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Originally Posted by monster
So any suggestions for current models/good deals appreciated.....
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Appreciate a major and recent (in the past few decades) change in this white appliance industry. Various manufacturers were defined by their quality. A Hotpoint was a low end (and inexpensive) appliance. A Maytag was expensive and superior quality.
Business school graduates recently changed all that. The entire American white appliance industry has been merged in a process that massively enriched these bean counters. For example, I believe Hotpoint and Maytag are now the same company now making the same appliances on a same assembly line. Cost controls in the past decades have caused a massive decrease in quality from an industry long known for high quality products and innovation.
To pay for their money games, these bean counters sold off innovations. For example, Maytag's next generation products were the Neptune series. Bean counters sold it to Samsung.
Suddenly people are now buying Samsung, LG, and Bosch appliances. Because companies such as KitchenAid were merged into mega-appliance conglomerations. Quality of KitcheAid has also decreased in the past decade.
A perfect example are French Door refrigerators. Open either door. Then let that door go. It should close without any manual intervention. But frames on these doors are now cost controlled. Some refrigerator's left door binds - does not close on its own. No problem. Top management has cut costs to pay for the merger.
Its not your father's white appliance industry anymore. Be cautious. A company you bought a dishwasher from 20 years ago is no longer the same company. Quality has recently decreased substantially in some brands to increase profits.