6 Appliances I Would NEVER Buy (After 40 Years)

I have been at Yale for 40 years, and we service what we sell, so I see which appliances come back. These are the 6 appliances I would not put in my own kitchen, plus the one mistake that is worse than all six combined. How I know: we started our own service department in 1993 because I could not handle the complaints anymore, ovens dying on Thanksgiving with no one to fix them. Three decades of that is what this list is built on. 📘 FREE Appliance Buying Guide (honest reviews on every category): https://blog.yaleappliance.com/free-a... --------- THE 6 I WOULD NOT BUY 1. Over-the-range microwaves. The microwave is reliable, so do not avoid it for the electronics. Avoid it for where it sits: about 15 to 16 inches deep, while the front burners you use most are out at 22 to 23 inches, so grease and smoke slip right past it into the room. Flush-fit models sit only about 12.75 inches deep and vent even worse. In a tight, energy-efficient home, all of that lingers. 2. Shallow hoods. Same problem, prettier package. To capture smoke, grease, and steam, a hood has to reach far enough over the cooktop to cover the front burner, which is exactly where you cook. Most of the sleek, minimal hoods on display are too shallow to do it. 3. Downdrafts. Smoke rises, that is basic physics, so pulling it down through a vent behind the cooktop means a lot of it is in your room before it ever gets there. Replacing an existing downdraft when a full rehab is not worth it, fine, last resort. For a new kitchen, put the range against a wall with a real hood. The fix for all three: a hood with real depth (around 23 inches), the right CFM for how you cook, ducted straight up and out. 4. Relabeled premium appliances. Big brands sell the same machine under different badges at very different prices. One refrigerator, four badges: Monogram $4,300, Cafe $3,420, GE Profile $3,150, plain GE about $2,880. That is nearly $1,500 for the same compressor and interior, different patch. Same story across JennAir, KitchenAid, and Whirlpool. A badge can help resale, but I would never pay up for the label when the cheaper one is the same machine. 5. Ultra-quiet dishwashers. This one might surprise you. The Miele flagship is the most reliable, most feature-rich dishwasher you can buy, and at 37 decibels the quietest. I did not buy it. You cannot hear a dishwasher under about 44 decibels, so I bought the model just below it: same reliability, a few cycles I skip, for about $1,800 less. It has run in my house since 2017. Every brand's flagship, Bosch, KitchenAid, Miele, piles on features and quiet you are already past hearing. If you just want quiet, there are good options under $1,000. 6. Compact combo washer-dryers. Avoid the old 24-inch combo units at any cost. None cleared the lint, so it built up and eventually seized the whole machine into an expensive repair. Newer ones have real filters, but only if you clear every bit of lint every time, whatever the brand. And a heat-pump model has a compressor and evaporator like a refrigerator, so you need a refrigeration tech who also services laundry. In a lot of areas, that is a real problem. --------- THE WORST MISTAKE (WORSE THAN ALL SIX) Buying from a seller that does not service what it sells. Some websites list 150 brands. We carry 19, because we service every one of them. Most of what is out there, the fancy Italian range, the built-in fridge, the high-end wall oven, has no one nearby to fix it, so you wait weeks or months. Before you buy anything, find out who fixes it when it breaks. Not if. When. --------- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Are over-the-range microwaves good at venting? No. They sit about 15 to 16 inches deep while your front burners are at 22 to 23 inches, so smoke and grease pass right by. A proper hood with real depth vents far better. Is it worth paying for the quietest dishwasher? Usually not. You cannot hear a dishwasher under about 44 decibels, so paying up for 37 buys quiet you will not notice. Buy for reliability and the cycles you will actually use. What is the biggest appliance-buying mistake? Buying from a seller that does not service what it sells. Find out who fixes it before you buy, because every brand needs service eventually. --------- LEARN MORE Learning Center (all our videos, articles, and buying guides): https://blog.yaleappliance.com/resour... Shop in-stock appliances: https://www.yaleappliance.com/ If this helped, LIKE and SUBSCRIBE. We publish honest reviews and real service data so you can buy on facts, not marketing. Thanks for watching. --------- Chapters 0:00 6 Appliances I Wouldn't Buy 0:24 Over-The-Range Microwave 1:26 Shallow Hoods 1:45 Downdrafts 2:21 Relabeled "Premium Appliances" 3:15 Ultra-Quiet Dishwashers 3:56 Combo Washer & Dryers 4:43 The Worst Mistake You Can Make