Holy crap, ranges and dishwashers are EXPENSIVE!

[ame]

My folks are getting us one -- prob the stove -- for Xmas...I started reading reviews on Consumer Reports and looking on Sears and stuff...jeez I was oblivious to how much that stuff costs. I have no idea what the heck these "features" even are. I need it to heat up within like an HOUR which would be nice...and like..cook things.

 

[ksinger]

Yeah, pretty much the only things I truly require are gas of adequate BTUs, and oven that will hold temp well, rugged build, and continuous grates on top.

Unfortunatly, that rugged build thing (like metal-lined knobs, heavy coated oven racks, continuous cast iron grates, etc) usually comes only at the higher price point, which also usually comes with a bunch of confusing options/bells/whistles like the "Sabbath feature" (great if you're Jewish, but not something that I strictly need) that are riduculously beyond the basic "fire make hot" idea.

Good luck with your appliance search. It CAN be quite exhausting, looking for that quality/feature/economy blend. It helps if actually cook enough to know what you must have versus all the other hoopla. Even with that, it took me a good while to settle on the range I currently have.

Oh, and personally? I'd pay almost any price for the extra sound-dampening on the higher-end dishwashers. The old one we had sounded like a really wet eighteen-wheeler idling in the kitchen.

 

[ame]

lol I'd just like our stuff to actually be clean after I run it. Especially glasses. I end up having to run it two or three times to get the stuff clean OR rewash by hand.

WTF is a sabbath feature.

 

[Haven]

We'll have to buy a new oven and range in the next few years, and I am not looking forward to it. Well, I can't wait to *have* the new oven, as the temp in mine is totally unreliable, but paying for it is going to hurt.

We have a tiny miniature dishwasher that we rarely use, so at least we won't be replacing that any time soon.

Sabbath feature:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbath_mode

 

[Skippy123]

Ugh, don't buy an LG dishwasher. We bought one and it cost $1,000; it leaked everywhere. Then we bought a Bosch and that was $1,000; I hope it doesn't leak but I was reading they don't make stuff like they use too! Now it makes me wished we kept the 1960's brown appliances (they worked)!

eta: we do like our stove but our neighbors bought one of those uber expensive Subzero double ovens and it was possessed, sometimes it would cook their meals and other times it wouldn't. I can't imagine spending that much and having it work half the time!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Ame, I do use Consumer Reports for those kinds of purchases, but I NEVER buy the most expensive! I don't need a thousand cycles on my dishwasher. I use one or maybe two and that's it!!! I look for the most reliable models and by a mid to upper-middle range model. I hate to tell ya, but it is the refrigerators and washer-dryers that are really expensive now. I dread the day I have to replace those!

 

[rainwood]

Ame, check online to see if there's a Sears Outlet store near you. You can also check to see whether any of the large appliance stores (not the big box stores but stores that only sell appliances) have a warehouse sale or scratch & dent or clearance items. We just went to a warehouse sale and got a number of appliances for really good prices.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Outlet could be good as was suggested, just don't go to one of those recycled places that repair and resell. One day I was driving by a place who refurbishes and they were spraypainting old refrigerators with fresh coats of white paint. Who knows how old they are! You might as well do CL at that point.

 

[ame]

Ame, check online to see if there's a Sears Outlet store near you. You can also check to see whether any of the large appliance stores (not the big box stores but stores that only sell appliances) have a warehouse sale or scratch & dent or clearance items. We just went to a warehouse sale and got a number of appliances for really good prices.

yea we have one within about 10 minutes from us BUT---we would have to have the dent be only on the left lol. The right side of what we get will be visible. We got our washer at the outlet I believe. We bought our dryer at like Lowes or something IIRC. I may go with my mom one night and look at stuff.

 

[ame]

Outlet could be good as was suggested, just don't go to one of those recycled places that repair and resell. One day I was driving by a place who refurbishes and they were spraypainting old refrigerators with fresh coats of white paint. Who knows how old they are! You might as well do CL at that point.

That is jacked up.

 

[JewelFreak]

Prices for appliances are incredible & quality is mostly really disappointing. It's a big bummer.

Consumer Reports points out that it definitely isn't necessary to get the most expensive for the best performance -- in fact they rated Viking & Subzero lower than some of the medium-priced stoves when I looked a couple yrs ago, and much more likely to need repair. They also say don't buy one because it has more gadgets on it; you won't use them anyway. I sure don't!

When you research online, be sure to read user reviews; they're often more helpful than the evaluator ones.

--- Laurie

P.S. Skippy, I think you'll LOVE your Bosch. I got one a few yrs ago & it is the best thing in my kitchen! Well organized for loading, gets stuff clean -- and my fave thing is you can put plastic on the bottom rack because it doesn't have a heating ring. For me, it's at least one very happy ending.

 

[PinkTower]

If your dishes are not squeaky clean anymore, it is not your dishwasher. It is the detergent. I now order mine from a janitorial supply, and a case contains six five pound boxes. I then give it away as gifts. The brand is Cascade, but it is the commercial Cascade, for use in restaurants.

 

[missy]

Yes and the quality is just not there. Appliances are not made the way they used to be made. We had most of our major appliances start breaking down within less than 7 years of owning and they were not cheap. I had a repairman tell me that he recommends the lower end brands because they are all the same and when the lower models break down it doesn't sting as much...

Anyway, that's why my dh is attempting to fix our convection microwave and range as we speak. He did some research online and ordered some parts and fingers crossed it looks like we may finally have a working oven again! I highly recommend that no one here buys a Dacor range or Dacor convection microwave. They most definitely do not stand behind their products and they do not stand the test of (and we are talking about just a short period of) time.

Good luck Ame.