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okgrowin

first timer, need opinions

OKgrowin
10 years ago

I bought my first house! 4bed2bath 1900 sq foot for 100k. The house needs TLC and buying new appliances is a part of that.

I don't want to spend a ton but want decent appliances that are good for resale in 5-10 years. I want the finishes to match for the kitchen appliances.

I need:
Gas range
Fridge
(eventually)dishwasher
Washer
Dryer

gas range- no back, no touchscreen, free standing
fridge - side/side, ice/water in door, no touchscreen
dishwasher - ?
Washer/Dryer - front load, HE, electric

This post was edited by OKgrowin on Mon, Jul 8, 13 at 18:43

Comments (11)

  • deeageaux
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    All standard sizes?
    30" range 36" fridge 24" dishwasher, 27" washer and dryer?

    What is your budget?

  • OKgrowin
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    yes all standard sizes, budget is somewhere around 4000 (not including dishwasher)

  • shannonplus2
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Since you are concerned about resale, you should see what sort of appliances are standard in your neighborhood/area. Some areas, $4000 is completely cheaping out, and would not even cover the cost of the fridge. Other areas, $4000 is a good amount to spend on kitchen appliances. So do that homework before setting your appliances budget if you are concerned about resale.

    Having said that, if your time horizon is 5-10 years, it's unlikely that your appliances will be either a positive or a negative to buyers at that time. Within 5 years, there'll be new features and gadgets that your 5-year-old appliances won't have (e.g., think about French Door fridges that were brand new and rare about 5 years ago. Or now there are fridges with Wi-Fi and LCD screens which didn't exist a couple of years ago. Who knows what's next). Also, many people buying a home expect to replace appliances, especially if you are more towards the 10 years of your time horizon. I don't think too many people say, "I loved the home, but I am not buying it cause of that fridge!"

    Get the appliances you like for yourself to use now, and within a similar budget as the rest of your neighborhood. You'll be fine for resale.

  • jwvideo
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Shannonplus makes good points to which I would add the following.

    A lot of GWers would say that "matching" finishes is grossly overrated, particularly in your budgetary level. Deeageaux has probably said this so often he's getting tired of repeating it. So, I'll say it: you are better off buying best-in-class -- you get better performance and significantly better reliability doing that, and such things matter more for the long term than buying a suite of one company's appliances.

    Problem is, that no one company makes the best (or even, neccessarily, very good) in every category. GE for example, makes good and reliable budget and mid-range stoves and pretty good dishwashers, too. Both get good ratings from Consumer Reports testing and the surveys of CR members show them to be reasonably reliable compared to some other brands. But, when it comes to refrigerators, GE has had a terrible rep. It has been tied with LG as far and away the least reliable brands . Do note that unreliability also increases with through the door ice and water dispensers. A big contributor to GE's fridge problems seems to correspond to its venture into outsourcing fridge production for several years. Now that GE has resumed firdge production in its own plants in Kentucky (at least for the french-door models), there is hope for better reliability. They are too new for a track record, yet,

    Also, bear in mind that SxS fridges are significantly less reliable than other other designs, at least according to the CR membership surveys. With your budget, you might want to consider a french-door or conventional bottom-freezer model.

    With washing machines, LG is currently far and away the most reliable brand while, according to the CR survey results, GE washing machines have nearly three times the breakdowns of the LGs.

    Get the picture?

    With a $4k budget, you may be looking at some serious compromises. For instance, you want a slide-in gas range no digital stuff on it. Except for certain bare-bones units which don't get favorable recommendations here (e.g. Summit and Peerless Premiere), I can't think of any slide-in gas stoves that meet all your requirements, plus almost all of them cost upwards of $1500. So-called pro-style stoves will give you what you want, but most cost upwards of $3k. The least expensive pro-style stove that I know of is the NXR and that costs $2k, which is a budget buster for you.

    If you can live with digital oven controls, and a white finish, I think Whirlpool has a gas slide-in range in white (with a gray cooktop) for around $1100 or $1200. The stainless steel finish is, IIRC, a couple hundred $$ more.

    Best way to check appliance choices out further is to visit AJ Madison and Lowe's websites and use the search engines there. You can filter by features and price ranges which should help you narrow your choices down.

    Another reason some folks like t buy a suite form a single manufacturer is that there may be a rebate when you get a package deal. However, many stores will also give you similar discounts just for buyng all your appliances from them.

    And speaking of that, GE will be coming out with a well-styled suite of basic appliances called "GE Artistry" in a couple of months. The kitchen suite will be $2400, they say. Check out the current thread on GE appliances for millenials to find the links on these. They look great, but their version of "basic" might be too basic for you.

    This post was edited by JWVideo on Mon, Jul 8, 13 at 22:30

  • deeageaux
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    gas range- no back, no touchscreen, free standing

    I think what you are asking for is a pro style range. These start at $2k and you can't fit your entire suite of appliances under $4k. There is an entry level very basic GE range that meets your criteria but only comes in black. This would fit your budget. There are others in SS but are off brand and really really low end and might be a PITA to find parts and service for.

    What do you want to do here?

    If you want the black GE range do you want a black refrigerator?

    fridge - side/side, ice/water in door, no touchscreen

    Even the super low end fridges with ice dispensers have touch controls, some don't have touch screens but none have the old school manual controls.

    you should see what sort of appliances are standard in your neighborhood/area.

    I think we can get a good idea from the following.

    OKGrowin "4bed2bath 1900 sq foot for 100k. The house needs TLC "

  • deeageaux
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    BTW GE Artistry does not have a washer nor dryer.

    Apparently, millenials with their own place still have baby-boomers wash their clothes.

    5-10 years from now GE Artistry will probably be famous for being the cheapest suite of appliance a low end builder can get aside from the obvious W & D.

    Probably what potential buyers want to see. :)

  • OKgrowin
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm fine with touch controls, just not touch screen(LCD).

    I don't care about the brands matching just the finishes. Ex: no black fridge + SS range.

    after looking more my budget is probably 1400(wash/dry) 1400(range) 1200(fridge).

    Washer / Dryer LG are good?
    WM2250CW & DLE2250W

    Don't know which fridge is best:
    LG LSC27925 has lots of good reviews..
    So does GE GSH25JSDSS hmm...
    i got no idea about Samsung RS261MD , RS263TD

    The range is another story, to get the features i want it seems like the 1400$ stoves aren't too great.
    Would it be more worth it to just continue saving some money, get a cheap range from craigslist, and get a 2000$ later?

  • jwvideo
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    LG dryer is one of CR's recommended models . FOr the washer, CR says: "Excellent performance overall and an appealing price make this large-capacity front-loader a CR Best Buy. But this washer is relatively noisy, a consideration if placing near living space. The cycle time of 95 minutes is longer than many front-loaders'."

    The fridges --- well, LG SxS fridges are far and away the least reliable, with almost 1 in 4 having serious problems within the first five years of ownership according to CR surveys.

    GE SxS fridges fare better with 1 in 6 of its SxS needing work in the first five years. In CR performance testing, the GE GSH25JSDSS SxS came in near the bottom of the test results. It has below average temperature control and evenness and seems to be kind of noisy.

    The Samsung SxS RS261 series is rated a but better than GE, but still has below average temperature control and evenness.

    However, the Samsung SxS RS263 series are rated by CR as top performers and CR designated them as a "best buy" for SxS fridges. CR's membership surveys report the Samsung fridgesto be slightly more reliable than the GE fridges but CR says the difference is not statistically significant. Everybody I know with a Samsung fridge (mostly FD models) has been pleased and so, apparently, are most buyers. Until they have a service or warranty issue, that is. Be aware that Samsung has had service and support issues that have turned disappointed customers into irate internet campaigners. Do a search here and also check out www.consumeraffiars.com.

    On stoves, "worth it" is a really subjective decision that involves a lot of personal preferences and judgments that we cannot make for you. How much do you like to cook? What will you cook? Do you care about extended simmering? Do you want/need a self-cleaning oven. Ad infinitium. Depending on what you want to do, a really cheap stove may be more hassle than its worth or might be acceptable to you.

    Do you need a slide-in for installation in an island? If you can put a freestanding stove against a wall, there are plenty of very decent gas ranges in the $1k to $1.2k price range and none of them will have touch-screens. If you need a slide-in, you might check out this Frigidaire slide-in model which is about $1300 (or less) in white at aj madison:

    http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/FFGS3025LW.html?brand_store=1

    You might find something like it elsewhere (or on Craigslist) for less.

  • MiMi
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I for one.. think you can do it with your budget... or very close anyway. For instance here is the link to a really nice SS, side by side Samsung refrigerator at Lowe's that is only 1,000.00. You can buy a 3 year extended warranty for 90.00 and never have to go thru Samsung if you were to have any issues with it, you deal directly with Home Depot. I do have some personal experience with this refrigerator as my daughter bought this same one a year ago and it has performed flawless and is very pretty also. I have lived in this house for 11 years and still have the same GE gas range that has performed flawlessly.. still looks brand new and I think it is around 600.00 at Lowe's. Whirlpool also has a lot of ranges in this price range. You can get a Kitchen Aid dishwasher at Lowes for 650.00.... Even with tax, those 3 items would be around 2250.00 plus tax and any extended warranties... plenty of money left to buy a washer and dryer...Take your money to Lowe's, it will go a long way for you, you will have a nice looking kitchen and do not let someone make you feel bad by saying unless you buy a 1,400.00 range you will have a piece of junk.. I do not mean to offend anyone here but I also an not going to offend the original poster or make her feel bad and basically tell her she will have "junk" for what she has to spend...because that's just not true... whether or not things will last 10 years who knows... nothing is made like it used to be.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Samsung Refrigerator at Lowe's.

  • deeageaux
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think you have gotten some solid advice, the one thing I would add is that you don't want a front load washer without a built-in heater. Maintaining temps is critical to good cleaning performance in a front load.

    The WM2250CW does not have a built-in heater but the LG WM2650HWA does for just ~$100 more. I think it absolutely positively worth the difference.

  • ardcp
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    as far as gas ovens go, when i needed to replace my whirpool, i checked out consumer reports then went to home depot and got the hotpoint stove that was rated a best buy. it doesnt have a ton of options but i didnt want them. the gas burners are powerful, it has a simmer burner, a fast boil burner, and the oven bakes evenly plus it was around $500. i still love it 4 years later. i cook and bake alot so it gets a daily use. i know plenty of people who had to have viking or wolf stoves and never use them! dont get caught up in what you think you should do, go for a good appliance that works well and doesnt break your budget.