I have a 5 year old LG french door style. I would not buy it again. The ice maker is constantly jammed (despite following all their recommended tips to avoid this), food in the fridge is periodically frozen and I've had to replace 2 crisper drawers due to cracks as well as a side door basket. And, if you ever need repairs under warranty, good luck navigating their terrible website to schedule a repair visit.

Used Sub Zero 650. Mechanically the same as the replacement model. Produced until 2009.

SZ probably. I have a Miele I am very happy with, but that does not have SZ's track record.

I have a kitchenaid that won’t die! We want to eventually replace it with a subzero, but the thing won’t die! We bought it probably 12 years ago at a Sears scratch and dent store, so it was something like half the price of retail. We’ve had a lot of other KA appliances over the years as well, and the few times we’ve had to deal with their customer service we’ve been very pleased.

The KitchenAid topfreezer in my garage will be 21 years in 2 months. No repairs except replacement of the light bulb in the freezer. :-)

That may not reflect a new unit purchased today.

For mid-range longevity, I'd go with KA. Kenmore is variable, since they re-brand models from different manufacturers. I wouldn't take Kenmore history and apply it to future models.

Seems as if the new ones are programmed to self destruct when out of warranty!

My 3 year-old Samsung refrigerator needs to be replaced as the ice maker can not be fixed, so I am researching which refrigerator is reliable, We have had the ice maker replaced twice before, as well as most everything else. It has been so frustrating. The appliance industry now has planned obsolescence. It used to be appliances would last 20-30 years, now they intentionally make them to break down and be thrown away in our landfills. As an environmentalist, I think this is a crime! What a waste of resources. I had a Whirlpool before buying a French door counter depth Samsung, and the Whirlpool refrigerator lasted 20 years. As I am researching the internet now all of the manufacturers are just making junk. Paying more for a refrigerator doesn't mean it's any better and probably worse. The more bells and whistles that are on the refrigerator just means more things to go wrong. The cheap Kenmore $500 refrigerator I bought for my garage, 2 door, upper freezer, no computer works just fine, and I have had to cram everything in the Kenmore plus use ice coolers when the Samsung dies. So whatever one you buy, just make sure to purchase a service contract as you will be thankful. Taking days off from work to meet the repairmen, and waiting weeks or months for parts is bad enough without getting hit with a $400-$900 bill each time. You can find lots of information on consumer affairs website it seems to me they all have lots of problems.

I'm not understanding how an ice maker in a refrigerator is unrepairable. They're essentially a plug-in module that can be easily swapped-out. Is the problem something other than the ice maker mechanism itself? French door models and other bottom-freezer units with door-dispensers typically have an "ice room" freezing compartment in the fresh food section, maybe something related it?

Some in-door ice makers can be surprisingly finicky and complicated designs. A traditional internal ice maker is much more simple and presumably easier to repair

I'm in the same boat. All the refrigerators seem to have terrible reviews, and a SubZero is not in my budget. My current one is a 22 year old Frigidaire Gallery that the ice maker quit on after about 12 years. It's still running, but making odd noises that I believe it's getting ready to depart my life.

Same boat as the rest of you. Would love to talk to repair people about their thoughts. I really do not know what to do. Our local appliance dealer likes Kitchenaid but they seem to be getting bad reviews now also. Please post up if anyone has new info.