keep it ?

I wouldn't have even signed for it and sent it back immediately.

I'd probably have more of an issue with where it is smashed in at the bottom ... that looks like it got whacked pretty good. I'd request a new one if it were me.

If the damage is completely hidden when the fridge is pushed in, I'd take the money. Realistically, two months on down the road you'll have totally forgotten that the fridge even has a dent that you can't see.

The question is whether there was internal damage done. A scratch is one thing but a dent is another. I'd ask for a new fridge.

Id ask for cash back plus some sort of warranty. Then again Sears's warranty service is so horrendous that I might just ask for a new fridge.

No way!!!

$300 is not worth it to keep it. I'd absolutely return it. You are probably going to have that refrigerator for 10 years or more. Do you want to look at that damage for the next 10 years?? I once had a washer (or dryer...I forget at this point) which was delivered with a small dent on the side which would face the other appliance, so we'd never ever see it; I accepted their $ offer to keep it. But in this case, you should not accept it...no way.

I looked at a dented fridge door for 17 years- it came with the house. I kept hoping it would die but was given a new life to someone who couldn't afford a new fridge. Ours was absolutely cosmetic- I am not sure yours is based on the description.
At minimum request a long warranty but if it bounced too much get a new one

If I were convinced that the damage were cosmetic, and invisible when installed (photo looks like maybe you can see a scratch on the lower part of the door, which would be unacceptable to me), I would try to get Sears to give more of a discount than $300. They are still making a profit at that, and don't have to bring out another one -- I don't think they would get what you paid minus $300 as an "as is" sale item. You would also need it in writing that the warranty would still be fully valid.

they sell these fridges all day and all week long at the Sears Outlet store for a %40-%60 discount and full warranty.

In my situation, the fridge is up against a wall. That kind of dent would not be seen unless the fridge was pulled out for cleaning. I would have no problems buying that fridge at a %50 discount.

However, you paid for a new/undamaged unit. $300 is not enough, but cash is cash. That goes a ways toward filling it with groceries.

I bought a floor model fridge with a dent once.
Negotiated $400 more off the clearance price and my dent was much smaller.

I would send it back and tell them you want $50 off the new one for the hassle and wait.

" I say take the money. "

It should be a lot more money.

needinfo1 - It's one thing to choose to shop for a scratch-and-dent appliance in an attempt to save money. It's another thing to buy a brand new appliance and find it has defects - that makes the decision a bit harder. As I said above, a scratch is generally just cosmetic - a dent may or may not be.

I'd look to see if they have this model of fridge on the Sears Outlet site. If so, what kind of discount is it going for there? That's how much I'd want to keep it. Otherwise, I would want a new, dent-free fridge.

I have a related question. My KA French door refrigerator was installed yesterday and later in the day I noticed a small dent on the left door. I called Sears & spoke with the sales man who I worked with and a new refrigerator is scheduled to be delivered later this week. My question - is it possible to just replace the door with the dent? If so, would you do it? The reason I'm asking is it was a PIA to get this refrigerator inside the house and maneuvered into the kitchen. Now Sears will have to remove this refrigerator and bring in another w/o scratching up my new kitchen. It makes me nervous something will happen to my new cabinets. Any opinions are welcomed...thanks!!

Follow up...called Sears about replacing door. Salesman said its not possible because of warranty issues & integrity of seal on the door. New refrigerator will come Friday.

That sounds like a good move. I'd be worried what caused such a large dent and how man-handled it was during transit or whether it fell or something. Things can get really thrown around for some reason. That's no small dent.

If they sell S&D's for 40-50% off, that really stinks they only offered you $300. Although it sounded good at first. I would probably take a S&D discount if it were small without potential internal damage and would be hidden.

MN Twins:

Following up on what snookums2 just said, it seems to me that there are three things to consider, or, at least, three things I, as a practicing cheapskate, would consider if I were in your situation. First, check for obvious damage. Second, see if you can get Sears to have a tech check it out if you decide to keep it. Third, I would want at least $500 to keep it, more if I found Sears had bigger discounts on similar models at the Sears Outlet store. If Sears wouldn't do that for me, I'd take the replacement unit.

Here's a bit more detail.

Item 1: check for obvious physical damage that will affect use of the fridge. From the photo, the damage seems to be a foot long crease on the right side near the front and a slight defomation (bulge) on the outside of the lower front corner. If that is all it is, then that location is away from the mechanical parts. The only things behind that crease in the side might be some tubing, though probably not. To me, that crease doesn't look deep enough to have damaged any of that tubing, Those are pretty much just insulation and that is thick enough for the insides to be protected by the insulation from the collision. To me, that says the mechanicals probably were not damaged by that dent. (But note I said "probably not;" I'll come back to this in step 2.)

Check to see if the fridge is level. Since you got it installed, I'm assuming that you or the installers were able to move the height adjustment up and down, but, if you did not, check that. (The owner's manual will tell you how to do this.)

While the photo indicates that the freezer drawer was not bashed, but, put you hand down at the corner. You shouldn't feel any cold air. Open the drawer and look at the door gasket to make sure it isn't torn. Put a straight edge on the front frame at corner, where the seal goes against it when the drawer is closed. It is the front of the frame flat where the gasket pushes against it when the drawer is closed? I'm guessing that's okay. Also, check the plastic in the interior of the freezer. No cracks, no big gaps, right?

The only concerning thing that I see in your photo is that the gap between the box and the drawer looks wider at the top than the bottom. It should be the same top and bottom. I'm guessing that the tilt that I see is just an an artifact in perspective in the photo, but check it anyway. It the gap is actually different at top and bottom, get a new fridge. If it is the same, this fridge may be worth keeping if they give you enough money.

Item 2, Did you buy an extended warranty on this unit? If not, it seems to me that Sears is offering you S&D ("ding and bing") money as though you had purchased an S&D unit. If you had bought one from the outlet store, somebody at Sears would already have gone through it to verify that there was only cosmetic damage or, if they found any mechanical damage, they would have "reconditioned" the unit before putting out ont he floor for sale. Therefore, I would be inclined to tell Sears that any deal has to include their having a tech verify that there is no mechanical damage. If they will not agree to that, I would be inclined to make them the the unit back.

Item 3, Sears is offering you less than a 20% discount. That is, a $300 discount on a $1529 purchase is about 19% off. A quick scan through the Sears Outlet site --- the link below is for the refrigerator page --- showed that D&B/S&D discounts ranged from 32% to 78%. To me, that means Sears ought to be offering you at least $500, if not more. I think more because, as autofard said, they don't have to come out with a new one and take the first one back.

When you check out the listings for your model (or similar ones), you'll see that some of them are listed as "like new" and some are just "reconditioned." "Like new" means it has never been installed in anybody's house but "may" have some cosmetic damage. "Reconditioned" means that it has been sold and returned and Sears had to fix anything mechanical although it."may" have cosmetic damage. Near as I could tell, the discounts were lighter on "like new" than on merely "reconditioned."

Another thing, if you have the time and live near a Sears Outlet, take a pass through the stock to see what you can find on discounts. (Your screen name suggests you live near Minneapolis-St.Paul where there are several Sears Outlet stores.).

Here is a link that might be useful: Sears Outlet Fridge Pages

This post was edited by JWVideo on Thu, Apr 4, 13 at 1:35

I recently bought a refrigerator but later I saw this dents when the delivery man has left. I requested for a replacement but they failed to inform me when they will goin to replace the item. How many days should I wait before the refrigerator

will be replaced?