Buying a Refrigerator

Before purchasing a refrigerator, you should first decide on the design you want and the size you need. Of course, the larger the family, the bigger the size needed. The largest domestic refrigerator available is a side by side unit made by Maytag and is known as the "Wide by Side". It is 26 cubic feet in capacity and is designed to hold wider items in the upper portion of the refrigerator as well as in the lower portion of the freezer. Model MZD2666A is their high end model and retails for about $1749. It also has ice cubes,crushed ice, and chilled water on the door, and it filters all the incoming water before use.The refrigerator has about 17.5 cubic feet of usable space and the freezer has about 8.5 cubic feet of usable space.

Any authorized dealership that also services what it sells is the best place to buy but always shop around first to get your best pricing. Try not to go the scratch and dent route. This is nothing but a nightmare waiting to happen. Service plans are always good to purchase as long as they are under $100 for 4 to 6 years of parts and labor. Some stores,Sears, for example, charge different prices according to the appliance where others, for example, Home Depot, charge the same price no matter what appliance you buy. Manufacturers also supply this service, but beware:There have been scams known to occur in different regions nationwide where the service pros have bellied up and left the area leaving you high and dry. I always recommend GE. They service all major brands and are well trained and seem to be available everywhere! Maintenance is a must on all refrigerators. If you don't vacuum underneath (ESPECIALLY WHIRLPOOL, KITCHENAIDE, ESTATE, and KENMORE) where the bristles are, the compressor gets overheated and dies. As long as you clean those coils on a regular basis and be sure the door seal stays intact, don't set the controls on the highest settings,and once a year empty everything out and defrost the entire refrigerator/freezer while thoroughly cleaning the insides, it should last about 20-30 years.

As far as buying them used, it's a hit or miss game. There are used dealerships out there that are pros at what they do and can thoroughly repair and refurbish used refrigerators to the point of reason where they can sell them in confidence. However, there are more who don't do that great a job on replacing the parts that are needed to truly repair the refrigerator, and though it works now, it will more than likely break down just in time to be repaired out of warranty. Buyer beware.

Personally,my preference is the bottom freezer model. It's more practical to be able to easily reach everything in the refrigerator because I use the fresh foods more than I do the frozen ones. My ice maker is located conveniently enough to reach down and grab a few cubes for my drink, and the two drawers in the bottom freezer hold enough food to be able to pull out the meat and vegetables I want for dinner.That's just a once a day ordeal.The door storage and slide out refrigerator shelves also add to the convenience and the door shelves are large enough to put two one gallon jugs on each shelf. LOTS OF SPACE!.

The french door models look nice and may be more accommodating for a narrow kitchen but do not hold as many items on their doors and can be a bit flimsy. Also the mechanism needed for the French door model has moving parts that may break. We had one years ago and had to replace the extra door seal there often.

The counter Depth models give less depth and needs to be wide (36") enough to hold a reasonable amount (22 cubic feet) of food. Otherwise,why bother? For me, though, the deeper refrigerators often mean that some food gets lost and forgotten in the back of the unit.

Built in refrigerators are for chefs,professional cooks and those who can afford the premium price.They look nice but take up a lot of space ,cost a fortune and need tons of maintenance, a feature most consumers are not willing to perform. My appliance friend sees so many of these newer built in models at the scrapyards because of poor maintenance causing them to burn out. He believe that's one of the reasons the Subzeros and Thermadors get such a low rating in "frequency of Repairs" in Consumer Reports. It isn't their performance or their engineering; it's their need of high maintenance and the ignorance of their owners/buyers that cause their fall in popularity.They are great and I myself would love to own one. I am sure if I had one, it would last a lifetime but only because I know how to take care of them. Most people have no clue. My friend says that he has been to so many parties at homes that have these and would sneak a peak becoming shocked to see all the dust and debris that had accumulated around the fan and compressor area on top of the unit.In three to four years, not even touched. Dead bugs and cobwebs as well as pounds of hair and dust all over the place. Five minutes with a brush and vacuum hose will do the trick.

Whatever your choice in refrigerators, keep those heat diffusing coils clean.