[Help] Refrigerator Purchase

Just a note...and this may not change your mind, but we had a French Door fridge that we replaced with a side by side. We got really tired of bending over and having to take everything out of the freezer drawer to find what we were looking for each time.

 

Can't comment on LG or GE French door, but my folks' Samsung French door has had a few issues. Anecdotally, I have heard similar remarks from other folks for Samsung fridges.

5 years ago when we were in the fridge market we went with a Kenmore side by side. That style is just so much cheaper than French doors, and I'm just so damned cheap in general, that I had no choice.

 

I like my Whirlpool Gold side-by-side. I've had it for going on 13 years with zero issues. But, to each his own. I hate it as much as the next guy trying to decide on a brand/model of anything. The thing about reading online consumer reviews on any product is there are a lot more people who are generally happy and don't post than those that do and complain. But, yea, any kind of gripes over a part failing repeatedly (that may lead to a recall)...you should make sure the issue has been corrected before purchasing. My brother got one of those side-by-sides with the bottom freezer drawer (forget the brand). He gets it delivered and installed. Turns out the thing makes miniature ice cubes. I was like WTF!?!?!. Ice cubes for dwarves!!! Not that there's anything wrong with that; I like bigger ice cubes. It seemed his ice compartment was smaller as well. Is that a common thing that you sacrifice the size of the ice compartment and the size of the cubes to make room for the bottom freezer drawer?

 

I have a Samsung French Door fridge, the defrost mode stopped working and the back iced all up. Luckily my wife convinced me to get the extended warranty, so it was fixed for free.

We have had the fridge for 3 years, the issue happened around a month ago.

Beyond that issue, no problems, no idea if it will happen again more than likely when the extended warranty expires.

I have all Samsung products in the house. Range, washer/dryer dishwasher microwave. No problems at all with them, all purchased at the same time. So I hope it was a one-time problem.

 

Wow, I could have written the exact same original post this last week. Wife and I were looking for a new fridge and, like you, the reading reviews online was maddening. Been seeing a lot too that there’s some issues with LGs and Samsungs but, when asking a Home Depot employee about LG issues, he emphatically said they were lies. Lol. Anyway, we had a hard time deciding but ultimately bought this Whirlpool last night...

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Whirlpo...esistant-Stainless-Steel-WRX735SDHZ/301859152

Never had a bottom freezer before so we’ll see how that goes. But my wife wanted more horizontal space vs. the “skinny areas” of a side by side. Crossing my fingers we don’t have any of the crazy problems I’ve read for EVERY single fridge I was considering. Lol

 

We've had a Kenmore French Door fridge for several years. Rock solid. Would recommend.

Since buying this fridge, my wife has transitioned almost every new purchase in the house to Samsung.

 

My GE french door is loud late at night when all is quiet and the bedroom door is open. The compressor kicks on and you'll definitely hear it. I couldn't sleep in the living room if I ever wanted to. I'd buy it all over again, though.

 

We bought a Kenmore side by side a couple of years ago. No major complaints and it has enough space reasonably, it's pretty quiet other than when the ice maker pulls water from the line. The salesman mentioned to us that Whirlpool and LG actually manufacture the Kenmore fridges for them (I think LG does the french door).

 

I have a Samsung. There is a little swinging piece on the left side that is supposed to automatically fall back flat so you can open and close it without opening the right one. Something (supposedly a spring) has gone wrong and it doesn't work properly any more so I have to open the right side. when I close the left side. My Ice Maker is also getting jammed every few months. I've had it for about 3.5 years. These are relative minor inconveniences, but given the amount of money french door fridges cost, I find them extremely annoying.

 

Lol reading online comments on fridges really does make anyone mad. I had a samsung french door fridge and the handles/doors felt so cheap. In a year or so the handles felt like they were about to come off.

Currently have GE and what drove me mad about reading online reviews were people saying how xyz fridge was super loud. I forgot which model I got(will look it up later and edit) but apparently online reviews said it was on the louder side. Had it for about 6 months now and I have not had an issue with how loud it is. Honestly don't hear anything other than the ice maker.

 

Most of the brands use similar parts or are made by the same manufacturer, just a different branded name. I'd suggest looking at the features you want, seeing who has a good warranty, and use a credit card that extends that warranty by an extra year.

You'll hear the bad experiences about any brand. More bad experiences on the popular brands, but that's because more people bought those. I bought a Samsung french door, 4 doors with door in door. My only issue was the ice maker would leave condensation and that would mold. It's since been repaired by a tech. No complaints otherwise.

Sign up for Fry's promotional codes. They rotate good sales on machines. You can also get lucky with customer returns or cosmetically damaged appliances. I almost bought a really nice LG french door that got strapped too tight and damaged the back for a really good discount until we realized it was too large for our space. If you need more than one appliance, you can get bundle savings deals at Home Depot/Lowe's during sales. Memorial Day is good and same with November Black Friday.

 

I have had to purchase 3 different refrigerators the last 2-3 years. I bought an LG for our home and it stopped working within a year. I did not have the warranty on the LG. I had someone come out and look at it and they couldn't figure out what the issue was. I looked at it and figured out within 10 minutes it was the compressor. I looked into the cost and likelihood of the compressor going out again and just scrapped it. It ultimately wasn't worth it. I replaced it with a Whirlpool. My wife really dislikes the design and complains about it at least once a month but so far it works fine. The only real issue I have noticed is that it doesn't cool as fast as other ones I have had.

My my mother I got her a GE. She doesn't complain about anything but the compressor does appear to be louder. However, who cares? It isn't loud enough to make much difference as far as I can tell.

If you are going to get an LG you may want a secondary market warranty to cover labor for the compressor or other parts. I didn't think the LG was all that much better than the other refrigerators but several women have told me otherwise. The compressor problem is a real issue though.

 

I think people put too much stock in reviews. The crowd is not as wise as it is reputed to be.

 

This. As long as a mass purchased item has 4+ stars, let's say, I'm usually good with it. There are always going to be a few lemons + people who will b**** about every little thing.

And don't get me started on places that give a small discount the next time you come in if you write a review and bring proof, then all of a sudden they have hundreds or thousands of perfect reviews online and build a faux reputation so they can ultimately charge more. Seems like a lot of car repair/oil change places do this.

 

I like this refinement. If a thousand people rate a thing, and the great majority rate it well, that means something. But when we read comments from individual reviewers, our brains overweight their experiences, which are ultimately just anecdotal.

 

I have an LG french door going on 5 years. Only issues for me is the ice maker will "freeze" cubes together if not used daily, so I have to manually break them up to use the dispenser every now and then.