I've only heard that they are quite small inside.

In case anyone else is curious ... I found a shop today who sells them, and apparently they're simply Whirlpool refrigerators - available in most of their standard sizes and configurations - with brightly-coloured retro-looking "jackets" which appear to be made from either plastic or fibreglass. The same ones Ikea sells, oddly enough.

The handles don't make that satisfying clunk that original vintage handles do because they're fixed. The exterior feels mildly plasticy, and I suspect it would scratch REALLY easily - I could see surface scratches on the showroom model, and this was a very quiet showroom.

In conclusion, to me those colours and retro look are definitely not worth the extra $4,000. The pricing is absolutely non-negotiable!

For less than 1/10 of that I could buy some cans of Trem-Clad and vintage-looking chrome handles and still have change for beer.

Costco Canada sells them if anyone's interested, plus the even more expensive version here for another $2k.

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jesslake - I totally agree. Fridge design is stuck in the dark ages - why a huge great ugly inefficient cavity with a few shelves, like kitchen cupboards from the 50s, when they should be a bank of drawers, each one at a different temperature and humidty for different foods. And they are consistently UGLY. Way overdue for a massive industry-wide overhaul, but that ain't going to happen for a while yet.

Interesting that you went the SZ route. I might consider it, but I can't get them serviced - in our small Ontario town on the outskirts of Ottawa! I found one in Habitat for Humanity yesterday, lol.

I also don't get why panel-ready are more expensive, given the manufacturer hasn't had to pay for the panel *insert rolling eyes in disgust emoji*

I also don't get why panel-ready are more expensive, given the manufacturer hasn't had to pay for the panel *insert rolling eyes in disgust emoji*

Panel ready isn't more expensive than the same version paneled. It actually is less, but it's more expensive than regular fridges.

I do have the whole set: fridge, range, hood and dishwasher panel. I would not recommend these products! Since day one it has been a nightmare. Our oven did not work properly, it would not get hot enough. Then would get too hot and shut off. Our fridge doors have sagged and now to the point it cannot be fixed. Since these are basically custom pieces no one will work on them. We have had our pieces for 5 years. That is too much money to spend for 5 years in my opinion. I hope to save others money and headache. My only plus…they are very pretty.

I agree with Likha. Ours are still new and work just fine and sure they are beautiful. Logevity is a concern esp for the price and the company is a nightmare to work with - they lie constantly about ship dates and they consider ”blemishes” in a brand new powder coat to be a sign of authenticity which is absurd. Ours arrived a whole year late and nobody in the US works on them. Our fridge arrived dented and we had to self replace the panel since not even our dealer would do it despite it being an easy fix. Save yourself the money and go with a different ”retro” brand.

I had a single door refrigerator in white. It lasted about 5 years and then the fan kept getting stuck and finally died out. As it is a regular fridge with cheap plastic pieces to make it look vintage, a repairman was able to replace the fan. It lasted another two years before finally just dying altogether. Absolutely beautiful piece but absolute garbage and overpriced!