As long as you stay away from the icemakers in the doors, either brand would be a good choice to me. I purchased a GE a few years ago, just purchased a Whirlpool last year (neither one a side by side). What I really like about the Whirlpool is the underside of the shelf above the bins can be easily cleaned as it doesn't have any lips or tracks.

GE refrigerators were the only brand to receive a 4/5 reliability score in CR's surveys. The GE GSS25GYPFS earned a recommended rating and it's a bargain at $1200 at both Home Depot and Best Buy. It does have an icemaker (there are no similar models that don't) but you could just skip the water connection and turn the icemaker off. The narrower GSE23GGPWW also achieved a recommended rating but, oddly, it's more expensive.

Did you have someone look at your old fridge? If the freezer portion works just fine but the refrigerator section doesn't cool, it could be as simple as a bad evaporator fan.

If you need a new fridge, I would go with a GE fridge above any Whirlpool fridge. When I bought my house my mother gave me her old 1988 GE fridge thinking it was on its last legs because of a noisy evaporator fan. I still have that fridge, and in the meantime she went through 3 (three!) Whirlpools. I have a feeling the quality of Whirlpool fridges is really not what it used to be.

@wdccruise

Do they make a GE, any GE, that isn't apartment size or $9000 that is actually close to counterdepth.

I have someone who needs to replace an old SxS and the only thing that looks like it will fit depthwise is Whirlpool or Frigidaire counter depth SxS or French Door.

31" is actually really too deep. It's a Very small kitchen and it has a doorway that can't move and other obstructions. Why does GE have to make everything so Freaking Deep?

Well, you might consider the CR-recommended GZS22IYNFS which is 28-3/4" deep without the handles (Home Depot, Best Buy; $1400). Or how about the F&P RF170WDLX5-N ($2500) bottom-freezer whose depth is 27 19/50 inches without the handles?

When I wanted a full size freezer in my non-conditioned garage in Pennsylvania, I was told to purchase a garage ready freezer - made to withstand the temperature fluctuations.

I bought a simple Frigidaire model as it was the one that my local appliance store recommended. It has been going strong for 7 years.

This is a pretty simple one. Go on Marketplace or CL and pay $50 for a running old side-by-side. Frigidaire, Amana before Whirlpool, old GE. Check the door seals for tares. Kenmore too.

We got a whirlpool stand up all freezer for our mechanical room for our current house. Lasted 5 years. Stopped holding temperature. I would not buy a whirlpool again. We replaced it with a GE. We had a GE top/bottom fridge in our garage in our previous house that lasted over 15 years. It was still going strong when we moved and we gave it to my sister. I have no idea if they still have it as they moved.