Kenmore kitchen appliance questions

[SplshMtn99]

We will be getting all new kitchen appliances for our new condo. I've always been partial to Whirlpool. There is a Whirlpool frig I like, but the slide-in electric ranges they offer I don't care for. Then there is a Fridgedaire slide-in range I love, but the stainless steel from Fridgedaire doesn't match the stainless steel from Whirlpool. And so on & so on with other appliances.

I can't seem to find ONE manufacturer where I like all the appliances I need.

So, I'm considering looking at Sears / Kenmore next. But since Kenmore is made by several manufacturers, does anyone know if the applicances will match? (stainless color / handle style......)

Our current home has all Whirlpool -- except a Kenmore dishwasher & washing machine. I've never had to have any of our appliances repaired (knock on wood).

Looking for other's experiences with Kenmore.

Thanks.

 

[hemispheredancer]

If I am not mistaken, Whirlpool now makes Kenmore appliances. We have a Kenmore gas stove that has lots of features (that I don't use!) and a Kenmore Elite gas grill. Happy with both!

 

[SplshMtn99]

I know Whirlpool makes for Kenmore, but I thought several manufacturers made for Kenmore. Am I mistaken??

 

[Snowysmom]

I too like Whirlpool appliances. But, I do like Kenmore too. I had one Kenmore washer for over 20 years and that went through loads and loads of cloth diapers when the kids were babies. Whirlpool does make some Kenmore appliances. When we went to buy a stove last year, the salesperson pretty much knew what manufacturer made what Kenmore model. We did end up buying a Whirlpool stove because it was on sale. It wouldn't hurt to ask the salesperson. Our washer and dryer are Kenmore and were made by Whirlpool. Good luck.

 

[SplshMtn99]

Well, I just came back from Sears. I talked to 1 salesman for a short bit. He claims that all Kenmore stainless steel will match each other -- even if made by different manufacturers. Not sure about that -- but the black accents on them surely don't match each other. And he couldn't (or wouldn't) tell me who the "real" makers were of some of the ones I was looking at.

But from looking around for months, it was funny that I would tell from the handles what was a "Whirlpool" & what was a "Fridgidaire" or a "GE" even though they all said Kenmore.

So, now I've got to research Kenmores. Still looking for others experiences.

 

[SplshMtn99]

selfish bump in hope of more response

 

[mcnuss]

Hi there --

I was in the same boat last year when I re-did my kitchen. It is true that different manufacturers make Kenmore appliances. A lot of them are Whirlpool, some are Kitchen-Aid, some are Roper (which are Whirlpool companies, and by the way, which is merging with Maytag, so let's see if we can further confuse consumers). Sears makes agreements to OEM their equipment in certain finishes and with certain exclusive features. My understanding is that they have agreements with just about every major manufacturer!

At the end of the day, I opted for a Kenmore elite dual fuel range and a Kenmore elite fridge. The Elite line is a little higher end, but bottom line I did it bc they were the ones with every thing I was looking for. I opted for the "fake" stainless on teh fridge bc I was told it would not show fingerprints, dirt, etc.. as badly as teh real thing, and I was given good advice. The 2 appliances are about 8 feet apart, and you can't tell the difference. I worried about that a lot and now I wonder why! The only thing I do not like about my fridge (other than it's not counter-depth, but I did not want to pay so much $$ to lose so much space) is the handles. They are black and long but the fridge had every other feature I wanted. I could tell it was made by Whirlpool bc of the PUR water filter's location, the door handles and the ice maker. I think we decided that range is GE. I did not replace my dishwasher bc it was pretty a new (under 6 years old) Kitchenaid, and I couldn't justify it. It's black and so it fits in fine, but when it's time, I am going to replace it with another Kenmore elite that I saw the other day when I had to buy a new dryer (also K-elite, now that I think of it!).

I shopped at every stupid store within 30 miles of here - almost got seduced into the super high end stuff. Finally I deicded to sit down and write up all the features I had to have and then all the nice to haves, I set a price range for myself and went back to Sears and was done in 15 minutes. I don't want to jinx myself here, but we are totally satisfied with our choices.

By the way, at the end of the process, I finally understood why some people cover their appliances with the cabinet doors. It would have made the whole color thing a non-issue!

FYI -- we did go to a local appliance store, and even though they stocked Frigidaire, the salesman steered us away from it. I thought (cynically) that it was bc he got a better commission on the other lines in teh store, but when I checked Consumers, they gave a lot of them low reliability ratings.

This is long but I hope my experience helps you.

 

[SplshMtn99]

Thanks SOOOOOO much for your reply.

I too tended towards the Kenmore Elite. I'm looking for an electric smooth top slide-in range....and I liked a Kenmore Elite one (probably made by Frigidaire) that includes a warming drawer.

Also, we want a french door style refrigarator (the ones with freezer on bottom & 2 doors on top). Not all manufactors make those yet, so picking is a bit slimmer. Saw a few, but not decided yet on which. Either way, it doesn't look like the fridge handles will match the stove handles. Stove handles stainless; & fridge handles black (or graphite).

Sigh.....why is this so hard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Aimeedyan]

Find a salesperson that will tell you who made what - there is no reason for him not to. When we shopped for a fridge, we didn't want to touch a Maytag so we made our salesman tell us who made each and every fridge and we narrowed it down to a Whirlpool as we had good luck with them in the past. We LOVE our Kenmore (made by Whirlpool).

I have no idea about matching other than just looking at every one of them. IMO stainless usually always looks the same regardless of manufacturer but you can take pictures of each and compare them to make sure as you shop. We bought a brushed satin finish so we had the look of a modern sleek stainless fridge without the fingerprints.

 

[mcnuss]

Thanks SOOOOOO much for your reply.

I too tended towards the Kenmore Elite. I'm looking for an electric smooth top slide-in range....and I liked a Kenmore Elite one (probably made by Frigidaire) that includes a warming drawer.

Also, we want a french door style refrigarator (the ones with freezer on bottom & 2 doors on top). Not all manufactors make those yet, so picking is a bit slimmer. Saw a few, but not decided yet on which. Either way, it doesn't look like the fridge handles will match the stove handles. Stove handles stainless; & fridge handles black (or graphite).

Sigh.....why is this so hard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bump!

Did you pick anything yet?