I do not recommend this product and am very down on the accompanying service company – Maytag.

Eileen

Use Consumers Reports as a GUIDE, the favorable comments on the features you both like may out number any negative comments. Don’t just look at repair history but try and find out what and why.

Repair history varies from brand to brand, and you probably have recommended something to 2 or 3 of your friends only for them to have problems.

The biggest advantage to a freezer on the bottom is the width in the refrigerator and freezer compartments. My personal choice though if buying a freezer on the bottom would be a drawer for convenience ( not needing to squat to see what was in the back ).
In looking at your specs a counter depth or built in “28″ will be what you will be looking for.

In the past freezers on the bottom for most of the leading consumer brands where made by Amana, then Maytag and now Whirlpool. A Kitchen Aid bottom freezer 6-7 years ago was made by Amana, I think so was GE. Today LG has entered the consumer market and also provides it for several brands. I think the bottom GE unit might be made by LG.

Oh not sure but when Maytag took over Amana, I was told that most of the plant moved to Mexico. Whirlpool plans on moving it back to Amana Iowa.

Just did a check of the Sears web site to see what was offered in counter depth. There was a Maytag and Jen Air single door, with drawer, internal water and ice, with pantry shelf and a must for me a chill compartment for Cold Beverages.

Kitchen Aid had a few side by side with compressor on top. (not sure who makes it for Kitchen Aid, but it is delivered and installed ONLY by contractors working for Kitchen Aid, )

There are several side by sides listed. But one new feature has some what drawn me away from the bottom freezer. I enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables. The fresh and ready been brings the grapes oranges and apples up so I could easily have access to them. And a chill Zone above to keep the beverages 5 degrees cooler than inside (not has cool and the chill keeper though), The ice caddy in the freezer also is a favorite. In most stores you will find the shorter 22 cu ft model but I would prefer the taller 24.5 model

But the interior width in a bottom mount is something that is hard to pass up!

Its not counter depth but there is a new retro look. The Sears stores have it in a white imitation porcelain finish (the style of the 50′s.)
Not sure what stainless steel will look like ?

I like the flush paddles, and all the above features mentioned above, plus one sensor that checks every 3 minutes for temperature change and brings back cold air to keep the food fresher with surround cool. And a little thing Kitchen Aid had on many of its refrigerators roller guide drawers. Most have plastic on plastic guide drawers.

Oh if either of you do a lot of cooking measured water in either ounces or metric.

Many refrigerator brands,for convenience provide internal water filters, check the filter specifications and plan on changing the filter every 6 months to a year.

Or you could add a osmosis system for the refrig and drinking water at the sink (check you will either need to tanks or a pump for the extra supply) With an osmosis system you should not need the filter.

Good luck and who is going to do the stainless polishing ?

UncleDoug

I have moved so often, remodeled and built, have always seem to end up choosing the Sub Zero. Personally have never had any problems, they work well, no service calls yet. Normally choose to buy a refrigerator for the kitchen with separate freezer unit same size. If you have lots of company you will find you need more refrigeration than you might think going forward. Freezer can be located out of the work/cabinet area in kitchen as most people don’t use that nearly as often as the refrigerator, yes it does depend on the family along with space option in the kitchen proper. You might consider freezer drawers, they are awesome, has an ice maker and can be located in bar or away from prep station. It is worth the loss of cabinet space.

I’m 48 and have owned several homes. Some for investment and some as my personal residence. I’ve owned homes from 59K to 2.5M and I can tell you that every time I have had to deal with a home with a Sub-Zero, it has been a nightmare.

Forget the re-sale issue. It’s a rounding error, and you can easily spend several times that amount doing repairs and the increased cost in inefficiency over other brands. You never impressed me as someone all that concerned about the ‘name brand’ game. But, if Ponzi is simply looking for the cachet of owning a Sub-Zero, than just go for it. But if you are truly looking for a balance between initial cost and long term maintenance cost, you would NOT get a Sub-Zero.

After all is said and done, I have always been most happy with a top of the line GE unit. The initial cost is competitive, parts and repair are easily obtained and frankly, a savvy home buyer will value the GE over the Sub-Zero.

Save your money for other things. Trust me, from a man that has enough money to buy any brand, go with a work horse like a GE and if you have disposable income to put into the house, choose something like upgrading the countertops, or flooring or update the bathroom with the very best fixtures. Maybe install an indoor grill and custom exhaust hood, etc. These will bring you more daily enjoyment and pay for themselves at re-sale.

Hope this helps.