Maytag, Kenmore, Whirlpool, Frigidaire, not GE until they redeem themselves from all the motherboard issues thats plagued them in the last 7 years.

I know that foreign refrigerators are on the market now, like LG and Samsung, but I don't recommend those, as I've seen parts take 3 weeks to get and servicer's that work on them few and far between.

Jake

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