Major Appliances All the Same?

July 2, 2008 12:29 PM

We are looking for a moderately-priced glasstop range. Someone told me that Whirlpool, Amana, and Maytag are all owned by the same company, and pretty much the same.

We have always bought Maytag, but there is an Amana that looks like it has what we want, at an OK price. Does anyone have knowlege about glass-top ranges, and what is good to look for, and what to avoid? Any recent horror stories?

Thanks.

posted by Danf to Home & Garden (2 answers total)

Amana and Maytag are the same company. Whirlpool is still it's own, as is GE and LG. Kenmore, the brand that Sears sells, are contracted out to Whirlpool; i.e. Kenmore glass ranges will be Whirlpool made.

Are you more interested in brand loyalty or a quality product? When I sold appliances at Sears (it's been about 4 years) Whirlpool and Kenmore consistently had the fewest returns that I experienced. Also, check out Consumer Reports. You can procure one of their magazines or scroll through their site a bit. They do a fabulous job at rating products, as well as brands. Whirlpool and Kenmore typically are at the top for longevity and reliability.
posted by ZaneJ. at 1:41 PM on July 2, 2008

Whirlpool bought Maytag of which Amana is a line of a couple of years ago. I worked at Whirlpool during their integration with Maytag during that time. We merged all of Maytags products and routing and customers into Whirlpools systems. Fun times.
posted by meeshell at 5:44 PM on July 2, 2008