 Former servicer with advice
Chrismitch:
Hey, my name is Ryan and I am a former appliance servicer (7.5 years exp) and have experience on many of major brands.
As for what brands to get, really your budget will determine what you should get. Having said that NO one brand makes the best of any product, so prepare to mix and match. And No one makes a product that is perfect.
My personal favorites while servicing were the sub-zero and wolf lines (both made by same company). Not because they never broke, because they do, but because their warranty and customer service is by far the best. They warranty the longest of any of the premium brands, and seemed to treat customers better than anyone else.
My second favorite brand was Miele. They make the best dishwasher available in america hands down. They also make some very nice wall ovens and cooktops. But they are very European in style (read small) and don't always fit with what an American consumer is looking for size wise. They are also a very close second in customer service to wolf/subzero. Also reasonable to repair given the initial cost and repair prices of other high end units
Brands that i would definitely stay away from are:
Kitchenaid: An often overpriced version of an identical Whirlpool product.
Maytag/ Jennair/ Amana: Now a Whirlpool subsidiary and not a Maytag product, also see Kitchenaid
Viking/ Ultraline: They only make cooking appliances, (and they don't even make all the ones they sell) so you really don't know what you are getting. They also are very repair prone. (burners, ignition systems, hinges, gaskets, oven linings etc)
Thermadore/Bosch: With the exception of the dishwasher (a very good unit) these tend to also be repair prone and built delicatly.
Frigidaire Gallery: A very exspensive version of plain old frigidaire, bigger price same appliance
GE: Anything they make is usually a piece of crap, poor warranty, poor quality, and usually repair prone (including the stuff from the top chef tv show). And often expensive to repair.
Kenmore: Not even a Kenmore, these are simply re-badged units built by whoever tenders the best offer to sears on a given specification. I have even seen the supplier change in a single model year from one to another. As a consumer you have no idea what you are getting. You may decide that the Frigidaire is not for you and buy a Kenmore only to end up with a Frigidaire built unit.
There are obviously others but those are the major ones
Brands worth considering:
Whirlpool: Some products are decent and reasonably priced as well you can get it fixed by practically anyone for little money. Not the best performing most of the time but wont break the bank either.
Frigidaire: As long as you don't get anything too cheap or too expensive, these can be a really good value. See whirlpool for why.
LG: Making some very good products as of late as well as offering the best non-high end warranty. The dishwasher is kind a crappy but the rest of there stuff is decent to really good. Again dont go too cheap or too expensive to get your real value.
You can get more obscure with brands but the problem then is service, installation etc.
other decent high end brands are..
Dacor
AGA
DCS/ Fsher and Paykel (Same company)
Gagganeau (a thermadore/bosch brand)
Hope I was informative and not too boring. Any questions about anything in particular give a shout on here.
later  |