I want to preface the bragging about the great prices we got by saying that Jacob at the Fall River Sears Outlet HOOKED US UP. He was really great to work with (I wanted to ask him if he wanted to come out with us for a round of drinks after he got done), plus he knew his stuff and it seems like he got us the absolute lowest prices in his power. It's nice to have someone that knows the computer system, knows the rules, and knows how far they can be stretched. Especially since we went back on two separate occasions, I have no doubt that he saved us some extra loot. If he hadn't been able to link our 3 orders, we would have had to pay delivery on each order (total of $139.98 saved right there) or qualify for big discounts on warranties. So, Jacob, huge fist bump.
Without further ado, here's what we got and how we're feeling about them 4 1/2 months after the fact.
Refrigerator
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| SAMSUNG RF4287HARS |
Oh yeah, that's right, we did it. The Samsung fridge of my dreams. Why we did it? Because I was in love with it, it got really good reviews, and we got a deal on it. From top to bottom, this baby is beautiful. It's got the best shelves I've ever seen in a fridge (customizable not only up and down, but front to back), cool white/blue lighting that doesn't remind you of the cafeteria from 7th grade, and a third compartment. The third compartment allows you to choose a temperature that is best for your application - we choose to put drinks in there most of the time (it is perfectly tall for beer soda cans and our juice bottles happily lay down) but that could change at any time.
We also liked the amount of space in the freezer (I look back on our shopping adventures for this fridge and I'm wondering why we were so worried about space - we are 2 people and will stay that way, but this thing could easily hold food for 5). Other units may have actually had the same internal space, but there was a particular Kenmore model that looked like they weren't using the space very well when you opened the drawer. And let's face it, folks - perception is reality when you're talking to me :-)
When we were buying, this fridge was going for $2800 or a little more from all of the major stores, only down to about $2300 from places I had never heard of, mostly online wholesalers. We couldn't justify paying almost $3 G's for an icebox, and I didn't feel comfortable buying blindly online, so this is the appliance that actually started our discount search.
The one we got has a dent in the left side about half way down that's completely hidden by the counter it is next to as its only flaw.
$2,800 + tax + delivery (no extended warranty) $1994 including tax, delivery & a 5 year complete home warranty
4 Months Later: We still love this fridge. In fact, we're even in love with this fridge (raise your hand if you're a boy and can explain the difference - I'll give you a dollar ;-)) There's nothing about a single compartment that we would change, I'm just mad that the front isn't magnetic! I think that's the rule with SS appliances, but-but-but...I want to put my gold star up there! Haha, no, it's ok. It actually keeps things looking a lot better, and I still have one side that is accessible and magnetized for anything I actually need to keep on the fridge.
Stove/Oven
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| KITCHENAID KDRS505XSS |
We chose this model because we were really interested in a dual fuel unit - we knew without a doubt that we wanted a gas stovetop, but had heard that gas ovens can be finicky and tough to get a good steady temperature in. When it comes to baking, I really need all the help I can get. We knew we wanted to shop Sears Outlet if possible, and it's a good thing because as it turns out, dual fuel models are $$$. Consumer Reports gave the whole Kitchenaid line really good reviews (which honestly surprised me because I think of my stand mixer when I think of this brand name, not large appliances), so we had it narrowed down to their dual fuel line. The choices were double oven or not double oven, and since they had a slightly dinged model (2 small dings that I finally caught in the right (wrong?) light after having them in the house for 2 months, plus one on the corner that we knew about) of the double oven, we took it since we knew we loved the idea of 2 different temperature settings. In all reality, we are benefiting from the double oven most because of the electricity savings (we just use the top oven which is so much smaller than a standard oven would be), but eventually maybe I'll be baking two things at once ;-)
4 Months Later: We still love the set up of this oven, with one exception - the stovetop configuration. It is a 5-burner stove. You will never be able to use all 5 burners at once, or even 4. Kitchenaid put the 2 small burners in the back, and 2 large burners up front. The 2 big guys should really be diagonal from each other since you could never fit 2 large pots or frying pans next to each other. We can't figure out why they would do this to us! Oh well. The 5th burner is a fun long center burner that we mostly use with the griddle option. Pat makes his English muffin sandy's in the morning on it :)
Dishwasher
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| KENMORE SOMETHING OR OTHER |
Sooo...I have no idea which Kenmore model we got. At the time, it was one of the highest rated on ConsumerReports with a moderate pricetag. Now, since it's discontinued, it's gone. I could get off the couch right now and check on the inside of the dishwasher, butttt...yeah. I'll update later. ANYWAY! It doesn't have the silverware tray in the door, which I thought I really wanted, but as it turns out that could make the door really heavy and be harder on the hinges. Also, it has a stainless tub, which is nice for sanitation and longevity. We actually ended up getting this appliance new. We knew which model we wanted, but when we went to Sears Outlet, the one they had had a LARGE scratch all the way across the handle. We don't mind dings and dents where no one is going to notice, but this was obvious. I think it had been a floor model and the constant opening of the door and slamming it against the ground probably wasn't helpful. Anyway, since the dishwasher was recently discontinued (probably why it had been taken off of the floor), a NEW one from Sears was only $50 more than they wanted for the used one. SIGN US UP. I have no idea what it should have been before it got discontinued, but the savings were significant. I'm actually surprised that we paid as much as we did since dishwasher features just weren't that important to us, but what's done is done.
$719 including tax, delivery & a 5 year complete home warranty
4 Months Later: This is a pretty cool dishwasher. It washes dishes well, and isn't loud. (What other features should a dishwasher possess?) It's also nice, as it turns out, that the silverware isn't in the door. Now that we've got Shelbs, I'd be too nervous that she would slice her nose off if the door got left open.
Washer
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| KENMORE 4027 |
Our washer is the only appliance we didn't get from a store, and therefore don't have a warranty with. Right after we made an offer on the house, a trusted coworker said he was selling his washer and dryer, were we interested? They had been used for about 4 months and had since been sitting in his garage because his wife wanted to redecorate (that makes her sound ridiculous, she's a super nice lady). We knew they were Kenmore and we knew they were frontload and we know Sam takes good care of his stuff. For $500 cash for the set, we went and picked them up (in the horse trailer, GENIUS! Best moving transport ever). We got the washer, the dryer, and the 2 pedestals for $500, so in theory we can cut that in half and say that the washer and pedestal was only $250. We were preparing to get a pretty crappy washer for $250, but as it turns out, this was one of the highest rated washers from CR. The pedestal alone was almost as much as we paid.
4 Months Later: STILL LOVING! The washer vibrates a bit, but we think that's probably because we have it on a concrete floor and we haven't gotten the feet adjusted all the way. If we put a rug under it, the problem would be solved. Do we care about the slight vibration? No, because the dryer is in the basement and it runs so quiet/our house is so soundproof from floor to floor that we have never heard the machine running. THANKS SAM!
Dryer
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| KENMORE 9903 |
So, if you read the washer blurb, you know that we got a dryer from a friend at work. This isn't the dryer. We realized that we only had a hookup for a gas dryer in our basement (no 220v), and the dryer we got from Sam was electric. We could have run 220v to the laundry side of the basement, since we had an electrician come to do 220v for the oven anyway, but we actually wanted to have a gas dryer, just didn't originally think we could. I don't know that this model is the specific gas counterpart to our washing machine, but it looks really close. That'll matter to me someday when we have an actual laundry room :-) This model had everything we were looking for (spaciousness, controls on the front panel, gas, a steam setting, and a wrinkle release setting), and the price was right. I think there's a scratch on the top somewhere, but it's in the basement, who cares? Especially since it'll be built into cabinets some day.
4 Months Later: For the most part, we really like the second part of our washer and dryer set. It has plenty of controls, works well most of the time, and looks good. However, we've been experiencing some drying issues every once in a while that we think have to do with the door popping slightly open, which breaks the seal and then obviously shuts the dryer off. We're going to do some adjusting of the door, and if that doesn't work to keep the dryer tightly shut, call the home warranty guys. As long as the door stays shut, the dryer does exactly what it's supposed to - dry!
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