Really confused about what range to get.... Please help!

[mostytoasty]

We are getting a peninsula (not island) put in when we remodel our kitchen - that opens out into our family room.
I am however very confused about what appliances to get.. even though this should be the most pleasurable activity.

Wolf ranges are way too expensive and beyond our budget.
Vikings - I have heard/read horror stories which makes me want to stay away from them.
GE - my brother had these and all their GE appliances broke.. including their vent!

Cooktops and ovens separately are also turningo out to be expensive...

We are looking for a worry free range in the vicinity of $4-5K... max.

Any suggestions? What to buy... what to buy... what to buy...

[JeremyEG]

I also have a GE Profile and have had no unusual problems. Sure, I've replaced a light or a knob but I cook almost daily and the range has been used for 8 years or so. It looks brand new!
JeremyEG
HomeCookLocavore.com

[rainey]

What ever you do, avoid Thermador. We had both wall ovens and a cooktop. They all needed repairs at least once a year and the parts were EXPENSIVE and usually required special order. I guess even their repair people don't want to spend the $$$$ to keep an inventory at Thermador prices.

We got lower price point appliances in the rest of the kitchen so we could get a free standing Wolf dual fuel we'll take with us when we sell the house. I haven't regretted it a single day. And our next fridge will be a SubZero.

[kayandallie]

I've just bought a Wolf 30" cooktop and built-in oven for less than 5K, installed. The oven, admittedly, was on a big sale because it was a display model, and I've had some glitches related to having to move gas lines to get my oven installed (my old one was a different size, somehow) that may be taking it over the 5K mark, but the appliances themselves came to just over 4K. So far, I love the cooktop. Waiting to finish up work to get the oven in...

[chefj]

I am also shopping for a range right now.
With 4 or 5 K almost all the high end ranges should be in your price range except a few (Aga etc..) or if you are looking at a really large size.
I am looking at 30" ranges. Viking, Wolf, & Blue Star are all in that range and are my finalists.
There is no easy answer you will read raves and rants for all of them.
A friend of mine bought a Viking 36" three + years ago and has not had a single problem or service call.

[hammersh]

I purchased a Wolf last night. I was amazed at the price vs other options. Wolf / Sub Zero has a promo right now. If you buy a sub fridge & wolf range you get an automatic $1000 rebate. This put my wolf in the same price range as the lower end American Range / Five Star, and 3K cheaper then the Blue Star.

As I have not used it yet, I can not comment on its functionality. I save almost 10G by getting prices online and negotiating with a high end vendor locally. I saved so much that I was able to add the Meile coffee maker, the Insinkerator hot water and filter, upgrade some other components...etc.

Truth is, in speaking with real estate agents. Wolf & Sub Zero increase the value of your home because of name recognition. Others at same or higher price do not provide that value. So if you are thinking of selling in the next ten years invest in the higher end models, you will get you money back down the road......

[chefj]

I also settled on the Wolf r304.

[c oliver]

A year ago I bought a Samsung range with an induction cooktop and convection oven. I adore it. It was under $2k. If you're not familiar with induction cooking, you can do some reading here on CH. I recently had to cook on a high end gas cooktop for a couple of weeks and was SO happy to get back to my induction.

[c oliver]

Weeks later I just have to chuckle that no one responded to the idea of induction. I swear to you, folks, if you ever cook with it you would declare gas to be inferior. Promise.

[flourgirl]

I've never cooked with induction, so this is admittedly being said without full information - but I like flames! I like roasting my peppers over a live flame, I like to see the flames when I'm cooking, and, I like the fact that I can still use my cooktop even if we lose the power. That doesn't happen often, thankfully, but as it is, we lose our well water if we lose power - I don't like the idea of the whole house shutting down just because the power went out, which makes me feel very helpless.

[c oliver]

Losing power was the only consideration I had. It seems to happen once every year or two and I do have my natural gas grill with side burner just outside the door. So it was something I felt I could give up. PS: We also lived on a well for almost 20 years and I feel your pain :)

[flourgirl]

We used to lose the power a lot more often than that - a least a few times a year for hours at a time. I will say though, that recently it's been much better.

We're planning on having a back up generator installed - but I know they have limited capabilites as to how much they can power (or at least, because of what we can afford) and the well pump is the priority.

[c oliver]

Re generators, I think it depends on how deep your pockets are :) We have friends who live out in the woods. They have a generator in a building quite a ways from the house (they're on 40 acres). It kicks in automatically and they never even know it. But they have WAY more $$$ than we do! For us, the well going out meant we had about one final flush of the toilet :)

[Dallas Alice]

I'm with you on induction. Not only does it cook better and more efficiently than gas or electric, it is much easier to clean.

[nsstampqueen]

I have Kenmore appliances in my home, as do my parents. I would highly recommend them. My dad bought my mom a Kenmore stove over 30 years and she is still using it. Granted it is a basic stove, with timers, etc. but not self-cleaning, so maybe it having less bells and whistles helps. I have had mine for over 5 years without a problem at all. The temperature is really nice and steady, even though it has a very large oven it heats up quickly. I remember looking on the Sears website and drooling over the cooktops and built in ovens. They have some really nice flat top ranges with the controls in the front which would go nicely on a peninsula. I have the 5 burner induction top, two 6" - 9" convertible burners, two 6" burners and a warming burner, with the controls on the back. The only thing I would watch for is whether is has a built-in set of plug-ins (or even just one). Ours doesn't so it means everything goes on the other side of the kitchen (which can be inconvenient). I have all Kenmores at home (convection microwave - almost 10 years old; fridge, with automatic ice maker and filtered water - almost 8 years old) and a brand new less than 1 year old stacking washer and dryer. Oh yes and a 5 year old Kenmore built-in vaccuum which I love!

I will say, perhaps if money were no issue I might look at other manufacturers, however, for us, Kenmore fits our budget with a very good quality product. Good luck!

[NE_Wombat]

Have you considered Garland? I have extensive time on various models (professional), and have never had problems related to the unit (as opposed to abuse by the other kitchen apes). Depending on you size requirements, you may want to consider their "home division" - Blue Star

[Michael Rodriguez]

I've had a Blue Star 30" range for a couple of years. It's wonderful. Hot, easy to clean, large oven, and grates and surround all on one level. I'd buy it again without a question.

[ferret]

First of all, making a sweeping statement like "GE is bad" is unbased. There's a fairly broad range of products in their offerings, at a variety of price points and likely from a variety of manufacturing facilities. We've had the Profile series for several years and the products are as solid as I've ever used.