What You Need To Know When Buying New Appliances

When we sold our last home, the person who bought it wanted our appliances too. At the time I was worried about having to buy new appliances and the expense involved with it along with the other moving expenses in the future, but it definitely seems to be the trends these days.

So Many Options…

Our previous appliances were practically new, so you can understand my hesitation, but now looking back I’m glad we did include our appliances in the sale of our previous home because they were all white and wouldn’t have matched our new kitchen anyway. The washer and dryer would’ve been fine, but it’s the refrigerator that can get pricey. It’s pretty hard to live in a home without a refrigerator, so buying the appliances was the first thing on our to do list. We had already decided we were going to purchase our appliances at Lowe’s. I had purchased our previous appliances at Sears, and we really like the Kenmore brand, but we have a Lowe’s credit card and knew we can also negotiate pricing if we were spending a large amount of money. So, we went into the store late on a Thursday and were able to get our appliances purchased without a lot of crowds. We needed to buy a refrigerator, a washer and a dryer for certain. And, we were also considering buying a second refrigerator for the garage and a grill. One way to save a little money if you need to buy items like these is to wait until you start getting all of those new homeowner coupons that arrive after you move in. We got a couple of discount cards from Best Buy for 10% off, as well as Target and other places that have a large variety of merchandise for the home. But, because we have a Lowe’s credit card and they were offering discounts, and an appliance sale, we knew we were going to get competitive pricing there.

Brand, Style and Color Choices

We didn’t have a particular brand to buy in mind. When it came to the refrigerator we wanted it to look great with the microwave, stove, and dishwasher already installed by the builder. We selected stainless steel appliances when building our home, so that will be our choice when shopping. I know French door refrigerators are very popular these days, but I’ve had some back issues and bending down to pick up anything out of the freezer is not an easy task. So, lucky for us it appeared side-by-side refrigerator and freezer styles were a little less expensive overall. One thing we noticed is that there are a couple different types of stainless steel finishes. One was called; “smudge-proof,” but it looked grayer and a bit duller than the standard stainless finish. And, then there were some that were extremely shiny, and would show fingerprints like crazy! We tried to eliminate any model that wasn’t sort of “in the middle” when it came to the shine of its surface.

Counter-Depth Styles

One other thing we hadn’t really thought about was that now there are “counter depth” refrigerators. We decided that we definitely wanted to go this route especially since the placement of our refrigerator is near an entry into our kitchen and this way it wouldn’t stick out. Counter depth refrigerators are typically smaller in cubic feet, but that was okay with us. Most of the time it’s just my husband and I and for the times when we entertain and there are more people, we’ve decided to purchase an additional refrigerator for our garage also with freezer space. After looking at the finish of the stainless steel, and the counter depth models, we selected a Samsung model that was going to look great with plenty of space. We wanted to make sure it also featured access to water and ice from the outside. I think the kitchen refrigerator purchase was the most important one since it’s a highly visible appliance that we wanted to have match the rest of the appliances. House plans with open floor plans typically merge the kitchen with the surrounding living spaces, so having attractive appliances and kitchen finishes are important since they’re so highly visible. We loved the look of this one a lot and we’re thrilled that it complements the other appliances, while also being energy efficient.

Things to Consider When Buying A Refrigerator For Your New Kitchen:

• Are you looking for energy efficiency?
• Did you measure the space designated for the refrigerator including height if you have built-in cabinets above?
• What color and style are the dishwasher, oven and microwave? If stainless steel, does smudge-proof or standard stainless steel match the other applainces the best?
• How much cubic space do you need? Do you have a big family?
• Do you want counter depth, or is more space important to you?
• Ask if the refrigerator you like can be delivered right away. Certain models seen on the floor may not be available right away.

Next, we picked out the other refrigerator for the garage. We also learned that there are now refrigerator models designed especially for the garage. We had no idea! These models handle temperature variances better so the coils won’t freeze in colder months. We have heard of this happening before. So, we selected a moderately priced basic refrigerator in white for the garage.

Things To Consider When Buying A Refrigerator For Your Garage:

• Do you need refrigeration space and freezer space, or is one over the other more important for your needs?
• Have you considered the refrigerators designed for garage use?
• Did you measure the garage space? Pay attention to the depth of the refrigerator so it will fit in your garage with your cars, and you can still open the refrigerator door.

Then, we needed to look at washer and dryers. Neither of us really cares about having a super-fancy washer and dryer. I can’t believe how expensive some washer and dryers can be these days! As long as it gets the job done, we’re thrilled. So honestly we didn’t even consider those fancy high-end models. And, neither of us are fans of front-loading washer machine styles. I personally think they tend to have a mildew smell to them and once again they make it difficult to load with the back issues I often have. Pulling heavy wet clothes out of the washing machine can be difficult sometimes for me. We found a great price on a matching Samsung washer and dryer set that we wanted in white. They were a great price, top loading, and are also energy efficient. What more could we ask for?

Things To Consider When Buying a Washer and Dryer For Your New Home:

• Will they require gas or electric?
• If your laundry room is visible from your kitchen, do you want them match the appliances in your kitchen?
• Do you prefer front loading or top loading?
• Are you looking for energy efficiency?
• Recent models no longer have agitators, be sure you get something that will clean your clothes how you expect it to.

And, because we made a large purchase that evening, our sales associate reduced the price of our purchase after we asked if that was possible. A former Lowe’s sales associate told us that often with very large purchases it is possible to ask for an additional a discount. It was definitely worth mentioning and a discount was offered. I’m not sure what if the protocol is the same for every store, but that night we were in luck.

Last, it is very important to be home when they deliver your appliances. Or, if you ask a friend or family member to be there, make sure they examine each appliance closely for scratches and dents. We had a couple of dents and a scratch and because of this they reduced the price for those items by 10%. Or, they would’ve delivered brand new ones if we had wanted. But, the placement of these flaws was not noticeable, so we opted for the discount.

Hopefully, these tips will help you narrow down the choices available and find appliances that work best for you and your needs after moving into your new home.

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