Checked out some modern appliances today

Had some time to kill at the local Lowe's today, so I cased out the appliance dept. I browsed the washers/dryers and dishwashers.
It was an interesting visit. If I were in the need for new appliances right now...I wouldn't want anything that's offered.

As far as washers/dryers, the only ones that impressed me were the new GE front loaders. I also cased out point of origin, and the GEs were made in Canada, which is OK in my book. I was sorely disappointed to see the new Maytag front loaders outsourced from Korea.
Luckily, they still offer the older style Maytag Neptune with the electronic control on top of the machine; I�d like that one too. The current top load Maytags really disappointed me. They were all plastic and flimsy. However, if I were able to see the mechanics and check if they still had the robust motor, trans and drain pump, perhaps I could forgive them.
Maytag needs to reevaluate itself and go back to its roots of making tough, robust appliances. Trying to copy everyone else, making flashy, fancy and flimsy machines is not the way to survive.

As far as dishwashers, I was equally disappointed. My Lowe's had GE, Maytag, Whirlpool, KitchenAid and Frigidaire.
As far as I was concerned, the Frigidaires were the most solid machines there. I checked the torsional rigidity of doors, which has been getting weaker and weaker. First off, all had extremely weak, flimsy doors. It made me wonder how any of these machines would be able to hold a rack of dishes on the door. If anyone were to accidentally trip or fall on the dishwasher door, the whole machine's shot.
Frigidaire had the most robust doors. KitchenAid had the weakest doors. I was able to flex them ALOT with hardly any force about 6 inches. [3" one way, 3" another from horizontal]. I was thoroughly disgusted with the construction of the modern KitchenAids. Shockingly, the Whirlpool equivalents had stronger doors than the KAs, yet they were still the weakest.
If I were to buy a dishwasher now, I would try hunting around for a mid 90's KitchenAid for myself. If I couldn't do that, I might look at a new Frigidaire or a standard tub Whirlpool.

All in all, I think the brand new appliances on sale today, sans the new GE front loaders, are utter garbage...and it's really sad how crappy these machines are. I can't see any of them lasting more than 5 years with regular household use without a major failure.
We are officially in the "throw away" society. I thought major appliances may hold out on that ideology, but it looks like "throw away" has hit the white goods market full force.


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Post# 116363 3/19/2006 at 22:10 (6,610 days old) by johnb300m (Chicago)
Checkrate/Likes Had some time to kill at the local Lowe's today, so I cased out the appliance dept. I browsed the washers/dryers and dishwashers. It was an interesting visit. If I were in the need for new appliances right now...I wouldn't want anything that's offered. As far as washers/dryers, the only ones that impressed me were the new GE front loaders. I also cased out point of origin, and the GEs were made in Canada, which is OK in my book. I was sorely disappointed to see the new Maytag front loaders outsourced from Korea. Luckily, they still offer the older style Maytag Neptune with the electronic control on top of the machine; I�d like that one too. The current top load Maytags really disappointed me. They were all plastic and flimsy. However, if I were able to see the mechanics and check if they still had the robust motor, trans and drain pump, perhaps I could forgive them. Maytag needs to reevaluate itself and go back to its roots of making tough, robust appliances. Trying to copy everyone else, making flashy, fancy and flimsy machines is not the way to survive. As far as dishwashers, I was equally disappointed. My Lowe's had GE, Maytag, Whirlpool, KitchenAid and Frigidaire. As far as I was concerned, the Frigidaires were the most solid machines there. I checked the torsional rigidity of doors, which has been getting weaker and weaker. First off, all had extremely weak, flimsy doors. It made me wonder how any of these machines would be able to hold a rack of dishes on the door. If anyone were to accidentally trip or fall on the dishwasher door, the whole machine's shot. Frigidaire had the most robust doors. KitchenAid had the weakest doors. I was able to flex them ALOT with hardly any force about 6 inches. [3" one way, 3" another from horizontal]. I was thoroughly disgusted with the construction of the modern KitchenAids. Shockingly, the Whirlpool equivalents had stronger doors than the KAs, yet they were still the weakest. If I were to buy a dishwasher now, I would try hunting around for a mid 90's KitchenAid for myself. If I couldn't do that, I might look at a new Frigidaire or a standard tub Whirlpool. All in all, I think the brand new appliances on sale today, sans the new GE front loaders, are utter garbage...and it's really sad how crappy these machines are. I can't see any of them lasting more than 5 years with regular household use without a major failure. We are officially in the "throw away" society. I thought major appliances may hold out on that ideology, but it looks like "throw away" has hit the white goods market full force.

Post# 116435 , Reply# 1 3/20/2006 at 07:04 (6,609 days old) by the7 ()
Checkrate/Likes "the GEs were made in Canada" The new GE FL are made in China and don't think that they are any better than Korean Maytag.

Post# 116623 , Reply# 2 3/20/2006 at 21:33 (6,609 days old) by appnut (TX)
Checkrate/Likes I'm sorry you didn't look at the Bosch dishwashers that should be on display at Lowes. Bob

Post# 116665 , Reply# 3 3/21/2006 at 01:34 (6,609 days old) by petek (Ontari ari ari O )
Checkrate/Likes I took a look at the new GE f/l dryer today and it does say made in Canada. I couldn't find the plate on the washer but the one for the dryer is right inside the door .