Best deal on appliances from Home Depot, Lowes, and Sears
Last week, my wife said, “Stephen, I wish you cared as little about decorating as you do care about appliance purchasing.” This was to say, it would be nice if I didn’t have to check with you on the style and color of each room our new house. I had just spent 10 or more hours over the past few weeks visiting appliance stores and reading reviews on the web. My final total was around $2800 including tax. If you add cash back and rebates that’s $574 less than retail ($169 + $125 + $280 discount) at Home Depot and less than $678 MSRP ($3478, as if any one pays this amount).
The goals and specifications
I’ve listed below the requirements or suggestions that others (friends and store associates) gave to us that we thought would result in a good value buy. Dependability and long-duration were valued more than price, so we opted for the lower priced mid-range models. For my wife and I, the sweet spot is the form and quality of the higher end models with the basic features of the lower end models.
Refrigerator
- Bottom Freezer model
- Energy Star compliant
- Clear Crisper drawers
- 20 cubit feet or greater
- White
Range
- Gas freestanding
- Self-cleaning oven
- Ceramic flame covers
- White
Washer
- High efficiency (water use) front loading
- Energy Star compliant
- Hand wash cycle (intermittent agitation)
- High spin speed
Dryer
- Front loading
- “Wrinkle-free” protection (Extended Tumble)
- Moisture sensing
Browsing the store floors and reading reviews online
I asked around and a co-worker recommended Lowes. I visited Lowes twice in the following week. They had a significant number of refrigerators and a fair amount of washers and dryers on the store floor. The number of freestanding gas ranges was less than seven models. The majority of the ranges were the trendier flat surface electric ranges. Sears may have had a few more models of each in its appliance section, but on average, I found the appliances to be $50-$100 more at Sears. I also looked at Home Depot which had the smallest in store selection, but were similar priced as Lowes if not slightly less (by $25-$50). My favorite sales associate was Rodney at Lowes who was bombastic and informed (I think he used to work for Home Depot).
Apart from features, the deciding factor was price and sale period
Each of these three stores had 10% off appliance sales for the Fourth of July weekend. I however was gone to Wisconsin on a canoe trip with family that weekend. All the in-store sales ended either on the Sunday or Monday after the Fourth. However (after making several phone calls!), I found that the online Home Depot sale did not end until the following Wednesday, the 9th which gave us more time to make decisions.
Bottom Freezer Refrigerator: LG LRBC20512WW (MSRP $859)
Another couple recommended a bottom freezer refrigerator due to the ease of reach. Online reviewers claimed that they ate more fruit and vegetables, since the crisper boxes are closer to eye level. In general, bottom freezer refrigerators are more expensive than top freezer models and do freeze items in the back of the refrigerator. Their prices start at around $800. The LG LRBC20512WW is one of most inexpensive bottom freezer models. The majority of reviews I found by searching for “LRBC20512WW reviews” on Google were positive. Some said the refrigerator was noisy or that the freezer door would not stay closed. I finally found a working model at Sears (by the way. they have the most models plugged in) the day before I bought this refrigerator online. You can get this model with or without an icemaker box in the freezer. The ice maker model is $50 more.
Free-standing Gas Range: Maytag’s MGRH752BDW (MSRP $549)
We considered buying a duel fuel in order to have a convection oven, but our new home doesn’t have dual fuel hook up (gas + 220V electric). I originally was going to buy a Whirlpool gas range, but finally decided on a Maytag range for $50 less. This means it was the cheapest appliance of the four. Not much thought went into buying the range as long as it met our requirements listed above.
Front Loading Washer: GE WCVH6400JWW (MSRP $999)
This ended up being the most expensive appliance out of the four. My wife said that she needed a hand wash (intermittent agitation) cycle. I figured that energy prices are always going to go up. I’ve been told that front loading washers last longer, since the drive mechanism is more durable. Most front loaders spin faster (1000 RPM) which results in extracting more water and less time in the dryer. This model also has a stainless drum. Many have propriety names of the polymer or coated porcelain drums, so you may have to research this specification. You will need to buy HE (high efficiency) detergent for this washer. Tide, Gain, Arm and Hammer, Wisk, and Seventh Generation (the company that specializes in environmentally-safe products) all make HE detergent for not much more than their regular versions. Front loading machines depend on the front door sealing to remain tight. HE detergents help the door stay sealed. I have also read that you can use regular detergent, if you only use half as much. The main distinction is the amount of suds. The high efficiency washers use half as much water (40 gallons for an upright washer versus 20 gallons for a front loader) and therefore need to create less suds.
Electric Dryer: GE DBVH520EJWW (MSRP $799)
In light of the national average of the cost of gas therms versus electric kilowatts if close to 1.2 in preference for the gas, I decided to buy an electric dryer. Not only is an electric dryer $50 less than a gas model, I am expecting gas prices only to rise in the future. You most likely will want a moisture sensor that will reduce the heat proportionally. Since this will cause your cycle length to not be predictable, I recommend extended tumble dry (often called “Wrinkle free” protection). I wanted a stainless steel drum in the dryer also, but the stainless steel model was unavailable at the time, so I settled for porcelain. It’s not as big of a deal breaker as stainless in the washer, since the main issue is rusting if scratched or cracked.
Required extras
Home Depot requires you to buy power cords, ducts and water lines separately. These all totaled to around $50. I figure these prices are inflated in order to help pay for the installation services. It’s still a better deal than paying out right for the installation service.
Extended warranties
My mom once told me while buying tires that you should only buy warranties if you do not have the money to replace the object completely. As someone who only has liability insurance on our cars, extended warranties don’t appeal to me much. If one makes you sleep better at night, they are fairly inexpensive. $70-100 for three years, I believe. A five-year warranty option is available, too.
Bonus #1 - Free delivery and installation via rebate
Lowes, Home Depot and Sears, all had free delivery and haul away (all though there were caveats related to haul way–I do not have any old appliances to haul away however) during the promotional period. I was told at my local the Home Depot store that delivery was about $60 dollars and there was an additional fee of $16 per appliance that had to be moved to a different elevation. This would result in an additional $64, since I have a split level (the kitchen is up a few stairs and the washer and dryer will go down in the basement). The online Home Depot installation service (which the Online Appliance phone support said was a completely different service, but I’m suspicious). You can call them at 1-800-455-3869) does not charge this fee for new appliances, only for old appliances.
A word of caution about Home Depot Home Service. I have been told multiple complaints about their Home Services–not specifically appliances though. I figure that the worst thing that could happen is that I have to hook up all the appliances myself–which isn’t an awful idea. All are plugs and water lines except for the gas range and there are plenty of guides/manuals on the web for that.
Bonus #2 - Gift cards via rebate for Energy Star appliances
Home depot had escalating gift cards for Energy Star compliant appliances (that would be the refrigerator and washer) based on the price of the appliance. The washer has a $75 gift card rebate and the refrigerator has a $50 gift card rebate. That is $125.
Bonus #3 - E-bates with 3% self-referral
You can get the 3% online referral for yourself from Home Depot online by signing up at E-bates. That’s $84 off of $2800.
Bonus #4 - Home improvement credit card with 3% cash back
Read my previous post on the Chase home improvement credit card to learn how to get 3% back from home improvement stores such as Lowes, Home Depot and Ace Hardware. That’s another $84 off of $2800. This is an advantage that home improvement stores have over department stores like Sears.
Update - July 20, 2008
Our appliances will not be delivered on the day that we had hoped. LG Electronics (the manufacturer of the refrigerator) called and told me that the model I selected was out of stock. This was not a Home Depot problem. This goes to show that these appliances are actually being sent from each manufacturer’s warehouse and that they are not sitting at a retail store warehouse at any time. I guess this is a sign that the model is popular. The refrigerator holds up the other appliances also, since they need to be delivered on the same day. We are a little disappointed, but this is not a deal-breaker, since we will not be moving into the new house for another month.
Update - August 20, 2008
We are happy with our appliances. The appliances were delivered by Kid Gloves. Although friendly, the delivery men were somewhat rushed to meet their delivery schedule for the day. Their boss even called to ask them if they had left my house yet. They were unable to install the gas range, since it had been disconnected by the home seller. We had a plumber come and install new pipes and valves. There were scratches on the appliances. The scratches were not enough for me to care (after all this was installation was free with rebate). The molding around the kitchen door got chewed up by the refrigerator. The comment the delivery man said was “That’s the first time in five years of working this job that I’ve scratched the molding and not scratched the appliance.” That goes to say, if you are having stainless steel appliances delivered and care about a few nicks and scratches, DO NOT get the big box store (Lowes, Home Depot, maybe even Sears) delivery–either do it yourself or hire someone else.
A note about the range: My wife is very happy with the advantages of a gas range: the instant heat and the levelness of the burners (unlike older electric burners). Rachel also made cookies the other day to test out the oven. No charcoal cookies to report! I am bothered by the fact that ALL FOUR of the electronic pilot lights ignite when only one burner is ignited. The manual says that they are supposed to all light. It still doesn’t seem like a good idea to me.
A note about the washer: Our friends that have children said that we might regret buying a high efficiency washer, once we have kids due to the length of the wash cycle being twice as long (60 minutes versus 30 minutes). I’m happy with it now–it’s just nice to have your own washer and dryer you don’t have to put quarters in.
Update - September 15, 2008
Ebates is having problems receiveing referral fees from HomeDepot.com. I was pleasantly surprised by Ebates’ customer service. Two month later after sending emails with order numbers and ticket numbers, I have the 3% referral fee of $73. Thanks Ebates!
Further Reading on Finance
- And we wonder why we have a debt problem
- An appropriate credit card for a new home, new appliances
- How to stay out of your bank account