Buying a Refrigerator
My circa 1983 Hot Point refrigerator finally kicked the bucket after years of steady service. Although it was an ugly bugger, it was so great I almost cried. Almost, but it decided to dump Freon in all my food, plastics and camelbacks I had residing in there. End result? I now will not only have to make a major appliance purchase, but also food, plastics and such. I needed to be money wise.
So, here are the steps I took toward making my refrigerator purchase decision:
1. What do I want? What can I afford? Well, I really didn’t want to make a thousand plus dollar investment, so this decision eliminated the side by side refrigerators (where ice box is on one side, fridge on the other) and bottom freezers. These typically run over a grand when they are new.
2. Once I eliminated those and found out I could comfortably afford a refrigerator for about $600, I went online and researched refrigerators. I wrote down the inexpensive ones that seemed to fit.
3. Measured my refrigerator dimensions (well, I really didn’t and guessed but it turned out to be perfect).
4. Went to best buy to do research. Their employees are not paid on commission so they are barely present and really don’t feel like talking to you anyway. I didn’t feel bad for not purchasing there. I researched their warrantees and different levels of the Frigidaire brand, as that was within my range. I found out how much delivery would be.. I also looked at some damaged refrigerators, but I honestly don’t think it’s worth it, because you aren’t covered under warrantees if you get one. Once I found the fridge I thought was worth purchasing, I wrote down the SKU# and brand name.
5. Headed down to LOWES to see if there was better pricing. I ended up finding the same refrigerator for LESS than Best Buy, and had a wonderful woman help me in finalizing my decision, because she wrapped the shipping and delivery in for free as well as an additional 4 year warrantee in for just under $600.
Now that’s a GOOOD shopping experience. I would most likely do similar research for any appliance.
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