I have not asked my repair tech but I will, that’s a good idea.

My cabinets are all natural wood and I think it would be hard to match it exactly. But that’s a good idea as well. I am also hoping that the small amount of clearance (2-3”) won’t look like much once it’s in place. I just prefer symmetry and right now the clearance looks equal around the fridge and I would’ve loved to keep it that way.

You can also add to the base area to bring the height up.

The Miele is probably part of the line made in Turkey for Miele. Master Cool models are made by Miele in Germany. Ask for country of origin for these units.

Interesting, your current fridge is technically too large for that space (it needs a two inch gap for air clearance around the width (and the depth, but I assume the fridge wasn't pushed all the way back). I'd recommend reading the manuals for both of the fridge's under consideration and make sure that they can be installed in the refrigerator space in your kitchen.

From the manual (current refrigerator): A gap of at least 2 inches (51 mm) depth must be provided behind and along the entire width of this unit to ensure sufficient ventilation. The area of ventilation above the unit should be at least 18 square inches (116 cm2). The greater the area the more economically the appliance will run.

Hi @Abby, your current Liebherr is failing. Why are you considering buying another one? Jen has an excellent point, any fridge will need air gaps unless it’s a built-in model not flush mounted (flush mounts require greater depth and width in the cabinet opening - non flush mounts mean the fridge will stand proud of the cabinetry). Failure to leave that gap will absolutely kill a fridge. With a cabinet opening of 30" W x 81.75" H x ~25.5" D you should be looking for a conventional fridge that is 28.5” wide - that’s going to be tough to find - or else for one that is counter depth and standard mounted so that it does not need that gap. You’re looking at a 30” classic over under SubZero with a standard mount (see below). The good news is the SubZero is a much better fridge. The bad news is it will cost you about $10K unless you can find a used one. Can you please show us an image of your refrigerator cabinet? Maybe we can figure out a cabinet swap that could give you more space.

@eam44 well, it lasted about 18 years so that’s partially why I’m thinking about buying another one. But I know most companies don’t make things like they used to! Also, the price helps too. The Miele fridge also looks just like the Liebherr one, and based on my research it seems like Miele and Liebherr fridge boxes are made at the same factory, so I’m not sure I’m really getting a product upgrade with the Miele. Especially since it’s an older model.

i’ve attached pictures of the current setup, including the clearance on the sides. the space above the fridge behind the cabinet cover is empty and open.

@eam44 also, these are the cutout dimensions specified for the Liebherr fridge so I think I should be okay

Well, it sounds like youre getting the Lieb. Good luck!

After some more thought, I guess unless someone tells me they have this particular Liebherr model and hate it or have problems with it, why not save the $1k? Neither is going to fit exactly like my current one. Sub zero would’ve been a wonderful upgrade but I’m not thrilled about the idea of spending $10k, especially in an apartment I’m not sure I’ll still be in 5-7 years from now. My hope is the Liebherr lasts me at least that long and matches the quality of the rest of the kitchen.

The tag on your current Liebherr will tell you where it was made. If it says Germany from 18 years ago, I wouldn't count on the Turkey product matching that.

My current Liebherr says it was made in Austria

"We had a repair guy come out and he thinks its the motherboard that went bad"

Encompass Parts has parts for the Lieberr CS1650 10G. Assuming that the "Liebherr Operating Unit Board" is the same as the "motherboard" then the part number is 611342100 and you can buy one from Encompass Parts for $265. voomi also has a new one for $192. Or you can buy a used one from ebay for $185.

@wdccruise appreciate you taking a look at this. Unfortunately the part you listed is the power board for the ice maker only (which does also happen to be broken on my model, but has been that way since I moved in). I think the parts I need are 611377501 and 611342500.

Yup. I'm looking at the parts drawing on Encompass Parts and I see #310 6113775
Operating Unit Board and #320 6113425 Power Board both of which are discontinued. Given that the problem is intermittent and the boards seem to be fairly-easily accessible at the front of the refrigerator, I'd consider removing the boards from the appliance, disconnecting them, checking that all the unsoldered components are seated, checking the connectors for corrosion, and then reinstalling them.

Sometimes a loose or corroded component or connector can cause intermittent failure. I had an heat pump's heat strip stop working because the fuse's contacts were corroded. Some emery paper removed the contacts' corrosion and solved the problem at no cost.