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Best Premium Brand

17 years ago

Ok so i have lurked here a long time, and every review i read makes it more difficult to make decisions on high end appliances. So basically my wife works for a large plumbing company that sells many appliances including GE Monogram, KA, Jenn Air, Thermador, Viking, Wolf/SZ, Miele, electrolux and a few others. Basically we get any of these at cost, which for GE is half off MSRP. The point of this is i would like a uniform kitchen appliance wise as when i sell our house in a few years i would like to use it as a selling point. Any of the appliances that can have a custom panel will. We just had our crappy DW go out and we need a new one, i would like to get a Miele but they have pretty high price point and i still dont know what cost for us will be. But i would like to purchas ethe brand that i will likely purchase next year for the rest of the kitchen. So here are the products we need i would like help suggesting what company is best deal for money.

1x - 48" Fridge

1x - 48" Cooktop

2x - 30" Oven

2x - Warming Drawer

1x - Microwave

1x - Wine Fridge

1x - Beverage Center

1x - 48" Exhaust Hood

1x - Dishwasher

Thanks for your help, opinions are useful but if you have facts to back it up it would be nice.

Steve

Comments (9)

  • 17 years ago

    Miele will not represent the biggest % off

    Better check to see if GE Monogram qualifies for 50 off, I didn't think it did. The rest aren't "premium"

    Few companies makes all the items on your list. If they have them in the line many are rebadged from other makers anyway.

    No company has all the best either. E.G. Viking has pretty good ranges and tops, their ref. stinks.

    I'd be really suprised if you got your money out of that many appliances in a resale.

  • 17 years ago

    Ok im aware that now one company makes the best everything. I think that works across the board in just about all walks of life. From what i read most people bash Viking, so that probably wont be the way to go. I guess i wish there was a betting ratings system for appliances, like Newegg for computer stuff. I mean its generally the pissed of people that write to bash about a product and the truly happy people may post and say its great but it happens way less awesome. I guess one continuous brand isnt as big a deal if most will be cabinet covered but i would like the few SS appliances to not have huge badges that declare themselves. Though i appreciate the concern over not getting back return on things i would appreciate it if those comments were left to a minimum.

    Basically all im saying is i have poured through GW quite a bit and i cant seem to find a ton of happy recommendation articles.

    Also i guess i am confused as to what is considered premium, i mean it it your opinion that only Monogram and Miele are premium like quality wise. Because im pretty sure Wolf/SZ and Viking are considered premium possibly even Thermador if not those companies what are premium brands? I guess i am missing something.

  • 17 years ago

    So these are the items me and the wife have picked out are there any suggestions/changes anyone would recommend.

    SubZero 48" Fridge - BI-48S/O
    Wolf 48" Rangetop - GRT486GL
    Thermador Dual Oven - PODC302
    GE Advantium Microwave - ZSC2202NSS
    Miele Warming Drawer - ESW4801FB
    GE Wine Fridge - ZDWI240WII
    GE Beverage Center - ZDBI240WII
    Miele La Perla II Dishwasher - G2872SCVi
    Best 48" Exhaust Hood - KEX22248SS
    Best 1500 CFM Exterior Blower - EB15

    Thanks

  • 17 years ago

    So, in the end you did elect to go with multiple manufacturers? Makes sense. These are in general safe and sensible choices. Hard to argue with the SZ fridge, the Wolf range, the Miele DW, etc. In the end price point did not appear to be an issue as you had initially mentioned, based on your choice of the top end Miele DW, where other models could have saved you and not sacrificed a ton in performance.

    One thing, as a hood person, I'd argue is substandard is your hood choice, based solely on size: 54'' width or greater would be much preferable to 48''. The narrower hood will significantly reduce the performance you are trying to achieve, based on your choice of a 1500 cfm blower.

    Am a bit surprised at how far the other way you went with the diversity of manufacturers. For example, one place I might have said sticking with one manufacturer might have made sense is in the choice of oven/warming drawer/MW. If, as is often done, these will be placed together in a stack, the differences in trim and finish will be fairly noticeable. But, if you already have your kitchen plans drawn up, then you may have located them separately, decreasing the effect.

  • 17 years ago

    When we did our kitchen I did not look at prices at all or just at what was "Premium Brands". We looked at Everything!! Fortunately we have a Pacific Sales store very close to us so we could see the Appliances instead of just pictures on the Net.
    Course we Looked at the Sub-Zero, but then we walked a little farther and saw the Jenn-Air, The Sub-Zero looked pretty austere, and didn't have near the features that the
    Jenn-Air had(at least in 2006). I also took the time to read ratings on these products and at least, at that particular time, Sub-Zero was having Reliability problems.
    So went with the Jenn-Air , couldn't be happier--although since we have bought the Jenn-air, the company was bought by Maytag and Maytag was bought by Whirlpool--so maybe today the newer Jeann-Airs are not comparable to the older ones? and Sub-Zero has added more models with more Features.
    Best thing to do is do a search of this site for the Sub-Zero you are considering(or maybe any Sub-Zero). The folks here are a wealth of information and I would believe more what you read here, than just going to the net and searching Sub-Zero reliability, or GE Microwave reliability
    etc etc.
    We used the same Techique for buying the ovens, checked the net first, then down to Pacific Sales again. Looked at every oven and Microwave they had, Then came across the Electrolux oven with the Cobalt Interior, the hidden blue touchpad and the ball bearings shelves---"what the Heck is Electrolux , we thought"----so back to the net (We did recall their vacuum cleaners thou.
    Anyway we used this same Technique except for the cooktop
    and if you "Excuse the Expression" we got burned on that one. I loved the curved shape of the thing, and the fact that it used a thing called "Thermo-cycling" so instead of the thing going on/off etc etc at low temps, it would just "Blip the heated element many times a second" so low temps were precise, worked great until the touch controls got dirty and never could get them operational again.
    As far as a Microwave goes, don't pass up looking into the "Speed ovens"(sometimes called "Combo ovens".That is the most used appliance that we have.Does everything, bakes, microwaves, even does toast, and due to the size(which is still big for a Microwave)we use it more than the full size oven---should be more efficient to run since less area to heat? I mean why put one turkey leg in a full size oven, when it fits just fine in the Speed oven.
    Anyway good luck with your choices, use the resources on this web-site and try to see the appliances in person before ya buy and I hope like us, You will still be completely enamoured with your Choices as we are,(even after 3 years)(cept for that curved cooktop) It has since been replaced by an Induction cooktop which we absolutely Love.

    Gary

    PS When you do a search on this site BE SURE to use the Search at the bottom of the page and not the top,or you won't get many "Hits"

  • 17 years ago

    "i would appreciate it if those comments were left to a minimum. "

    fine by me, but you kina brought it up.

    "i have poured through GW quite a bit and i cant seem to find a ton of happy recommendation articles. "

    you're kidding right?

    there are tons of folks around here that yak constantly about their Miele dishwasher's and ovens, Thermador Freedoms and Lacanche's. I think there are a few Advantium lovers around here too. On the rest, good luck, most people don't find a warming drawer or hood blower sexy enough to sit around and puff up about. Pro Ranges/cooktops and ovens are what people are passionate about and for some inexplicable reason DW's also bring out this love fest.

    On the "premium" note , what I meant to convey is about GE. Only their Monogram line is considered premium and I'm pretty sure that the Monogram line doesn't qualify for the huge discount like their reg. line. I could well be wrong about this though as things change rapidly in this area. Sorry about the confusion.

    I'd prob. steer towards another oven, the new T'dor's are having some growing pains and an inordinate amount need repairs out of the box. The 6 min. heat is a nice sales feature but it's not worth the risk to me. On your list Miele and GE or Wolf represent the safest bets. It's a tossup btw the latter two as some have a few issues.

    Clinres is right about the capture area on your hood, but a lot boils down to design. If you don't have more that 48" above your cooktop then it's moot. Keep an eye on the SZ as there are several models that take full overlay panels and they all install different and give different looks. Be sure to nail down exactly what you want before ordering.

  • 17 years ago

    I'm with the others that the oven is the only choice I'd question. I don't see any real advantage to choosing Thermador, then add the reputed service problems and Clinresga's point that if you want it to match anything, it won't, it seems like Wolf or Miele would be, to me, a better choice. People absolutely rave about their Miele ovens here. It was my 'if cost was no object' choice, but in the end I sacrificed it to have my Wolf rangetop.

    I'd say that I think a dishwasher can get dishes clean for a lesser price tag, but Miele seems to be a well-loved choice, and if you want whatever it is that the top level gets you, I won't argue. :-) Best wishes.

  • 17 years ago

    you will find there are not a lot of facts just opinions.
    48" Fridge non-dispenser sub with dispenser Kitchenaid
    48" Gas cooktop BlueStar if you cook DCS otherwise
    30" Elec. Wall oven Miele best value Kitchenaid
    30" Warming draw waste of money
    Microwave Sharp micro draw or GE for built in swing door
    Wine cooler - Beverage center Perlick 48" one cabinet one plug best performance 48 wide 2 doors digital temp each side super quiet you could also do individual 24's 2nd best probably monogram
    48" hood depending upon style and blower location Prestige, Kobe or BlueStar if you want a color
    Dishwasher Miele.