New refrigerator in new home
 

Just closed on a new house in The Villages. Seems as though the brand new refrigerator has a dent in one of the doors. Builder informed me that the door will be replaced. If it is a brand new home shouldnt the refrigerator be replaced? What do you all think?

If it is a brand-new home shouldn't the refrigerator be replaced?

That would be nice, but plan B, be happy in today's world they'll replace the door.

Our second new home in 2014 fridge had a ding in the door. No problem would replace with new fridge. 2 days later, different fridge, the left side of counter was badly damaged as well as the counter top, and molding. The vinyl floor had a 1foot gouge . Builder little angry, because none of the damage would have happened if we hadn’t insisted on different fridge (his idea not ours).

2 weeks later new flooring, new cabinet, and new countertop. Good thing it was just built, or matching would have been a problem.

The new door option might have been less of a headache

It’s cosmetic. Doesn’t have anything to do with functionality

builders in here provide the cheapest, most inexpensive way to build a house. that includes appliances

It's the builder's option. Replacing the door will restore the refrigerator to a like new condition. I don't think you have a valid argument.

New door option sucks. It would give you a like new condition but may not close tight like a new one because it wasnt replaced to factory specs thus possibly affecting the functionality. Replacement should be the one and only option period

Wondering why you asked the question then.

first year they pretty much make anything that is wrong right

I know, it's not what you hoped for, but a new door will do the trick

The Villages is far more about living a great lifestyle and enjoying life than the bricks and mortar

Wrong

Two things, if they used the most expensive way to build their homes instead of the most inexpensive how many buyers would complain about cost? Secondly, we have been in our new home for over 4-1/2 years and have had only one problem that had to be repaired and that was the drain pump in the dishwasher, they fixed it immediately and have never had a need for a repair anywhere in the house since. I found that the quality of our home is above average and we have owned a lot of homes built by "premium" builders over the years. There is nothing wrong with replacing a refrigerator door, the hinges are adjustable to the point that they will be sure it is air tight when replaced, damage happens especially today when everyone has workers that 2 years ago they would not have hired. Get it replaced and go on with life.

I’d be happy it works.

What happens sometimes when demand perfection. I ordered tempered glass top for our dining room table. Very heavy. Seen two fedx guys rolling the square box up my drive way. When I got it out Of the box which had all 4 corners smashed from roll up driveway had chip in one corner. Way too much trouble to box it up and ship it back with no guarantee the replacement would be any better.

Did Fedex guys know it was glass they were rolling up the driveway?

Refrigerator magnet?:boom:

Put grandkids photos and drawings on the dent...
:bigbow::bigbow:

If it were me...
 

If it were me I'd be fine with a new door.

Dent
 

There is no reason you should take a dented fridge. Replacement may not match exactly. You are paying big bucks for a home and it should be perfect. When I moved it , I turned on my dishwasher , and water poured out all over the floor. They sent someone out and wanted to replace a part. I told them I was not taking a defective dishwasher before I even moved in. I was told that was the way it was going to be and I would need to wait 3 weeks for the part to come in. I called my builder and told her that was unacceptable. She had them replace the entire dishwasher. The appliances are cheap and I have already had to replace my fridge in less than 4 years. Demand they replace it , you are doing the right thing

If a cabinet door is scratched, you get one door........not a new set of cabinets.
If a tile is cracked, you get one new tile.......not a whole new floor.
If a closet door is bad, you get one door.......not a new set of doors.
If a window is broken, you get a new window.......not all new windows.
If drywall is cracked, you get it patched.......not a whole new wall.

:ho:

I would be happy with the door replacement , New is new why switch out the units.

Shouldn't you have noticed that during the pre closing walk through?

If the new door isn't right, just keep on them till it is. That's not just The Villages, it's how the real world works now. Nothing new is ever as good as expected.

Terrible answer. The manufacturer isn't the "only" people who can install a door. Does you logic apply to any and all things that need to be repaired /replaced?? People need to stay off the board with "answers" like that. JMHO

Our fridge had a dent the size of a basket ball with a puncture point in the middle. Door was off, by 1/2. No magnet can fix that

Homes are well built
 

We are in our second TV home. #1 was a spec home, no problems in the 4 years we lived there. felt the home was well built
#2 custom built, again we feel it is a well built home. There were a few minor things when we first moved in, builder was very responsive and we were very satisfied. Been here 10 years. we purchased our own appliances and all failed between 5 + 7 years. Typical, nothing to do with builder.

No the fridge is fine. Door easily replaced. Why would you even think that?

That’s a perception but not reality

Take the new door and be happy. Reduces the possible headaches from a new refridgerator that might have different dimensions.

That statement is certainly not accurate. One has to wonder...what facts do you have that would even remotely back up such a statement? Our home South of 44 was an NCH (spec) home, now about a year old. It had many upgrades over what I would consider "builder grade," including cabinetry, countertops, light fixtures, appliance package, bath mirrors, and others. Certainly not the cheapest way our home could have been built. And again, this was a spec house.

If you truly feel that way, what caliber was the gun held to your head at closing? Or...do you even live here at all?

Absolutely get a new refrigerator.
Depending on which door is damaged you could have wires going through the door hinges. If the door and wires are not replaced properly you could have problems in the future.

What??? Replacing a refrigerator door is pretty basic. They are mass produced and replacement should be easy and undetectable. BTW - almost all "single" door refrigerators have capability to door to be hung LH or RH ( and can be "swapped" at delivery.

I would be happy with a new door, they may damage the floor by removing and replacing the whole fridge.

since I see many others that just don't understand your comment, I will back you up. Those that disagree know very little about the build and are probably the people that get sucked into paying $99 to get their dryer vent cleaned.

For a what it is, you pretty much get an image of what you pay for, everything you can't see is where the issues are. They may jump out at you today, tomorrow, or not for years. but they are there. The good news is they use trusses rather than free form the roof. after that the rest is a matter of inches, suppliers, etc. I can show you 2 walls and you'll think they are awesome, I can tell you one wall won't withstand much and cost a lot to paint etc. The other you'll never ever break. it doesn't take much to achieve either but the standard home owner won't even know which one they have.

It's amazing how many people accept "substandard" as the norm. A new "anything", whether an appliance, car, power tool, tuxedo, etc. should be perfect when it's delivered.
If you purchased a tuxedo, and when you first wore it, and the collar was sewn on crooked, would you return the whole suit, or just ask them to re-sew the collar.
In the words our esteemed prez, "COME ON, MAAAAAAN.
The OP should not have signed at closing unless everything was OK at the walk through, if he did one.

Count your Blessings you got a refrigerator at all.

Brand new home
 

Yes you bought a brand new home and you should have a brand new Undamaged refrigerator. We bought a brand new home in Citrus Grove and our front entry door was damaged, it had a good size crack on the bottom of it. Our builder told us the door had been replaced once already before we moved in. I don’t care how many times it was replaced before we moved in. They replaced the damaged door with another damaged door and that’s OK ? No it’s not OK. They will not replace our damaged door, they refused, instead they sent some one out to repair it with wood filler. The paint job on the door was awful as well, refused to paint the whole door, opting to just brush touch it up.
Unbelievable. Buyer satisfaction is not their top priority, and neither is attention to detail.

It’s a door! They make millions of them. It will work just fine. We had to get a new door for our dishwasher in a brand new house. The most pain we had was being home for the tech to replace it

How wonderful is life if our worst problem is a dented door?

If you had done other kind of warranty claim regarding your house—a broken switch, leaky faucet, leaky roof—would you expect a new house?

Ohiobuckeye
 

What does your realtor say they should do? You did the right thing & addressed the builder but the builder will offer you the cheapest way to fix anything. Personally you bought a new refrigerator not a used one or a repaired one. Do what you want but you did buy a new refrigerator, not a repaired one!