# [2010] refrigerators at Lowes vs appliance store



## Joyce (Mar 27, 2010)

I learned the hard way that things bought at big box stores such as lowes are not the same as those sold in the regular stores. I bought a Toro lawnmower at Home depot several years ago and when I went to the local  lawnmower repair store to have it serviced  they could not sharpen the blade as it was too thin. They could not grease the wheels as the grease holes were not there. Now I need a new refridgerator and am wondering if the same applies to appliances. The prices at the appliance stores are more. Are the appliances sold at Lowes or Home depot or Best Buy an inferior product made especially for them? I don't want to get stuck again.


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## Passepartout (Mar 27, 2010)

Many times appliances are made by one outfit and branded to others, several different makers are sold at Sears as Kenmore. I'm pretty sure our Frigidaire washer/dryer are a Lowe's only item but so far so good.

You can ask the salesperson if they know if the one you are looking at is 'made especially for.....?'

Consumer Reports often has the mfg and retailer listed on appliance reviews. Some here find their reviews suspect, though.

So many refrigerators today are going for the 'Energy Star' rating that they are putting smaller compressors than they used to and the life expectancy of the appliance is less than your old one.

Happy fridge shopping. 

Jim Ricks


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## MULTIZ321 (Mar 27, 2010)

How to Tell Which Manufacturer Made Your Kenmore Appliance from Sears  - from eHow.com


Richard


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## Talent312 (Mar 28, 2010)

I narrow my search initially looking for articles at www.consumersearch.com and www.bestcovery.com. They review other reviews, citing tests and comments made by various consumer and geer-head type publications, as well as "real world" user-reviews on sites such as www.amazon.com. They advise not only on what's highly rated, but also which is a best "budget" item.

After I settle on two to four specific model nos., I look to see what's in the stores and B4 buying, check the manufacturer's own website to make sure they are in fact a _currently_ produced product and not last year's left-over or a discontinued model.

That said, I can say that we are well-satisfied with the side-by-side Whirlpool that we bought at Lowe's for our home about seven years ago. But we did not spring for the TV in the door.


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## Cheapseater (Mar 28, 2010)

*Lowes Had Best Price And Value*

I admit to not being much of a shopper, but in large purchases I do a lot of background work and at the end of the day the best price for a comparable ref. was at Lowes. We waited for sale prices and really got a great product at a price no other vendor came close to. Good luck!


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## Icc5 (Mar 28, 2010)

*Always watch year and model*

Past experience and research on appliances has been that many items are made for certain companies only.  To find the same item in an appliance store and a big box store make sure the year and model numbers are the exact same.
Bart


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## gravityrules (Mar 29, 2010)

You are correct about lawnmowers, the Toro models (and Honda for that matter) at the big box stores are inferior models compared to a specialty shop.  Some, if not all, of the Toro models aren't really Toro at all, they are just re-badged MTDs ... which means you're paying extra (compared to Walmart's MTDs) for the Toro name but you're not getting a Toro!
I still have a Toro self-propelled I bought from a lawnmower shop in 1987.  It was over $500 back then!  To get a similar quality mower today would require buying from the commercial line that is only available from the specialty shops.

I suspect the same thing happened with appliances.  I still have a Maytag washer/dryer purchased in 1985.  My understanding is this later became a 'commercial' line.   About the only thing that the Maytag appliances of today (no longer built in Newton Iowa) have in common with mine is the name.  I'm sure they do a better job of washing and drying ... but with more breakdowns and a shorter life span.

As mentioned, old refrigerator compressors were known to run for decades.  Perhaps they were 'overbuilt' for their application.  They likely were not efficient.
Don't expect modern high efficiency compressors to last anywhere near this long.
Of course the energy costs to produce replacement parts is never figured as part of an overall system efficiency calculation.  There's little incentive for manufacturers to design for 'long life'; you just have to be 'about as good'  as the other manufacturers.


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## Talent312 (Mar 24, 2012)

dipika4564 said:


> Quote deleted (spammer)



It's easy to overlook, but you're reopening a two year old, dead thread.


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## Passepartout (Mar 24, 2012)

Use a little caution with this new poster's (post 8) embedded links. They all have a Web Of Trust 'Poor' rating. New TUG guest, intrusted links. Use your judgement. He might be sincere making his first post to a timeshare group with a 2 year-old non-TS thread, but it's suspicious.

Jim


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## DaveNV (Mar 24, 2012)

Kitchen remodeling has very little to do with timesharing.  Especially when the text in post 8 refers to readings others reviews and coming back here to ask questions.  I agree - I think we have another spamming troll.

Dave


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## Patri (Mar 25, 2012)

Range hoods aren't high on anyone's list of anxiety. Just buy one that fits.


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## Passepartout (Mar 25, 2012)

[Deleted to not add to spam]


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## DeniseM (Mar 26, 2012)

OLD THREAD ALERT:  Please note that 5 spam posts have been deleted from this thread, which was brought out of mothballs by a spammer - it's an old thread from 2010.


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## sfwilshire (May 13, 2012)

Since the thread has been reopened, what's the best choice for a low cost refrigerator for a rental house. I last bought a refrigerator for our home in the early 80s. I know it will die any day now (possibly before I finish typing this thread) but so far so good.

Sheila


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