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jdk32

Say NO to Asko / Viking

jdk32
16 years ago

Just wanted to post a heads-up for all the dishwasher shoppers out there. Don't get sucked into the Asko / Viking brand! Wow, this sucker was expensive, has all the bells & whistles, and is LOUDER than the 15 year old DW I replaced! So loud you cant have a conversation in the room - dont spend the money on ASKO!

Comments (24)

  • reeree_natural
    16 years ago

    I had an asko (AKA Viking) and it was so quiet I actually had to put my ear to the door to see if it was running...that was the ONLY good thing about it! I did have other major problems with it.. I finally got them to take it back, but they put up a good fight. .. They sent service six different times with different parts.. couldn't figured out the problem and thats when they finally agreed to take it back. I paid 1800.00 plus tax and delivery. .and it wasn't worth a dime of it or the aggravation that came with it. They are suppose to be a very good brand, so I was actually surprised how terrible it was. How long do you have it? If you are still under warranty call and get some one there to fix the problem, if it canÂt be fixed, get your money back , you might have to put up a fight, but worth it if you are having problems and very unhappy with it. It's such a shame when people trust in a company, spend good money and have to deal with major problems. I am so sorry you are going through this, I can relate!! Good Luck. ...I hope something works out for you!
    Ree

  • manhattanmatt
    16 years ago

    You know, Consumer Reports consistently ranks Viking and the other high-end brands at the bottom of their lists, with the most reliable still being the brands our mothers and grandmothers used: Frigidaire, Maytag, Hotpoint, etc.

  • sshrivastava
    16 years ago

    JDK, you can't just make a statement like that without qualifying it at all. There are so many happy and satisfied Asko dishwasher owners out there, and it's possible yours may not be installed properly or some insulation is missing.

    Something similar happened to someone on this forum who purchased a Miele Optima. This is normally an extremely quiet unit, but this particular person felt it was very noisy and couldn't figure out why. I don't know if they ever got a resolution to their problem.

    Maybe you have superhuman hearing? lol :)

  • jdk32
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Well, Sshriva, it IS rather tough to quantify the decibal level. Let's just agree that when you spend $1500 on a dishwasher the expectation is that you can have a conversation in the room while it is running. I can't. It is always interesting to hear devotees to a certain brand defend their decision, but the fact is that this viking/asko unit is sub-par.

  • teresa_b
    16 years ago

    It would help if you would also mention the model you owned. And, I agree with the other poster that there are many happy Asko owners on this forum. I was unaware that Viking was involved with Asko. Does Viking sell the Asko under the Viking name?

    Teresa

  • orangedaisy52
    16 years ago

    I love my superquiet Asko 3251..runs and cleans wonderfully. What has your repair experience been...sorry to hear the machine is disappointing. While its true that noise is somewhat subjective, we have dB ratings for a reason. Mine is truly very quiet...my sister kept opening it accidentally over the holiday and not only can you have a conversation over it, but you can only hear it if there is absolute silence in the house. There's a guy who posted a youtube video of his Asko running quietly...check it out! I'd wear headphones to pick up the sound. If you just search you tube for Asko dishwashers you'll find it.

    Let us know if you get it fixed...

    Anne

  • chipshot
    16 years ago

    I nixed Asko from our consideration list after learning that all but its lowest model DW have hidden controls.

    Our local distributor asked what other brands we were considering. When I told her Miele she asked "one of the ones with a cutlery rack?" and then proceeded to try to explain to me why that feature is no good. Strike two.

    Are Asko and Viking owned by the same company like Wolf and Sub-Zero are?

  • lisacdm
    16 years ago

    Sorry you are having problems - while I can't speak about Viking, I do have an Asko dishwasher (3251), I have not had any problems with it (knock on wood), it cleans and dries well. It's relatively quiet, I can hear it while it's filling but's the noise is not so much that it disturbs a conversation. I have opened it several times when it was running (I thought it was off).

  • breezy_2
    16 years ago

    To manhattanmatt's comment, I have found Consumer Reports often to be unreliable and innaccurate. I just looked and for the first time I see a Wolf range rated but only the 30 inch model, their lowest unit. SZ nor Blue Star were rated anywhere. I did see that SZ has the worst repair history according to CR but that is contradictory of people I hve known with them. The blanket statement that CR ranks high end appliances among the lowest has no real meaning in my mind.

    I have also noted that CR leans towards bargains buys, mega manufacturers and not necessarily quality. Having compared standard residential appliances of our mothers' and grandmothers' to high end pro style appliances, I have been VERY pleased with the high end/pro style and there is no way you can compare the two. The high end appliances simply outperform dramatically from my experience.

  • dalerb66
    16 years ago

    Re chipshot's comment:

    Our local distributor asked what other brands we were considering. When I told her Miele she asked "one of the ones with a cutlery rack?" and then proceeded to try to explain to me why that feature is no good. Strike two.

    This is one of my favorite features of my Miele dishwasher. What reasons did the distributor give that convinced you that the cutlery rack was no good?

  • chipshot
    16 years ago

    She told me to look at the arms that wash the cutlery and said they were small and didn't spray enough water to clean it effectively. She also said loading it was a pain.

    Needless to say she didn't convince me as I'm now trying to decide between Optima and Excella. $400 is a big jump, and I'm not sure the split cutlery tray, added wash programs, and fancy display are worth it.

  • dalerb66
    16 years ago

    Glad to hear she was unpersuasive! I find cutlery is cleaned quite effectively and loading is only a pain if you need to load the tray to its fullest capacity. In that instance you do need to take a little more care as you load.

  • sleepyhollow
    16 years ago

    "You know, Consumer Reports consistently ranks Viking and the other high-end brands at the bottom of their lists, with the most reliable still being the brands our mothers and grandmothers used: Frigidaire, Maytag, Hotpoint, etc."

    Well I'm no fan of Viking either but Consumer reports disgusts me and I consider them to be of little use in my research since they usually cover low-end to middling brands and every now and then throw in a token "high-end" brand like viking or Corvette and then try to use that to generalize about all "high" end ranges, cars etc. They are a bunch of amateurs that that have no business establishing qualified opinions about anything in my mind. I would never buy something consumer reports recommended because it would invariably be the wrong choice for me. You can do much better with your own research. Consumer reports never covers the brands that count. You can bet they have never heard of Bluestar and would dismiss it out of hand, sniffing that they are a small company no one's heard of.

    To the poster's comment about Maytag, My house came with all Maytag appliances and I ripped them out after living with them and paying for them - no wonder the owners left them there. Just proved to me what idiots the reviewers are at consumer reports since they recommended them. Obviously they never had a service call with Maytag. Who knows, maybe they actually enjoy pressing 1 for this and 2 for that and waiting an eternity for scheduling service for something that never should have broken in the first place. What about that lovely 4 hour time window they give you and then they show up after the 4 hours when you have wasted half your day and expect you to waste some more - review that losers...

    I had a Maytgag growing up and it was fine - they were a great brand but not anymore - they are the lowest of the low. Hotpoint is another one - the only place I've seen Hotpoint is cheap builder spec houses and other places i would never choose to live in. The brands of old are not wha they used to be, neither in quality nor service.

    On the other hand, there is junk at the high end as well and Viking is the poster child for this. That's why you need to do your own research and choose brands that perform like Bluestar, Perlick, Hobart (mixer), Diamant (grain mill), Klondike (fridge), Falk Culinaire (copper cookware) etc. I've rarely bought low end and been pleased.

    This is not to say there aren't low end brans that are reliable and get you from point A to point B but how well do they do it? I want to the best experience possible and I'm willing to pay for it. Quality generally costs, though cost is no guarantee of quality. Do your own research and don't be lulled into decision based on the limited experience and choices laid out by Consumer Reports.

  • chipshot
    16 years ago

    While I'm no fan of Hotpoint, I'll admit to having used one of their ranges for the past 4½ years. We've actually been able to cook some decent meals with it. That said, I won't miss it a bit.

    Viking was THE brand when we built our last house. That is until we started to investigate appliances. I suppose it's like the Hummer of the appliance world, a visible and easy target. And I imagine some choose it just for the prestige of having the Viking label in their kitchen. They probably choose their cars in a similar fashion.

  • eandhl
    16 years ago

    jdk32, if you are still around. I know 2 people that have Viking branded Asko DW's and both say they are very quiet. I would suggest you have someone knowledgable check the DW and the instillation.

  • friedajune
    16 years ago

    I agree with everything Sleepyhollow said. I use Consumer Reports as an educational tool for non-appliance items. But for appliances, that magazine doesn't make a lot of sense. Also, CR's reliability results are skewed, since they obtain those numbers solely from customer surveys. Their customer base is not made up largely of Wolf/Bluestar/Miele, etc. users, so the survey results for those type of brands are going to be statistically skewed.

    As to the comment about "the brands our grandmothers used", I wish those brands were still around, still making items with the quality and longevity of those long-ago days. But the reality is that manufacturers today like Maytag (now owned by Whirlpool) and Frigidaire (owned by somebody, maybe Whirlpool too?), have extremely tight profit margins, very high operating and labor costs, and have to manufacture as cheaply as possible to compete with each other, and to compete with foreign companies like LG and Samsung who have lower operating and labor costs. That's not to say they don't make good appliances--I love my Kitchenaid fridge (made by Whirlpool). But don't think that the brands "of our grandmothers" which are also the ones CR favors, are generally better. The appliances they make need to be looked at individually, and keeping in mind what the individual wants to pay for which features. Meanwhile, the more expensive companies like Miele and Wolf charge a lot for their appliances, knowing that their customers will pay those higher amounts for (we hope) a higher-quality machine. Consequently, they should not so constrained by profit margins to cut corners. Even so, buyer beware also on the higher-end brands, as we have seen with this thread on Asko/Viking, and on Thermador (posted elsewhere). Even Wolf has had some problems with its 30" AG range (posted on this forum). So please, no blanket statements. Examine each appliance individually, and read this forum for a more accurate picture than a Consumer Reports would provide.

  • gellchom
    16 years ago

    Well, for what it's worth, we, too, have been happy with our Asko dws. They are too quiet, if anything -- I can't hear whether they are running or not. We've had them about 5 years.

  • claga
    16 years ago

    jdk32
    Sorry to hear your having problems with your DW.
    We have an ASKO Model 3251, and like orangedaisy52 ours is great. Very quiet.
    The only sounds we hear are when it's draining. It's louder then we had hoped.
    Orangedaisy52 can you hear yours drain?

  • wildboar
    16 years ago

    I've been looking at the Asko DW. The new D3152 appears to be a good machine. Has most of the features their $1500+ machines have for less than $1,000. A good alternative to the Bosch Evolution 800 series.

  • antss
    16 years ago

    While Viking DW's are sourced by Asko, they do not own them. Asko was recently purchased by the Italian co. Merloni. They primarily make cooking applianes, gas to be specific. The Asko operations are still headquarted in Sweden.

  • edinct
    16 years ago

    I can't believe that someone would pay $1000 or more for a dishwasher, when we are born with built in dishwashers, they are called your hands.
    sorry could not resist :)

  • aprince
    16 years ago

    JDK, sorry about your issues with noise. your DW is installed incorrectlt, or is not working correctly. ALL Asko's are very quiet and most are impossible to hear in a kitchen with a refrigerator humming.
    Concerning consumer Reports as a guide for buying, it does provide good information, HOWEVER, if an item has a longer warranty, i.e. ASKO(3yr), a consumer has the ability to fix or replace items at no cost for the life of a warranty. This is documented, however, most brands have a 1 year warranty, therefore, repairs are not documented and trivial issues may go unrepaired. So we can all thank Consumer Reports for the 1 year warranty. An example would be Kitchen aid which throughout the 90's and early 00's provided a 2 year warranty.

  • antss
    16 years ago

    edinct - can't believe you'd pay 1000 bucks or more for a car when you have built in transportation, it's called your legs.

    .......couldn't resist

  • johnzack
    16 years ago

    sleepy_hollow:

    "Well I'm no fan of Viking either but Consumer reports disgusts me and I consider them to be of little use in my research since they usually cover low-end to middling brands..."

    Totally agree with you - in my opinion, CR is not the best source of information on high-end brands of ANYTHING.

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