Looking for info on new refrigerator/freezer

[retro-man]

My sister lives in Williamsburg,VA and is looking to replacing her units. She currently has a Northland fridge and Northland freezer. Dimensions are 36" wide and 84" tall. This includes the condenser and compressors on the top. They are about 8-10 years old and giving her constant issues. The repair guy is like a member of the family, just walk right in and go to work on them. I am attaching a few pics of them. The freezer is to the left and fridge is to the right. Any info about what is out there currently and reliability would be most appreciated.

Thanks
Jon

 

[retro-man]

Bump

 

[frigilux]

Have to get to work, but did a quick perusal of built-in brands that scored well in Consumer Reports' tests: Thermador, Miele, LG, Bosch, a specific model by Liebherr (the least expensive at $5200), certain SubZero models. Expensive! Nearly all but the aformentioned Liebherr range in price from $7000-$9000.

Will try to get specific model numbers to you later.

 

[super32]

I can only recommend a Thermador or Bosch

 

[frigilux]

Here are the first seven models in Consumer Reports' list:

Thermador: T36BB820SS $7400

Bosch Integra 800 Series: B36BT830NS $7500

Thermador: T36BT810NS $8000

Sub-Zero: BI42S $8000

Miele: KF1901Vi $7200

Liebherr: CS2060 $5000

LG: LSSB2791 $8500

The only model that scored quite low was one from Viking. Probably want to avoid that brand.

 

[arbilab]

A decent fridge costs the equivalent of FOUR 1970 Volkswagen beetles? That's just wrong.

 

[jmm63]

Unless money is no object,  I would remove both units, contact a local cabinet maker to modify the opening at top with a complementary glass door cabinet, and slip in separate "built in style" fridge and freezer units with good ratings.  As much as I love the look of built ins,  they have so many issues.  My ex and I designed the kitchen in our Brooklyn condo and put in a Sub zero built in.  Although it looked great,  there was always something wrong with it, and to be honest,  it didn't hold as much as you would think it should.  

 

[retro-man]

Thanks for the info

Will start looking at the above units for her consideration. She considered redoing the kitchen but feels it would be cheaper to spend 14 to 20 thousand to replace the units. No, money is not an object to her. She just wants to have units that function on their own for more than a month or 2. She designed the kitchen when they had the house built 10 years ago. I questioned her about the design with the double ovens between the 2. Hopefully there are walls around the units and not open to the ovens in the corner. Thanks for all your info.

Jon

 

[foraloysius]

If you have two gaps, you might consider buying two bottom freezer models. If one breaks down, there is still one left. You see that in Scandinavia a lot.

Don't buy Miele if you can get Liebherr. Liebherr makes a lot of the fridges for Miele.

 

[perc-o-prince]

So far, our counter depth French door bottom freezer Kitchen Aid has been fine after about 1.5 years. I wonder if they have something similar in a size she can use. The general model got great consumer reviews.

Isn't that a shame that I'm crossing my fingers thinking I'm jinxing ours by saying that after that short amount of time!

Ours replaced a Sub Zero built in service problem model. I just used the left over space above to build a shelf.

Chuck

 

[retro-man]

The freezer has died. The repair man was out again and replaced the temp selector on the fridge. While there the freezer was making a strange noise. He touched the compressor and that was it. It died. So with info in hand doing on line research for the new purchase.

Jon