[big guy]

We have had decent experiences with them except for the door that I mentioned. Now my husband reminds me of the blinds issue. We bought blinds. We had a large window that they specified that it be 3 separate sets of blinds with one continuous rail that they were attached to. Everytime they carried it to the house, they carried it on their shoulder and the weight of the blinds bent the rail. Home Depot made it right but they had to do it three times because no one warned the guy who delivered not to carry it on his shoulder.

[big guy]

Originally Posted by gatorbill1

We purchased a new fridge last year after last one was not repairable. After reading about what ALL brands had for reliability, we bought our first extended warranty. There was not one brand that did not have many problems in first five years, both ice maker and refrigerator. I was told the new life expected for refrigerators was 3-5 years??

In this round of refrigerator buying, we were told that the life span of a refrigerator was 1 - 3 years, so it's getting shorter!

[dbcolli]

My Kitchenaid refrigerator is 15 years old and still problem free.

[big guy]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I agree with not buying extended warranties. You are stuck with whoever the warranty company sends to your house and their schedule. Often, the repair person will come from out of town because the high quality repair companies won't do business with the warranty company. Do you want to wait 2 to 5 days to get an air conditioner repaired when there are at least 6 or so companies in The Villages who will come to your house the same day? According to Clark Howard, the consumer expert, extended warranty companies only pay out about 8 percent of the money they collect in premiums to repair appliances.

Well, Clark Howard needs to update and rethink his position. The extended warranty pays up to $400 for spoiled food from the fridge, they will pay for a refrigerator rental but we have no place to put it, the rental company won't move the old one, and my husband is handicapped and can't move anything. There is not a perfect answer, only one a bit better than the other.

[big guy]

Originally Posted by dbcolli

My Kitchenaid refrigerator is 15 years old and still problem free.

I asked at Lowes about Kitchenaid. The salesman said, "When I told you that refrigerators are junk now, I meant ALL of them". You bought yours 15 years ago when they were probably still being made in the US. We had a refrigerator in Ohio before we left that was 30 years old. The new owners said that the only reason they got a new one was that ours was too small. As far as I know, that refrigerator is till working in their basement. Our neighbor had an old refrigerator with the compressor on top that they bought when they got married and they had been married 60 years. It was working, beer and pop were icy cold.

[big guy]

Originally Posted by John_W

My neighbor and myself have both used Best Buy. In April 2018 I bought a new LG top load stainless washer & dryer. They matched the 10% veteran discount of Lowes, were $80 cheaper than Home Depot, and went lower and gave us a $100 store credit card. Had them delivered and they arrived on time.

Lowes delivers from the store you purchase from, so the inventory at individual stores is going to be much less than a central wareshouse in the Orlando area, which is what Best Buy uses.

In July of 2018 we bought a 75" Samsung 4K TV and in October 2018 we bought an LG stainless refrigerator, stove, micro-wave hood and dishwasher. All delivered on time and set up by the Best Buy delivery crew.

Before I selected the make, models and Best Buy, I opened a browser window for Lowes, Home Depot, Best Buy and Amazon and read reviews from all the stores for a day on these items, looking for the brands and models with the fewest complaints. Then compared prices and Best Buy came out ahead and had the models I wanted in stock. For example on the washer I learned the front loaders had problems with leaks and mold on the door gasket. So then I read top loaders and even though LG front loaders had complaints, their top load washers had the best reviews and the less complaints, and went from there with the dryer and so on until I had make all my selections.

Best Buy was where we finally ended up buying. We were frazzled. They took over, showed us the price range and size we wanted and we bought within 15 minutes. If they are all junk, what difference does it make what brand you buy?!

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Lowes must have changed their policy. My washer and dryer were delivered to my house a few years ago by a guy who was a Lowes employee and driving a Lowes truck.

Our deliveries are scheduled by the 3rd party delivery company and we have no control over their schedules. If you would like to be contacted, we can have management follow up with you within 24 hours.Jun 2, 2018

[New Englander]

What the heck is going on in this world? You pay big money for a new refrigerator and can expect something like 3 years out of it. That's ridiculous! A fridge should last 20yrs.

[Velvet]

Designed obsolescence. My brother wanted to study designing automobiles in the 80’s (as an engineer). When he learned that cars were designed to fall apart, little by little, the least dangerous parts failing first, he became disillusioned. The reason the new machinery is designed to fail is so that you will replace it. How else will the company keep making money?

[Breeze729]

Here is another vote for Best Buy. Home Depot was always my go to place until I moved down here to receive the worst service ever. I bought a Frig from Lowes and was told by the salesmen to get the extended warranty because nothing is built to last these days. When they delivered the frig it was damaged but they left it until a new one came in. Since then I had two heating units go in the freezer door that keeps condensation away. However, the warranty covered new doors and the plumbers visits.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by big guy

Well, Clark Howard needs to update and rethink his position. The extended warranty pays up to $400 for spoiled food from the fridge, they will pay for a refrigerator rental but we have no place to put it, the rental company won't move the old one, and my husband is handicapped and can't move anything. There is not a perfect answer, only one a bit better than the other.

I appreciate your comments. But, extended warranty companies exist for one reason only, to make money. Basically, they are call centers. And, the people who sell the warranties are only interested in one thing, to make a sales commission. These companies are not in business to help people. Check out the complaints on Google and BBB.com.

[Topspinmo]

Go to appliance411.com, it will show who makes what brand, they Are NOT all the same.

Appliance411 The Purchase: Who Makes What?

[big guy]

Originally Posted by New Englander

What the heck is going on in this world? You pay big money for a new refrigerator and can expect something like 3 years out of it. That's ridiculous! A fridge should last 20yrs.

I agree but I assume the thinking is that the company can't be profitable if the unit lasts 20 years. We had a Samsung 3 years that needed 3 service calls at $300 each. The last time I refused to put another $300 into it. I figured it like this: You buy it for over $2000 and then it costs $300 per year to operate. We will all be back to the wooden ice box soon with the man delivering big blocks of ice daily.

[big guy]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I appreciate your comments. But, extended warranty companies exist for one reason only, to make money. Basically, they are call centers. And, the people who sell the warranties are only interested in one thing, to make a sales commission. These companies are not in business to help people. Check out the complaints on Google and BBB.com.

We got 30% of the money back from the purchase of the warranty, in addition to what we paid for the refrigerator, tax, and the cost of the food we lost (twice). They put a new compressor in it and it worked less than a week but we had gotten some groceries. So 60% of the cost of the warranty is what it cost us to use this Whirlpool refrigerator for 26 months. I can't imagine that they made much on the sale of that warranty. We were never proponents of extended warranties until we had the Samsung experience of 3 big ticket repairs in 3 years.

[Mmarr]

Note....Lowes now uses a 3rd party delivery service..