| Author |
Message |
Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Thursday, June 21, 2018 - 4:17 am 
Our 10 year old LG has met the end of its useful life or in other words it broke and it would cost about two thirds of what a new dishwasher would cost to fix. That’s kind of the tipping point for us as even if we got it fixed we still would have a 10 year old dishwasher that is out of warranty. So that has started us on the adventure to go out this coming weekend and buy a new one. As we typically do wife and I have been doing independent research reading various consumer reports, etc., and then we sit down and compare notes so to speak. Our starting point was looking at all the major brands but quickly focused on another LG and possibly a Bosch or KitchenAid. So last night we sat down and checked to see what we think we’ve found. Looks like we’re leaning toward a Bosch or KitchenAid with LG as a less likely choice. We haven’t decided what store or stores to visit Saturday but we have the nearby choice of Lowe’s, Home Depot, and BestBuy. All have price guarantee and matching so we’ll go armed with any ads and sales information to reduce driving around. We wouldn’t mind dealing with a small independent dealership but truth is locally those have been pretty well squeezed out by the big guys. So that’s our mission for this coming weekend. Anybody have recent purchase experience or brand they’d like to comment on? Not having a dishwasher is not an option for us or at least not one we would consider.
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Bob2112
Member
06-12-2002
| Thursday, June 21, 2018 - 11:47 am
We've had a Bosch dishwasher for over 15+ years and have not had a single problem with it. It looks close to the stainless steel 500 series, without a few of the newer enhancements. It cleans great and is as quiet as they claim it to be. Several times in the first month it was accidentally opened mid-cycle. Some of the newer models now actually project a red dot on the floor when the washer is running.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Thursday, June 21, 2018 - 9:39 pm
Bosch here too, really happy with it. VERY quiet.
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Sadiesmom
Member
03-13-2002
| Thursday, June 21, 2018 - 11:45 pm
I have had problems with my dishwasher, heh i accidentally had a paper plate stuck the the back o a plate and didn't notice - never have paper in a dishwasher. so I basically had to take it apart now it works better than it has in decades. can you take it apart and see if you can repair it - for me , I had to take the arms with the spouts off and use a pin to push through the holes and then rinse out the paper, and I had to use a bent paper clip to clean out the bottom of the intake area. I have been painting the inside for years - with appliance paint for the spokes to keep them from rusting when the plastic is nicked or wears.
mine is over 25 years, a GE. I liked the one I had before because I went to the parts store and bought a repair manual and managed to get a broken glass out by taking the bottom drain out to clean it and found that repairing a small paper part fixed almost all the problems and replaced it more than once. no more parts store, probably no more repair manuals. I like to fix things, but i guess most like to have shiny and new. I think newer dishwashers don't last as long, so don't feel bad about the LG it is probably all newer models.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Friday, June 22, 2018 - 3:42 am
Wow Sadiesmom you’re a trooper. A 25-year old dishwasher and you paint the inside. I fix all sorts of stuff and love to but not sure I’d go that far. As for our LG it has been making a little more noise than when new but it still washes fine. What happened last weekend is my wife went to open it and the door retention springs normally slowly lower the door to full open. There was this loud “bong” noise and the door crashed open nearly tearing the dishwasher out of the cabinet. Damage turned out to be both door retention springs broke and when it dropped open it broke the two retention straps that hold it in the cabinet. Luckily it didn’t damage the cabinet. Anyhow, the springs are a replacement part but difficult and surprisingly expensive to replace. The retention strap were actually welded into the top of the dishwasher frame and nobody is exactly sure how or if those can be fixed. The “I’ll give it a try” along with the springs and maybe replacing the noisier than normal pump motor cost drove us to replacement.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Friday, June 22, 2018 - 4:19 am
Oh and for what it’s worth the “factory authorized” repairman for LG.....and not surprisingly Bosch, KitchenAid and more....says 10 years with modern dishwashers is now pretty typical. While mechanical/structural failures like ours is unusual the most common problem according to the repairman is the failure of the electronics, basically computer boards, that control the more complicated operation of today’s models. I remember when it was pretty simple, it was either was on or off and got real sophisticated when you could push buttons for wash, rinse, dry and no dry. Now with artificial intelligence/fuzzy logic dishwashers can sense how dirty your dishes are and wash accordingly. Add light wash, delicate wash, pot scrubber wash and other assorted options and it’s no wonder they don’t last as long. I will say one improvement over the years has been the noise level. Some old models were just slightly less noisy than a cement mixer while our now broken LG was so quiet that without the lights on the front you’d hardly know it was running.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Friday, June 22, 2018 - 11:48 am
We just got a new Bosch after my brother recommended it. They've had theirs for 3 years with nary a problem, and I LOVE how quiet it is!! There is even a 3rd little top shelf where I can lay the plastic spatulas, etc. The one thing I was told was to get the all stainless interior, so we followed that advice. Can't for the life of me remember why that was an important detail at the time, though.
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Pamy
Member
01-01-2002
| Friday, June 22, 2018 - 12:51 pm
last mo we got an LG and hated it. dishes didnt dry well and the inside was always wet. we exchamged it for a Kitchen aide. the installer told us the difference is the kitchen aide has a heating element in it and the LG didnt. Like Teach, ours has the little 3rd rack for silverware etc. it is so quiet I have to look to see if it is still running! lol we got the print shield exterior which doesnt show spots like regular stainless. I also like that the buttons cant be pushed unless you open it up, the LG had them on the front and I was constantly turning something on.
We also got new frig/stove and micro, those are all LG, we got the black stainless for those
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Pamy
Member
01-01-2002
| Friday, June 22, 2018 - 12:52 pm
ps Lowes has great specials and gives military 10% off plus interest free for 6-12 mo 
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Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Friday, June 22, 2018 - 3:10 pm
We have a Kenmore that has worked very well. I think it is about 6 years old.
For awhile, I suspected my husband liked the new dishwasher more than me as he spoke so highly of it. He told me he likes us both, just in different ways . The old dishwasher that came with the house was not very good so he was delighted with a new appliance that worked so well and was so quiet.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Saturday, June 23, 2018 - 7:06 pm
Drum roll....... We bought a KitchenAid. KitchenAid and Bosch were very close though recent reviews give KitchenAid a slight edge. The real decider, besides Mrs Mack of course, was the KitchenAid was on sale for 20% off, free install, and free delivery. Bosch only had the free delivery for a comparable model. Gets install Thursday.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Tuesday, June 26, 2018 - 5:52 am
I should have added that we appreciated the input you all shared with us and it did have an impact. By the time we actually headed out the door we’d pretty well eliminated LG. Not sure it was a totally logical decision especially considering we were replacing an LG that had given us 10 +/- years of good service and until it suddenly and unexpectedly broke we had no plans to replace. It really was close, especially with your personal recommendations, and came down to a cost decision. The KitchenAid was $400 less than a comparable Bosch model. Even the salesperson was a bit surprised when she entered our purchase in the computer and the sales price and other incentives popped up on her screen. Her own words were “Well that’s a nonbrainer.” If it lives up to its writeups and our own experience with KitchenAid we’ll be happy.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Tuesday, June 26, 2018 - 11:20 pm
We bought a house that came with a KitchenAid dishwasher in WA state in 2001. Not sure how old it was when we bought the house, but we only replaced it in about 2014, forget for what reason, at which time it could have been maybe 20 and maybe 30 years old. It was noisy, but otherwise no problems.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Sunday, July 01, 2018 - 6:01 am
Ran our first full load in the new KitchenAid. I won’t repeat everything Pamy posted above in detail but she was spot on. It washes, it dries, and while we thought the LG was quiet the KitchenAid, rated at 39 decibels, was nearly silent. We’re happy.
I have to comment about the install. We bought from BestBuy because they were including installation with the purchase and had the best sales price. The first thing the installer did was get in under the sink and start to disconnect the LG’s plumbing. He starts fussing about “what a mess!” and “who thought this was correct!”. I pointed out that the LG had also been installed by BestBuy so he kind of calmed down and just grumbled to himself. The previous installer had used the water supply and drain setup from the previous Kenmore rather than the LG parts and just made it work. He did say that BestBuy had stopped using third party installers because of just the problems he was seeing with ours and now all appliances requiring install are done by the in-house Geek Squad. While the LG ran fine I have to admit underneath the sink is now a cleaner and everything connected to the dishwasher is new.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Sunday, July 01, 2018 - 11:11 pm
Good to know, Mack, and thanks for coming back and reviewing, plus comments on installation.
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Mack
Member
07-22-2002
| Thursday, August 02, 2018 - 4:07 am
A month now with our new KitchenAid and have to say we’re totally pleased. I actually think we couldn’t have gone wrong with any of the top models from the major brands particularly Bosch, KitchenAid, and probably LG. The KitchenAid washes well, as good if not better than the LG it replaced, and dries way better than the LG. We’re using the same Cascade pods and Jet Dry liquid and we’re getting virtually no spots or residue which is a big improvement over the LG. I write that off to the drying cycle on the KitchenAid that actually slightly heats during the drying cycle versus just air drying on the LG. Probably helps that three months ago we had to replace our water softener and went with a better unit than we had previously. And talk about quiet....wow...without the light on the front you’d never know it was running. We thought the LG was quiet but the KitchenAid is quieter and nearly silent. Anyhow, would recommend the KitchenAid.
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