Momma's happy (for now)

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Tom

Tom

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When we bought and remodeled this house in 2000, we equipped the kitchen with several GE monogram and Profile (not inexpensive) appliances. Turns out they were a bunch of junk, and every GE appliance has had one or more problems.

I previously replaced the magnetron in the microwave, and was glad I'd had experience in appliance repair to be able to diagnose & repair it myself. Recently, the magnetron went out again, this time taking the wall of the microwave with it. I just about croaked at the $2,000 to $2,500 price of a drop-in GE replacement.

Decided to take some measurements and do some online shopping. Today I bought an LG microwave with the same features for $167 at Best Buy. They didn't have the correct trim in any of the local BB stores but, with a little adjustment using wood blocks and a Forstner bit, I was able to make the original trim fit.

The original GE microwave was made in Korea (presumably designed in the U.S.), and the replacement LG was designed in Korea and made in China. It comes with a 1 year warranty on the oven and a 10 year (parts only) warranty on the magnetron. I don't normally take the extended warranty but, for $19 and change, I got a no-hassle, full replacement warranty.

Chris is happy, and doesn't give a rats where the microwave was designed or built. Maybe I got the math wrong or went to the wrong school, but I have to agree with Chris.
 

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I agree, I too bought not inexpensive GE appliances, 3 yrs old, dishwasher doesn't work due to a major leak, fridge compressor is done, it is so loud it wakes me up in the night when I am upstairs and it is down, ice doesn't come out etc...the stove I had to replace some kind of circuit board for 450.00....NO GE again for me.  That LG microwave is very nice for 167.00.
 
We also have a non-ice problem with the GE refrigerator. On a prior GE service call, I had to explain to the GE repair guy why his diagnosis was wrong. He eventually called the factory and they confirmed what I'd told him. If it wasn't for the size and the weight, I'd replace it in a heartbeat.

Would you buy a Ford over an import ???
 
I forgot to mention that I already twice replaced the bucket and auger for the ice maker, not doing that again, I will be buying new appliances when I find the right one's that fit in the spaces or build bigger spaces...

I'm not sure about the question Ford vs Import, I am so stuck on buying North American for the sake of the economy BUT....
 
The politically correct answer is Ford.

The financially correct answer is Import.
 
I saw the survey results Bill, but that wasn't the question. Toyota has had a lot of publicity lately, but do you really believe that U.S. automakers haven't have huge problems &/or recalls?

My next car will be an import, as have 4 of the last 5 cars we've bought. May or not be a Toyota/Lexus product.
 
Wish you posted this thread in November, just had all GE appliances in the new stick house. Yikes, I am not going to be happy if they all start failing. As all have said I paid a premium for the GE appliances. O'well time will tell.
Jim
 
Jim, hopefully you have better luck with your appliances.

I can't help thinking about the $49 Magic Chef under-the-counter refrigerator I put on the bridge of our boat 9 years ago to replace the $1200 icemaker that Chris didn't see a need for. It hasn't been turned off, except when the boat has been hauled out of the water for maintenance, and it just keeps running. The relatively expensive under-the-counter refrigerator in the wet bar at home has had numerous service calls. I used to believe you get what you pay for, but I'm not sure any more.
 
Two years ago, I bought an import - a MItsubishi Outlander, but it's really hard to tell what's an import and what's not anymore.  Mitsubishi and VW and other importers make their cars here in the U.S.  So, even though profits may leave here, they still provide jobs and stimulate local economies.  So, how can we continue the old import vs. us made argument?

Sorry, my two cents worth.
 
Well, if Momma is happy, the camp is happy!  Yeah!

As for the import vs. domestic debate, much like the Ford vs. Chevy debates...or diesel vs. gas.  I will say though that all of my domestic vehicles I've bought since uhhh....wow, since I've been driving, have all been very good.  In fact, since 1986 when I bought my first new car in Alaska (a 1986 Mercury Lynx that went through many family members before finally giving it up in 2004), I've been able to keep each car I bought for either 10+ years, or well over 100,000 miles with little or no trips to the shop.  My 1988 Olds Cutlass we kept 15 years until my son totalled it (still worked, just was too old to fix).  I just sold my other Ford F-250 with 125,000 miles on it and it had never seen a shop (except when I replaced the brakes and the rear end for a 4.30 and new shocks).  I had a Olds Silhouette mini-van for almost 11 years with only minor problems.  So I am a firm believer in domestic, even though I know some or even most of the parts are manufactured elsewhere.  That's what I find very odd nowadays...our domestic vehicles are made overseas, and the overseas cars are made here!  What a crazy place we live in!
 
jim and di said:
Wish you posted this thread in November, just had all GE appliances in the new stick house. Yikes, I am not going to be happy if they all start failing. As all have said I paid a premium for the GE appliances. O'well time will tell.
Click to expand...

Hi to all,

I am a happy GE  appliance owner.  When we built our home 3 years ago I had all GE PRofile upgraded appliances, dual fuel stove, Advantium oven, Dishwasher.  I love them all.  The GE Refrigerator would not fit into the space I bought so I got an LG  at Home Depot.  What a  disaster.  It took 6 repair calls and finally an entire new refrig for LG to get it right.  So there you have it, another perspective.

Betty
Happy camper
 
[quote author=edjunior]That's what I find very odd nowadays...our domestic vehicles are made overseas, and the overseas cars are made here![/quote]

Aye Ed, everything is so intertwined in the global economy. When I commuted to work, every day I'd see trucks carrying pickup frames and engines that originated in Japan and were being delivered to the NUMMI (Toyota/GM) plant in Fremont, CA.
 
Betty, I'm sure a lot of this is just our luck and timing. Most (all?) our GE appliances worked fine for the first 3-4 years, and it's not just GE we've had trouble with. Every time folks talk about their Fisher & Peykel draw-style dish washers in their RV, I always say that I wish I'd never set eyes on the two we have in our kitchen.

One frustration with our GE and F&P appliances is that we had our kitchen cabinetry designed and built around them, making it difficult and possibly quite expensive to replace them. I lucked out with the microwave because I was able to make the replacement fit with little effort. But replacement of the ovens, dishwashers, trash compactors, and refrigerators with other brands would require major cabinet changes, and possible granite replacement.
 
Tom,

Did that crying guy you toasting in that new LG microwave survive. (pics 3)  :)

chris
 
LOL Chris. You'll see a crying guy if/when I have to replace the large GE Monogram refrigerator. It took 4 guys to get it into its place in the kitchen. IIRC the doors were off the house at the time. So, in addition to needing some muscle, we'll need to remove the front door and, if I choose not to buy an expensive replacement, I'll need some cabinet work to fill in the gaps.

In the photo is Chris' Dad, before the muscle guys came in.
 

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The main electronics board went out on our 4-year-old GE Profile fridge last month.  It had a burnt component on it.  $300 to fix it.  The repair guy says he stopped giving a warranty on the replacement board because they are prone to come from the factory with latent ESD damage. 

If I had known what the problem was, I could have bought the part for ~$120 on the Internet and replaced it in 15 minutes myself.  :(
 
If I had known what the problem was, I could have bought the part for  ~$120 on the Internet and replaced it in 15 minutes myself.
Click to expand...

That's about right. Half the price is for replacing the part and the other half is for knowing which part to replace.  ;)
 
I bought Kenmore Elite appliances.  They are 7 to 9 years old and I have not had any of them repaired yet.  Better knock on wood. I like Kenmore items, have had 3 of there sweepers in our 40 years of married life.  One had a wheel broken and would have had to replace the whole case so didn't, but I don't think the newer ones are as durable as the 1st lasted about 20 and it was used through many many remodels. My husband has had company trucks all Fords for over 20 years, many new, but many with lots and lots of miles.  On construction projects they aren't treated very well, but still perform well. We support buying American.

We have always had domestic cars, mainly Fords, but also Chevys, except one I had for about a year that was not.  We generally bought used until the last 2.  We resold them after we were done, our one Silverado had well over 225,000 miles on it.  And that included our son and a friend who drove it till he said every orifice leaked.  Only major replaced item was the airconditioner.

We maintain our vehicles well.  I hear people saying how no good American made items are, but I bend over backwards to buy American when possible.  If we don't we will have noone here able to live, spend, pay taxes, and we will become a 3rd world country making nothing.  That's why these other countries want manufacturing to create a strong middle class, we seem to have forgotten that.
 
PatrioticStabilist said:
I bought Kenmore Elite appliances.  They are 7 to 9 years old and I have not had any of them repaired yet. otten that.
Click to expand...

SuAnne

I hope that continues, but if not try and find a local serviceman rather than Sears. They won't find you. We had a problem with our coach's Kenmore dishwasher and called Sears. Our home is in AZ but we were in a campground in CA. Sears insisted on making the service call in AZ. It took a long time to get a service person out to the right location with Sears fighting us all the way. Then they refused to give our extended warranty people any information which gave the warranty company a valid reason not to cover the repair. We "fired" Sears and had a local guy fix the dishwasher (under warranty) for half the price Sears wanted. Good product, dumb service.
 
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