wall ovens and under counter refrigerators

[Cooler]

Why does a refrigerator cost $2000?

Why does a dishwasher only cost $300.

Why are most appliances built with a 5 year lifespan?

I just had to replace a GE washing machine.  It failed after just 8 years.  The repairman said it did not pay to fix it.  

I just bought a new Kenmore machine and now I hear that Sears is probably going to go out of business in the next 1 to 3 years.  

The Kenmore is nice--no center agitator so loading is easy.  But it is really really deep and it is hard to reach the socks on the bottom of the washer.  A front loader probably makes more sense but they are about 3 times the price.

[daveferg]

First off, with all the fake news going around, I seriously doubt Sears is going anywhere. No, the aren't what they used to be, but they're still going. Indeed Consumers ranks Kenmore Elite as the top choices in many appliances.

Case in point. I had a perfectly good Amana topfreezer, but wife wanted a bottom freezer type. Over the next three years we owned an Amana, Kitchen Aid, and Maytag, all of which broke down within standard warranty time. The Maytag with ice in the door (a totally stupid idea for a bottom freezer) just had too little refrigerator storage. We finally bought a Kenmore Elite French door unit, which is great and has no problems.

Have had both all in one stove as well as separate units. Main problem was oven was small compared to the stand alone unit.

[Cooler]

I read that 3 years ago Sears had 1.8 billion dollars in cash reserves.  Now they have 276 million dollars.  At the current rate they will be out of money in 2 to 3 years.

Also Sears management is in the process of converting Sears stores to member-only stores.  

I could live with K-mart disappearing forever.  And they are a cash eating division of Sears.  But it would be a crime on the order of Montgomery Ward if Sears closes.

When M-W closed, 1/3 of the malls they were in closed also.  Using that same number, between 200 and 250 malls would close if Sears goes under.  It is very hard to find new anchors for malls nowadays.

[Cooler]

First off, with all the fake news going around, I seriously doubt Sears is going anywhere.  No, the aren't what they used to be, but they're still going.  Indeed Consumers ranks Kenmore Elite as the top choices in many appliances.

 I read this in Chain Store Age this morning:

Sears Holdings Corp. is seeking to stop its bleeding and raise more cash by closing another 104 stores and selling its iconic Craftsman tools brand.
 
The struggling retailer said it has reached an agreement to sell Craftsman to Stanley Black & Decker for a net present value of about $900 million, including future royalty payments. Sears, which will continue to sell Craftsman products, had put the brand, along with its Kenmore and DieHard brands, up for sale several months ago. 
 
Sears also said it planned to close 104 stores, including 78 Kmart stores and 26 Sears stores, during the next few months. The new store closings come about a week after the retailer announced separate plans to close 30 Kmart stores and 16 Sears stores.

[daddo]

wow, I guess I'm going to fix the clock on our oven, after 30-odd years it's making noise.

 Hammer.

[EricU]

the nice thing about our Sears at the mall is that it's totally devoid of shoppers, so you can always be first in line.  And it's _not_ one of the ones that's closing.  The workers at those other stores must have spent all their time dusting the merchandise.  Craftsman went downhill pretty badly when Kmart took over.  It's too bad the average guy can't buy a no questions asked lifetime guarantee tool anymore.

[pprobus]

Harbor Freight does. I tried their new, at the time, pro ratchets (they've been selling them about 2 years now, they're the ones without the quick release, technically they're still the newest ratchet design they sell, but I can't call them "new" anymore). I picked up a 1/4" and 3/8" on sale since those are the two sizes I use most often. The direction switch on the 1/4" one broke first time I used it (tight space, it got hung up on a hose clamp). The clerk exchanged it without batting an eye. Other than a very thin switch on the 1/4" ratchet and not having a quick release, they are pretty well made.

Paul

[EricU]

AFAIK, that's not HF's official policy, but clerks apparently have the latitude to replace things if they feel like it.

[pprobus]

Eric,

HF's handtools, at least the mechanics kind, have a lifetime warranty, same as Craftsman and supposedly Husky and Kobalt (have not had to try to use the warranty with those two, so I can't comment).  BTW, despite hearing horror stories about Sears exchanging Craftsman hand tools, I never had a problem exchanging a Craftsman tool, though all bets are off, with recent developments.

Paul