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Link to Candor Buying new appliances can strain your budget, especially if it’s unexpected. For instance, if your refrigerator breaks, it likely means you’ll be shelling out $1,200 or more for a new model. And it’s virtually impossible to live without one! See: Are These 8 Costco Items With Cult Followings Worth the Hype (and Money)? Knowing that the average refrigerator should last at least 10 years can help you budget and prepare for the expense. Choosing the right model when you replace your aging or broken unit can also help you avoid hassles and financial stress. Consumer Reports (CR) recently released their annual survey of best and worst refrigerators, ranking 275 models of refrigerators from various manufacturers. The report revealed some trends, including recurring problems with French-door LG, Kenmore, and Samsung refrigerators. LG and Kenmore French-doors, side-by-side, and built-in models are more prone to faulty compressors than other models. Meanwhile, Samsung French-door models have experienced issues with “unsafe temperatures and malfunctioning ice makers,” according to Consumer Reports. However, in general, LG and Kenmore models fared well, dodging the list of “worst refrigerators.” Samsung was not as lucky. CR separated models into categories based on size and style. GOBankingRates analyzed the list to find models that are not worth your money, based on reliability, owner satisfaction and other criteria. GE GTS refrigerators — including the GTS18HGNRWW, GTS17DTNRWW, and GTS19KYNRFS models — all received the lowest scores for their size and style. In spite of the low prices (under $800), these refrigerators may not be worth the money. Most Samsung French-door models graced the bottom of the CR list, regardless of size. Smaller models (30-inch and narrower) earned the distinction of the worst French-door refrigerators, earning overall scores of just 56. Also: 8 Major Appliances That Are Wastes of Money If you’re shopping for a French-door refrigerator, the Electrolux Wave-Touch is also one to avoid, with a score of just 46 for its 34-inch model. At $3,100, you can definitely find better. Frigidaire side-by-side models measuring 34 inches or wider did not fare well in CR ratings, with all models near the bottom of the list (scores ranging from 68 to 52). If you’re in the market for a side-by-side, consider LG, which held 7 of the top 10 slots in the category. Viking brand refrigerators, including the Virtuoso and Professional 7 series, hold the four bottom slots in a small product category. These models all sell for more than $11,000, with the pricey Professional 7 Series selling for more than $18,000 — yet they received low marks for reliability and owner satisfaction. If you want to learn more, please visit our website custom refrigerator supplier. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 5 Refrigerators That Are Not Worth Buying
Find: How To Save $200 on Your Grocery Bill Every MonthGE GTS Line
Samsung French-door Models
Electrolux Wave-Touch
Frigidaire Side-by-Side
Viking Built-in Refrigerators
Samsung refrigerators are among more than 20 fridge brands tested by Consumer Reports. Our refrigerator ratings currently include six Samsung models recommended by CR in the top-freezer and side-by-side categories (three each), but we don’t recommend Samsung French-door refrigerators at this time due to their unfavorable rating for predicted reliability, based on our most recent member survey data.
“For the category of French-door refrigerators—for which there were many complaints regarding Samsung models in the CPSC data—our survey found that Samsung French-door refrigerators were only Fair for reliability,” says Simon Slater, CR’s associate director of survey research. “For perspective, 10 other brands in our current ratings scored Good, and only two other brands were Fair or Poor for reliability.”
CR tests only new products purchased directly from retailers, and when new, temperature-related performance of tested Samsung models was typically Very Good or Excellent. Specifically, of the 27 Samsung French-door models currently in our ratings, 26 of them earn an Excellent rating in our lab tests for thermostat control and an Excellent or Very Good rating for temperature uniformity. But our performance evaluations do not reflect product durability, reliability, or long-term performance.
That’s one of the reasons we conduct annual surveys, in which we ask our members about their experiences with new refrigerators that they’ve bought within the past 10 years. We use this data to calculate predicted reliability and owner satisfaction ratings for refrigerators, as well as to identify problem areas with these appliances. The survey questions cover topics like refrigerator repair experiences, prices paid for new refrigerators and repairs, and factors that influence refrigerator purchases, to name a few.
Based on our member survey data, Samsung French-door refrigerators also receive an unfavorable Fair rating for owner satisfaction. Samsung side-by-sides receive respective reliability and satisfaction ratings of Good and Poor, Samsung top-freezers receive respective ratings of Excellent and Good, and Samsung bottom-freezers receive respective ratings of Good and Poor.
Our predicted reliability rating is based on a statistical model that utilizes survey data to estimate the likelihood of problems emerging within the first five years of ownership, while our owner satisfaction rating is based on the proportion of members who say they are extremely likely to recommend a brand of product to friends and family. Brands that receive Fair or Poor ratings for predicted reliability are not recommended by CR.
CR member survey data also highlights brands with a meaningfully higher rate of specific problems relative to the average of other brands.
Samsung French-door refrigerators have a problem rate of 34 percent for “no water or ice coming from the dispenser” (compared with a median for all brands and refrigerator types of 15 percent).
Samsung French-door refrigerators have a 14 percent rate for “buildup of ice in the freezer” (compared with a median of 8 percent), and 17 percent for “buildup of ice in the refrigerator” (compared with a median of 6 percent).
Samsung bottom-freezer refrigerators also stand out with a problem rate of 13 percent for “buildup of ice in the refrigerator.”
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