A Day at Lowe's

I went out to Lowe's today and was totally demoralized. Firstly I was buying a replacement PUR pitcher filter, and I found out they removed the auto filter monitor on the top of the filter. So PUR got a nice nasty email from me. :-)

Secondly, I walked over to the appliances, and was not impressed much.
-The refrigerators were quite nice! I was a little impressed with them. Almost all of them felt very substantial and like they were built with quality materials. So no worries there.

-Dishwashers were the usual. Whirlpool Co. DWs seem like they've gotten better in the past year or so. They don't look as bargain basement as they used to, and they feel much stiffer. Hopefully their TT wash module has improved. Frigidaire of course was shit. Their GE selection was very minimal, but what was there was typical, nice GE with their brilliant "6 level Brilliant Clean" system. They had a few Maytags there for BARGAIN prices; I wish I could've bought one right there. The Maytag dishwashers were quite well built except for one flaw. Their control panels, where the touch pads are, is a thin sticker with circuitry sandwiched in. Whatever glue they used was shitty cuz those sticker control panels were all coming loose, on every model. I'm worried as to what's going to happen to the TT Maytag models. I hope WP does the smart thing and adopts the Maytag design. Just have them fix the shoddy control panels.

-Washers.......made me want to cry. I can't believe the same companies that made some pretty nice modern dishwashers at one end of the store, were making such crappy clothes washers. The Whirlpools were standard DD WPs. One thing I did notice is whatever timers and knobs WP is using now, are horrible. They're stiff and clunky, and feel like they're gonna break. These crappy timers and knobs, yes, are also in the new WP Maytags. There were a few NorgeTags...and believe it or not, those felt like much BETTER machines than the new WPTags. I will say though. The new WPTags with the clean color scheme and center dials are VERY attractive I think. They're simple and elegant...like Maytag used to be. So styling wise, I think WP has done well. On the materials....all shit.
The same goes for front loaders. All the front loaders were absolute trash EXCEPT the Whirlpool Duet and Maytag Epic models. If I had to buy a washer and dryer today, it would have to be the Epic models. They were the ONLY laundry appliances that didn't feel like they were going to break in my van on the way home.
Frigidaire's FL dryer was a joke. The door hinge was a stamped piece of steel, and I was able to get 6" of vertical flex in each direction!
The Chinese GE FL laundry pair was a close second when it came to build quality. They felt quite sturdy and had quality feeling controls and doors; good fit and finish too. I don't know how reliable they are....but the GEs were OK.

I don't know what the hell is going on here, but something has to crack. The companies can't toss shit down our faces for much longer, something must give. The domestic auto industry has SOARED in the quality dept. while domestic appliances are horrible. The imports are NOT much better either.
To be quite honest...the best appliances I can currently find are in my parents' laundry room. Our 1982 Maytag LA511, and our 2003 Neptune dryer with digital controls.


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Post# 187726 1/31/2007 at 20:38 (6,291 days old) by johnb300m (Chicago)
Checkrate/Likes I went out to Lowe's today and was totally demoralized. Firstly I was buying a replacement PUR pitcher filter, and I found out they removed the auto filter monitor on the top of the filter. So PUR got a nice nasty email from me. :-) Secondly, I walked over to the appliances, and was not impressed much. -The refrigerators were quite nice! I was a little impressed with them. Almost all of them felt very substantial and like they were built with quality materials. So no worries there. -Dishwashers were the usual. Whirlpool Co. DWs seem like they've gotten better in the past year or so. They don't look as bargain basement as they used to, and they feel much stiffer. Hopefully their TT wash module has improved. Frigidaire of course was shit. Their GE selection was very minimal, but what was there was typical, nice GE with their brilliant "6 level Brilliant Clean" system. They had a few Maytags there for BARGAIN prices; I wish I could've bought one right there. The Maytag dishwashers were quite well built except for one flaw. Their control panels, where the touch pads are, is a thin sticker with circuitry sandwiched in. Whatever glue they used was shitty cuz those sticker control panels were all coming loose, on every model. I'm worried as to what's going to happen to the TT Maytag models. I hope WP does the smart thing and adopts the Maytag design. Just have them fix the shoddy control panels. -Washers.......made me want to cry. I can't believe the same companies that made some pretty nice modern dishwashers at one end of the store, were making such crappy clothes washers. The Whirlpools were standard DD WPs. One thing I did notice is whatever timers and knobs WP is using now, are horrible. They're stiff and clunky, and feel like they're gonna break. These crappy timers and knobs, yes, are also in the new WP Maytags. There were a few NorgeTags...and believe it or not, those felt like much BETTER machines than the new WPTags. I will say though. The new WPTags with the clean color scheme and center dials are VERY attractive I think. They're simple and elegant...like Maytag used to be. So styling wise, I think WP has done well. On the materials....all shit. The same goes for front loaders. All the front loaders were absolute trash EXCEPT the Whirlpool Duet and Maytag Epic models. If I had to buy a washer and dryer today, it would have to be the Epic models. They were the ONLY laundry appliances that didn't feel like they were going to break in my van on the way home. Frigidaire's FL dryer was a joke. The door hinge was a stamped piece of steel, and I was able to get 6" of vertical flex in each direction! The Chinese GE FL laundry pair was a close second when it came to build quality. They felt quite sturdy and had quality feeling controls and doors; good fit and finish too. I don't know how reliable they are....but the GEs were OK. I don't know what the hell is going on here, but something has to crack. The companies can't toss shit down our faces for much longer, something must give. The domestic auto industry has SOARED in the quality dept. while domestic appliances are horrible. The imports are NOT much better either. To be quite honest...the best appliances I can currently find are in my parents' laundry room. Our 1982 Maytag LA511, and our 2003 Neptune dryer with digital controls.

Post# 187783 , Reply# 1 1/31/2007 at 23:37 (6,291 days old) by paulg (My sweet home... Chicago)
Checkrate/Likes *I agree* I tend to agree. It does appear that the appliance market is saturated with glitzy garbage - often at high prices. I avoid Chinese products. When I buy a major appliance I look at the model/serial label to see where it was made. China/Korea forget it! CAN China and Korea make quality goods? Sure. Do I FEEL that they are high quality goods. No. I buy very selectively. I bought a Wolf range. Does it have the feel of quality? You bet. My newer Speed Queen laundry pair. Sturdy? You bet. I'd much rather restore a vintage piece rather than buy a newer planned-for-rapid-failure product and that is how I plan to continue to spend MY MONEY. I was caught off-guard on a Frigidaire purchase. Old (>10yr) Magic Chef dishwasher finally sprung a leak. Worked over 10 years no repairs at all. New Frigidaire Gallery worked less than 2 years and broke the latch after very little use. $200 later unit was fixed but never again. Yeah I try to buy well but I've been bit too. Forums like these are such help. Add the clues up and one can figure out what is usually good and what is not.

Post# 189222 , Reply# 2 2/7/2007 at 11:48 (6,284 days old) by sillysuds (new jersey)
Checkrate/Likes *Lowes* I was at Lowes today and there washers are lower in price for there Whirlpools and Roper,why is that.?