Homeowner Forum / Repair / July 2009

Sounding OK so far... more opinions welcome.

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I've only used Behr exterior paints so no direct experience.  I'd have
no reservations, however, w/ the same caveats as previously noted.

For interior I've been using a Glidden product--don't recall the actual
line, but I like it quite well.  Again, it isn't the
bottom-of-the-barrel in their product lineup...

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Other than some of the longevity testing such as paints and such where
they may be of some validity I personally don't take CR seriously at all.

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Yes, Sears has appliances made for them to sell under the "Kenmore"
brand -- and different kinds of appliances by different manufacturers,
and perhaps the manufacturers change from year to year, for all I know:
our Kenmore refrigerator and dishwasher are by Whirlpool, washer and
dryer by Frigidaire (which is now Electrolux, which is Swedish), our
microwave by LG, I think (Korean). I don't recall the manufacturer of
the gas water heater.

I have read that the first three digits of the Kenmore model number
indicate the manufacturer.

BUT Sears can have Whirlpool (or whoever) build an appliance to Sears'
own specifications, with either more or fewer features than those of the
models Whirlpool sells under its own name. Further, one or two "layers"
of the distribution system -- the distributor/wholesaler -- is/are
eliminated , so it's *possible* (but not guaranteed) that the consumer
gets better value for money.

Home Depot, Lowe's, Sam's and Best Buy can do the same, except that the
appliances they sell still have the Whirlpool (or whatever) name on
them. Yet they could have unique model numbers and be somewhat different
from an identical-looking appliance sold by "Joe's Home Appliances, your
locally owned neighborhood store." It's possible that the *only*
difference is the model number -- so you can't invoke the price-match
guarantee.

Whirlpool can incorporate different features into the appliances it
manufactures under different brands (Maytag, Kitchen Aid, and others?);
some of those may not work well and render the product unreliable. Or
quality control in the plant where a particular Whirlpool-owned brand of
appliance is made may be sub-standard.

One problem with CR -- as with similar publications in other countries
-- is that the highly rated product may have been discontinued by the
time you are ready to buy.

Perce

You have to read the study in question and decide if you believe in
the methodology they use.

With cars for example, their reliability ratings are based on reports
from THEIR subscribers on a voluntary basis. Statistically speaking,
that's total bunk. ("Dewey wins" comes to mind).

In addition, their categories of car repairs are way too wide and vary
from very minor and/or service campaign covered problems, to major
issues that also include manufacturers denying responsibility. So,
their red/black circle summary for a detailed category is often
misleading. OTOH, at the end of the day cars with lots of black
circles are definitely less reliable than cars with lots of red
circles.

So, look at HOW they tested specific items, and decide if you believe
in their methods.

No, it just popped into my head.

"Stormin Mormon" <cayoung61**spamblock##@hotmail.com> wrote
in news:h2jlbu
$h6n$1@news.eternal-september.org:

You pull that one from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show? :-)

Been my exprience as well..No discount from Sherwin Williams even on big
orders...Good paint though...I do have an account there...I do get 10% off
at the local lumber yard on Ben Moores but their prices are higher to begin
with...Good paint as well...I use both..I let the customer pick if they
want...As I said , everthing I've heard and seen Behr is good as
well...Gonna give it a try on my next home project before I use it at work
though just to see how it goes both spraying and rolling..