Like most of the rest of the planet, my household is several years deep into repair and maintenance mode. We haven’t made any major purchases in years, and hardly any nonessential minor ones. We’ve always been of the mindset that it’s best to fix what you have rather than ship it off to the landfill and replace it with a newer and shinier gee-gaw.
One of the minor emergencies that took place during my lost week with my failed fistula was the refrigerator started leaking. Water had gotten under my office carpet and the kitchen floor before we noticed it.
We opted for appliance repair insurance through our local gas and electric monopoly when this happened several years ago after an outrageous—more than US$300—repair bill from Sears. Now for about US$30 per month, repairs on all of our appliances—including the air conditioner and furnace—are covered at no charge. If the appliance can’t be fixed, we receive a fair-market payment of the appliance’s value. Of course it’s not fair—this is insurance after all, and it’s what the monopoly says it is—but I very highly recommend the insurance plan.
Like I said, we’re in maintenance and repair mode. But we like to have a plan B.
Plan B amounted to taking out a consumerreports.com online subscription to get the skinny on the best replacement refrigerator for our money. Consumer reports rates the top three large (36 inches wide or wider) refrigerators as specific models from Whirlpool, Amana, and Maytag, respectively. What Consumer Reports doesn’t tell you is that each of these refrigerators is marketed by a division of Whirlpool Corporation.
Oh, but wait it gets even better. All of the refrigerators are actually manufactured by—you guessed it—Roper, according to the repairperson Xcel sent out. He’s got 30 years experience and said, “if you buy one of those refrigerators and it needs a repair, it will be a Roper part.” Best of all, Consumer Reports doesn’t list a single Roper in its list of 273 available refrigerators.
Bad Consumer Reports, that’s an epic fail; no link. I suggest the name be changed to Corporate Reports. How am I to trust any Consumer Reports rating in the future?
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