GE Appliances Suck!

[E4 No More]

I've got to vent!

We bought our new house a little less than 4 years ago, (June 2017), and when we did buy it we had all of our kitchen appliances installed which were GE. The wife wanted GE because they offer the slate gray finish that would match our color pallet. I've never had GE appliances before, and I'll never have them again. Why? Within a two week period the fan in the refrigerator stopped working, the two ring burner stopped working in the stove, and the dishwasher stopped working. Apparently, the "upper board stopped communicating with the lower board." All repairs are totaling $750 because GE only has a 1yr warranty.

Can you imagine what you'd think if you bought 3 cars from the same manufacturer at the same time and all three broke within 2 weeks of each other? Right now we're figuring on the microwave dying next.

GE SUCKS!!!

[MacGyver]

GE was once one of the most fabled manufacturers on the planet. They made everything.

Like so many companies - one of which your wife is intimately familiar with - their management team decided they could make more in financial engineering than actually making product. They were wrong.

It's a shame. That capacity is really hard to get back.

We had a similar experience with two top of the line GE appliances that were in our house when we bought it.  Both the washer and the dryer continually had problems.  When I would repair it - every time it was like it was the person on the assembly lines first day on the job or their last day on the job. The quality control was terrible.  There were literally zip ties that were so tight they ate through the wiring with the vibration of the machine. I don't know that I could be talked into another one.

That said, the best oven I've ever had was a contractor grade gas range/oven from the mid-nineties. That thing held temperature more consistently than any oven I've ever owned since. It probably didn't cost $150.  I'd love to have it back.

[tercel89]

I know an appliance repair guy that had his own shop. Real nice honest guy and business. He said if you ever find one of the old washers and dryers from the 70s or 80s thst still run KEEP THEM. The old ones that had one motor and a belt with manual knobs . He said they will run like an old Honda or Toyota and if they ever do break,  they are easily fixed. 

Edited April 22, 2021 by tercel89

[No_0ne]

Run forever and easily fixed doesn't generate repeat customers ...

[No_0ne]

And planned obsolescence isn't a new phenomenon ...

[Garufa]

1 minute ago, No_0ne said:

And planned obsolescence isn't a new phenomenon ...

Very true, but they are much better at it now.

[tercel89]

Yeah these new ones are like Replicants on the old movie Blade Runner. They have a built-in expiration date and buddy they break quick!

[No_0ne]

Many years ago, a good friend on mine worked in QC at a company that manufactured commercial grade heat exchangers, cooling coils, pumps and the like.  His company was negotiating a contract with Sears to make portable air compressors, the type used by small shops and homeowners.  It would have been a much larger contract than they typically serviced, so management was keen to get it done.  Their original prototypes were submitted for longevity testing, the Sears engineers opened the draincocks and turned on the compressors, measuring how long they ran wide open.  After 2k hour, they gave up and told my friend that their compressors lasted way too long for their needs.  My friend's company cheapened up the pumps, motors and assorted hardware, and tried again.  Same test, this time the compressors ran for about 1k hours on average.  At that time Sears pulled the plug, told them they would never buy a compressor that ran over 500 hours during this test.  The company never made Sears air compressors ...

[Tuffus]

I have never had a GE appliance but LG is on my never buy again list. The compressor went bad on warranty. They sent their guy out to the house and agreed. Yep, the compressor is toast. They said they don't fix them they just check them to confirm for the company. Charged me $100 for the service call to confirm the compressor was bad. LG never fixed it after 3 months of haggling. Luckily the manager at Lowes got tired of their stalling too and gave us a new Whirlpool at no charge. He said LG was always a problem to deal with. I need to check with my brother to see what make his beer fridge in the garage is. His inlaws bought it sometime in the 50's and it's still keeping his beer cold.

Edited April 22, 2021 by Tuffus

[peejman]

Like a lot of other things, there's only a few companies who make appliances. Most make multiple brands. A little digging will tell you who makes what and which brands to buy. GE used to be the company who made everything themselves, but not anymore.

[bersaguy]

I guess I have been lucky with the Haier chest Freezer and two 110 window a/c units I bought from Walmart over 10 years ago cause they have been working flawlessly for over 10 years. I had a friend tell me about them back then so when it came time to buy a new one I bought those and have not regretted it 1 minute. I don't know who makes them but they make a great product......JMHO

[Quavodus]

Maytag used to be awesome. I don't know about now.

[DJTC45]

Every appliance we have are GE, the only problem I ever had was the dishwasher developed a leak, I replaced it with a USA made model GE dishwasher and it's been running for 4yrs now, the stove is GE and I had to buy an element but it's 10yrs, and the Double Door Fridge/w Bottom Freezer is 10yrs old also, and the Upright Freezer in the Garage is 7yrs old, did have to have a new digital read out replaced but is was under warranty and they fixed it with no cost. I guess we've been lucky( now that I just jinxed us) I've been satisfied with them. Just my two cents and experience with GE. Maybe yours was built on a Friday and finished up on Monday.

[MacGyver]

GE has been re-shoring some manufacturing over the last decade or so. It’s been a long slog.  Once you lose that capacity - whether individually as a company or as a nation - it’s really hard to get it back.

All that to say - I hope the next decade looks better than the last one.

[Dirtshooter]

Appliances are like cars. I will wager the new 2021 model of your choice will be in the junkyard before my 1993 Z-71 is, why you ask.  Because I can FIX this one, this new crap was destined for the junkyard!!  A 1963 would be an even better option.

[No_0ne]

37 minutes ago, Dirtshooter said:

A 1963 would be an even better option.

Once you've replaced all the floorpans, quarterpanels, rockers, cowl and the other areas where they used thin sheet steel with no primer or other corrosion protection.  The cars of this era were typically designed to last about 3-5 years before being scrapped, which most were.  I've restored, driven and owned a lot of them, and while there are some advantages in terms of their simplicity, quality construction  for longevity was not one ...

[Erik88]

There is a GE plant in Charleston TN. I'm curious what they make there. It seems the location in Morristown closed in 2020. They made electrical boxes at that location.

[hipower]

4 hours ago, tercel89 said:

Yeah these new ones are like Replicants on the old movie Blade Runner. They have a built-in expiration date and buddy they break quick!

Gotten almost exactly 4 years each out of consecutive GE washers. Last purchase was a Maytag. It runs like a rod is about to come thru it. But only on the Hot cycle. On Cold... it's ok.

[QuackerSmacker]

3 hours ago, hipower said:

Gotten almost exactly 4 years each out of consecutive GE washers. Last purchase was a Maytag. It runs like a rod is about to come thru it. But only on the Hot cycle. On Cold... it's ok.

So.......run on cold and fogedddabbouttitt?   That's what I'd do, FWIW.   Today's best detergents don't care about temp.

[DL126]

The wife and I bought a new fridge yesterday.

From all the info we could gather over the last month, we decided the best route was to assume they're all junk and it's gonna break. We were pretty well told as much by a guy in a local Sears store who seemed pretty knowledgeable.
So she ignored brand names, picked out the one that she liked the best, and we paid $189.00 xtra for a 5 year protection plan.

[hipower]

6 hours ago, QuackerSmacker said:

So.......run on cold and fogedddabbouttitt?   That's what I'd do, FWIW.   Today's best detergents don't care about temp.

Mostly I do that. But personally like to wash towels and bedding in hot water. Just a little phobia.

[E4 No More]

14 hours ago, Tuffus said:

I have never had a GE appliance but LG is on my never buy again list. The compressor went bad on warranty. They sent their guy out to the house and agreed. Yep, the compressor is toast. They said they don't fix them they just check them to confirm for the company. Charged me $100 for the service call to confirm the compressor was bad. LG never fixed it after 3 months of haggling. Luckily the manager at Lowes got tired of their stalling too and gave us a new Whirlpool at no charge. He said LG was always a problem to deal with. I need to check with my brother to see what make his beer fridge in the garage is. His inlaws bought it sometime in the 50's and it's still keeping his beer cold.

I've owned several Whirlpools and never had any problems out of them.

[chances R]

whirlpool is mostly American made.  LG made Kenmore as well.  Nice upper end refrigerator went bad after 4 yrs.  Talked to a repairman.....said LG made good TVs.  Not so on other appliances.  Steered me to the Whirlpool.

[Erik88]

We're closing on our new house next week and immediately remodeling the 90's kitchen. We've been looking at a Samsung. Anyone have experience with their kitchen appliances? We've had their washer/dryer for 5 years now and both have been reliable. 

[Tuffus]

3 minutes ago, Erik88 said:

We're closing on our new house next week and immediately remodeling the 90's kitchen. We've been looking at a Samsung. Anyone have experience with their kitchen appliances? We've had their washer/dryer for 5 years now and both have been reliable. 

I hear their customer service is no better than LG. I have no personal experience though.