A friend of mine was shopping for a refrigerator and wanted to know if the warranty the manufacture provided was enough coverage. I informed my friend that I highly recommend the extended warranty. Don’s services what we sell and also provides customer support and parts. Most manufacture warranties are one year parts and labor with a limited warranty on the compressor part only.
Today’s refrigerator whether built-in, counter depth, free standing or all refrigerator run more often than refrigerators from a decade ago. Energy ratings got much stricter and rather than running hard for a few minutes to get temperature reduced. The newer refrigerators ramp up slowly and run continuously most of the time…promoting energy efficiency. However the average live cycle went down from 15-20 years to 8-10 years.
Industry standards are that 12% of any brand will need service during 1st year. This is considered a very low service rate.
Refrigerators without ice makers have a low rate of service Frigidaire, Kenmore, GE, and Whirlpool are all between 13% and 15%.
Refrigerators with ice makers have a higher rate of repair, Maytag, Frigidaire are at 14%, Whirlpool Kenmore at 20-23% and Ge at 27%.
A difference of fewer than 8 points is not considered significant. That being said JennAir/KitchenAid/Maytag/Whirlpool/Amana are American Made Brands that are easy to service, parts are readily available and the model numbers don’t change but every 9-10 years.
Don’s recommends finding a dealer that services what it sells. Without a good infrastructure, brands such as LG and Samsung suffer according to industry experts.