Saturday, October 07, 2006

Tell me I did the right thing!!! Kitchen mini-remodel, part one

I bought this tonight at Lowe's:


Whirlpool RF262LXSQ. Smooth cooktop; self-cleaning oven; drawer (big deal to someone who's had a drop-in for 30 years...)

I wanted a GE because the outgoing stove (May I please call it a stove now? Everyone I know calls these things STOVES, but people who make them and sell them call them RANGES. Now that I'm finished shopping, may I please use my own terminology?) is 30 years old and still works. But oh, how ugly it is! Home Depot isn't having a sale, I'm po'd at Sears, so Lowe's was my target store. However, all Lowe's had in stock in my price and feature range that was GE cost $600. But I could get the Whirlpool for $500. So I did. Did I do the right thing???

The kitchen is undergoing a mini-remodel. I wanted to rip everything out and create one of those magazine beauties. But I had to get real...I'll need a new car soon. I can probably limp along another year or two in the hand-me-down truck I drive, but as I look ahead I see that taking out a loan for a car is more important than taking out a loan for a dream kitchen. Especially since I avoid cooking...

More later.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Bitty,

You did the right thing! It is lovely and very good value. Stoves, ranges, ovens, cookers (pick!) can be very expensive, and this one has everything you wanted on your wish list.

Alanna

Bitty said...

My concern, which I should have emphasized, was the brand I purchased. The salesman assured me that between my non-GE choices, a Whirlpool and a Frigidaire, the Whirlpool would be the best in quality.

I erroneously thought my washer & dryer (not purchased, but given to me by Marine Son when he moved in with Indian Princess) were Whirlpools, and I'm not in love with that dryer. However, I was wrong. The washer & dryer are Frigidaire.

So I feel much better now.

FriĆ°vin said...

Oh, about 3 years ago I upgrade our cooktop to a smooth surface one and LOVE it. Of course, I had a set of Revereware copper bottom pots and those just did not sit evenly on a flat surface. Had to upgrade those to heavier pans -- went with the "Scanpan" line and I must say, if you are looking for something like that, Scanpans are wonderful! Very heavy with a professional feel, and they clean up rather easily.

Bitty said...

Konagod -- thanks for the heads up. I have some "thin" pans and some heavy ones. Love the heavy ones best. Now I have a good excuse for buying more!

I look at the oldie-but-still- working stove and feel guilty. I'll be sure to cook a few more times on it before we tell it goodbye on Wednesday.

Madame X said...

Looks nice to me! I'm sure you'll love it... 30 years is a long time to have a stove!

A.Comi said...

The whirlpool model #RF262LXSQ that I purchased in May of 2006 caught on fire at the display board. I called whirlpool and the rep told me when I asked if they would take care of the customer that these are man made and they will have problems. I do not think that a circuit in a appliance catching fire would be just a problem, but could be life threatening or could burn someone's house down. I am turning them into the BBB and will blog what happened to my electric range everywhere. Lowe's customer service and warranty could not even point me to someone to help with this matter. I understand that thing break, but for a $600 piece of equipment to catch fire that is only two years old tells me something about CHEAP products. I am a HVAC/Small aplliance repair man and have been to school with 2 associate degrees in this field. I have had problems with the Whirpool home heating and cooling systems too. They stretch the copper in their coils so thin that they get hair line cracks all over them and they will not reimburse even under warranty the cost of materials to fix them. Good luck with any Whirlpool appliance.