I've had a lot of KA appliances (small and large) and I've mostly been very pleased with them. (I thought the broiler function could've worked better on my old double wall ovens) But we've always had good experience with their customer service whenever it has been needed. We are a larger homeschooling family, so our appliances get a LOT more use than a normal household. (We had one midline dishwasher that we never had problems with, then we moved and bought the same model again... then we had problems with the rollers and slides breaking but KA replaced them always... finally gave us metal replacement parts, LOL! Those were great. The water pump finally went out after almost 6 years, but I run a dishwasher at least twice a day, so that's almost 12 years of use really... better than most nowadays.)

Just checked the Kitchenaid website, and they don’t show any counter-depth fridges (under 25”). Some companies call some models counter depth, but they are really only less deep, not true counter depth.

Take a look at Bosch. I have had several Bosch dishwashers and been very happy. I now have a free-standing range and exhaust hood, which are also very good. They do packages.

You'll also have to consider the dimensions of your current ones; if the new don't match that means new cabinets too.

I've been looking at KA vs Bosch for our upcoming build. $4500 is a great price. Was it really for a double oven, gas range, MW, DW, and frig? The double ovens alone are listed at $3450 where I live. I too am tempted by the packages but would give the nod to Bosch for a DW.

I'm not understanding the need to spend $4,500 to replace everything for just a gone-dead microwave oven.

dadoes

You are so right and that is exactly why I told my husband we needed to leave the store before we did something stupid! It is very easy to get caught up in the moment when I "deal" sounds so great.

Do you think it is best to replace all appliances with the same brand?

Thanks for the reality check!

I paid for a consumer reports subscription for one month to help me choose appliances. I was considering KA but for some styles like gas stove and french door fridge, Samsung rated higher in functionality for example. a KA model did rate higher for dishwasher vs. Bosch. It was really useful to get insight on functionality based by style of appliance (not just based on name brand), etc.
don't go with a side by side - I have one now and imho it doesn't make good use of space.

also consider reading the reviews of those appliance models that are in the package. I specifically read the bad ones on top rated appliances to see what could possibly go wrong! good luck!

Ranch Mom

I am sure I didn't describe it correctly - it is the type of free standing gas oven that has the small oven and a larger oven in one unit. I truly only need a MW but got caught up in the "DEAL". I was concerned about having all sorts of different brands of appliances so thought it was initially the way to go.

Will you be getting all of your appliances with the same brand? A new build sounds so exciting!

latifolia

Thanks for the info. Right after reading your post I got out the tape measure and wow that was a really eye opener and also did go back and double check the dimensions of that model of KA fridge.

Do you happen to have an opinion on whether all the appliances should be the same brand?

also, I was similar to your hubby where I wanted to have the same brand through out the kitchen. my first set of appliances were whirlpool.
but now after doing more research on my upcoming purchase, I want to purchase the best rated appliance for that specific job. (eg. bosch dishwasher, Samsung fridge etc). I think as long as the color is the same, brand doesn't matter.
as you can tell, I'm all about the functionality of it all lol

"Kimberly Henry: Do you think it is best to replace all appliances with the same brand? "

I don't deliberately buy everything of the same brand ... except in two cases of a new washer & dryer (1st case I didn't yet have a pair, 2nd case the old pair went to my grandmother).

Better to pick-and-choose brands/models that have specific features that fit one's needs. NO one brand has the best of everything.

My 12-yo OTR microwave (which I do not like the OTR aspect), range, and refrigerator are matched GE only because they came with the house. Dishwasher is different, I swapped the orig GE for a then-2-yo Fisher & Paykel DishDrawer from my previous house. My now-20-yo KitchenAid refrigerator was relegated to garage duty. My washer and dryer are different brands and ages.

So many things to consider: appearance, size, budget, available deals and, to be sure, how you use the appliance. We have a Consumer Reports subscription and I have bought their kitchen issue, but the ratings are only a guide. A vacuum may be highly rated because it picks up pet hair, but we don't have pets! I only buy EnergyStar, because plenty of them are available, it cuts your costs and it's environmentally the right thing to do.

I don't stick to the same brand, except for a stacking washer/dryer or where there is incentive pricing. When we gutted and re-did our kitchen three years ago, the size of our gas line ($$$$ to upgrade) meant I couldn't get a professional range. I went back and forth between the GE double oven and the Bosch 800 with large oven and separate warming drawer, which was my final choice. Both had five burners. Since I wanted a Bosch dishwasher and they also sold an exhaust hood, I was able to get a 10% discount, which sealed the deal.

My fridge is a Liebherr because I had one in Switzerland and loved it. It has two compressors. At the time we did our kitchen, it was much cheaper than Sub-Zero and Bosch, although pricing on the latter has come down. Its best feature is a non-plumbed ice maker, so you never have to worry about the water line leaking. That is a huge plus if you go away for extended periods.

We own a rental condo and had to buy a Sharp OTR microwave because it is the only one that opens next to a lefthand wall (found that out after they installed another brand and didn't bother to open it). So sometimes you have peculiar circumstances that restrict you to a particular brand or model.

Kimberly, if you only need a microwave, and your other appliances are working fine, then I would only buy the microwave. If, on the other hand, you have always wanted a five-burner stove and yours is ten years old, then why not?

Do you happen to have an opinion on whether all the appliances should be the same brand?

If you don't cook much and just want a pretty kitchen then yes, get all the same appliances.

However if cooking is important to you, then get the best appliance for the job you can afford. If all appliances are stainless, no one will ever notice if they don't "match".

The reason new build kitchens come with all appliances matching is because the builder gets a discounted price on the package.

It doesn't matter if you have 5 different brands! If they all work fine and look nice to you, then that's what matters, not the brand. Tell your husband to seek professional help for the obsession he has with everything matching, and just buy a new microwave oven, one with the features that matches the way you cook - defrost, popcorn button, warm, etc.

The one important thing to consider is like hemlines, appliances discontinue lines (because they want you to buy all new). If you buy the microwave now and next year the fridge goes, the microwave style may have disappeared.

Have you tried finding your Jennair microwave on ebay, or any search engine? You never know.

FYI, my Jennair microwave went kaput after 6 years of little use.

This house….all Whirpool Gold series…I want white with a generous dollop of stainless, so I did the white ice line. Love every one…dw, fridge, oven, induction cooktop, w&d.

We have every appliance from a different manufacturer, picked based on features and reviews. I see no benefit to getting them all from one company.

Don't pick appliances because they're all from the same manufacturer! None of them do EVERYTHING equally well, IMHO. And re: Consumer Reports - be careful. Read the USER reviews too. Quite often, it seems the CR reviewers and the actual users are on two different planets - things CR rates highly get 1 or 2 stars from the users - repeatedly. This is not an isolated thing. Read as many reviews as you can all over the net, then go look at stuff.

And if all that has died is the microwave and everything else is working fine, just replace the microwave. Microwaves aren't really considered repairable items these days and some of them barely make it to the end of the warranty. What you want is a microwave that performs well and meets YOUR needs. What do you want your microwave to do? How big, how much power, what settings, what interface - which can get really annoying if it's not to your liking! A few years ago, some idiot decided that microwaves with knobs for setting time (really???) instead of touch screen buttons were the way to go - and voila, practically all of them did that (what is this - 1975 all over again?) Thank goodness that bit of idiocy seems to be fading - but the point is, there are fads in appliance design too and you never know when one appliance is going to go toes up on you. The microwave is the least expensive item, and the one most likely to have to be replaced long before any other appliance. For that reason, I would never build a microwave in - if it dies and the line is no longer made, then what? Your cabinet may not be the right size for whatever you want to get next. Our microwave lives on an open shelf above the wall oven for this reason.

Buy things based on your needs and wishes - not the wish of the store to sell you a whole bunch of appliances you weren't even considering before walking in.

BTW - Kitchenaid calls some of their fridges "cabinet depth" and they are 30" deep. A counter depth fridge in my books shouldn't be much deeper than your cabinets - and most kitchen cabinets are 25" deep.

No one brand has the best of each category. Shop for the features that are important to you. Not that our selections are tops in any category, but we bought an LG refrigerator, Sharp OTC microwave, GE gas range, Kitchen Aid dishwasher and mixer, Arietta range hood, a George Foreman Evolve, Cuissenart toaster, a Keurig and Samsung washer/dryer. All the major kitchen appliances are stainless steel with similar handles to the extent possible.

The reason there are sales bundles is simple: the brand is using its better category to drive sales of their less popular appliance categories.

There were specific reasons we chose each brand for an appliance category. For example, local repair service was unavailable for a Bosch dishwasher so we bought a similar cost KA. Sharp had only OTC MW. LG had 30 CF French door refrigerator with slim ice maker and good interior design and water filter. Etc.