Third time is NOT the charm!

[John T Smith]

Our 6 year old LG refrigerator has now had a third and final problem

1st problem at about 2 years old was a 'control module' that stopped working properly, and the heat exchanger inside the refrigerator froze solid... we had bought an extended warranty, so the original 1 year 'parts & labor' was covered by the extended warranty and we didn't pay any extra for the part & labor

2nd problem was about a year ago, when the water line inside the 'fridge leaked... again, covered by the extended warranty (I don't know what the repair would have cost, but the entire inside had to be taken apart to get to the water line)

3rd and final problem was a few days ago when cooling stopped entirely... this time it was not the heat exchanger, it was the compressor pump that died... right after our 5 year warranty expired

Wife called around and could only find ONE place that was willing to work on an LG, and the man she talked to said that a 6 year old LG was not something that HE would invest in fixing

So, needing a replacement as soon as possible (an under counter refrigerator for drinks and 2 ice chests were put to emergency use) we went to several web sites and 2 local stores... with Best Buy having the best prices AND the promise of delivery in less than a week (bought 3 days ago on Friday, delivery Thursday morning)

After a LOT of review reading, plus talking to the repairman (who said he would do the repair but we were wasting our money) we found out that virtually all appliances in our price range are simply not going to last as long as what we knew of from 20 or 30 years ago, we picked a Samsung with all the features we wanted

Now we just hope it lasts longer, with fewer problems, than the LG=LowGrade one that will be hauled away (the repairman said the initials should be POS not LG)

Samsung we bought $2,160 base price 4.5 score 904 reviews 27 CuFt
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-27-cu-ft-large-capacity-3-door-french-door-refrigerator-with-ex...

KitchenAid $2,790 is base price +$630 4.4 score 440 reviews 27 CuFt
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/kitchenaid-27-cu-ft-french-door-refrigerator-printshield-stainless/6260...

GE $2,725 is base price +$565 4.3 score 29 reviews 27.7 CuFt
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ge-energy-star-27-7-cu-ft-fingerprint-resistant-french-door-refrigerato...

Whirlpool $2,520 is base price +$360 4.4 score 508 reviews 26.8 CuFt
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/whirlpool-26-8-cu-ft-french-door-refrigerator-fingerprint-resistant-sta...

Frigidaire $2,385 is base price +$225 4.3 score 143 reviews 26.8 CuFt
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/frigidaire-gallery-26-8-cu-ft-french-door-refrigerator-stainless-steel/...

Samsung has the highest score, with the most reviews, so we hope it works well

[EuanWilliamson]

In theory, the "right to repair" legislation that is coming will help with these situations

by ensuring parts are available for such repairs.

[John T Smith]

My problem was not availability of parts, it was putting SO much $$ into a brand that the repairman said was not worth the trouble

He said that replacing the compressor was not worth what we would spend... so we will hope a different brand lasts longer and has fewer problems

[Nancy OShea]

@John T Smith,

Find out where the water filter is located. Those filters must be replaced regularly.  If it's not easy-access, you don't want it at any price. 

Also make sure the new fridge will easily fit through your door and in the allocated kitchen space.  If returned for "wrong size," you still have to eat delivery costs.

Overall, I like Samsung appliances.  With one exception, Samsung products have served us very well.  The exception was the "exploding top load washer" which was gov't recalled for safety.  We replaced with an upgraded steam cleaning model on a Samsung loyalty discount which has worked very well.

[John T Smith]

Water filter location already noted... and 'fridge will 'just' fit through our front door... also, wife designed house remodel to look like a 'beach' house so we have a ramp from driveway to deck at front door, making it easy to use a 'fridge size hand truck for take away and delivery

[Amebr]

Oo, very nice entrance! (If it goes missing, it wasn't me... 😛  )

[John T Smith]

I don't think you could get a large enough flatbed truck on my narrow street to take the house or entry away

Samsung was delivered yesterday, and after about 3 hours of cooling time all food was moved from ice chest and small refrigerator... today I take boxes into the garage to bring in freezer stuff

Had one problem with water not flowing into the refrigerator... finally figured out that when the pressure was removed when I disconnected the LowGrade that the soft hose inside the woven steel of the feed line 'collapsed' but part of the install was a new feed line, so once I threw the old feed line away we have filtered water from the door dispenser and ice being made

So far, my wife likes the Samsung... and due to the shelves being a different configuration she says there is more room inside