Dishwasher replacement.

[startingsmall]

Our dishwasher has been intermittently not wanting to drain. After ~2 hrs of YouTube-inspired efforts, I think it's beyond our ability to fix. Because it's ~15 yrs old, we've decided that it is beyond the age of repair making sense and will need to be replaced if it doesn't magically get its act together in the near future.

We currently have white appliances.... not a cool/trendy white, but more of a 90's white. We've otherwise updated the kitchen since we moved in last year - granite countertops and a stainless steel tile backsplash - when the existing tile countertop started popping loose. So... IF we replace the dishwasher, do we stick with white (options starting ~$250 at our local Lowe's) or do we upgrade to stainless? If we upgrade to stainless, we'd then need to replace all of our appliances in the future to match - fridge, oven, built-in microwave.

Husband's argument is that we're planning to sell in ~5 years and stainless appliances would help resale value. (I've reviewed listings and ~30% of the houses selling in our neighborhood have stainless appliances.... so it's not a requirement, but probably is a perk.) He also says that, with all original appliances (we think), the chances of other appliances crapping out is high. Maybe true.

I say stick with the white - replacing functioning appliances is insane. While stainless appliances may help a house sell slightly faster, I wouldn't expect to see a dollar-for-dollar improvement. And will stainless even look good with our stainless backsplash? Spend the $250ish and move on with life.

Thoughts? I don't want to be pennywise and pound-foolish, but I'm pretty sure sticking with white is the way to go. Am I wrong?

[kiva822]

laying out for new appliances and looking for resale value in 5 years doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.  If everything else works and is efficient, replace the dishwasher and move on.

[startingsmall]

After checking serial numbers, all appliances are circa 2002. Fifteen years old.  That suggests that all/most may need replacement in the next 3-5 years anyway, right? Now I'm starting to rethink my approach.

[Snow]

I am good friends with a couple who recently upgraded from their apartment and bought their first house. Long story short, but one appliance after the other started failing in the kitchen and they, being high earners, diligently did their research and replaced them with high-quality appliances that just happened to be stainless steel.

When the dishwasher died, they knew they wanted a Miele with a cutlery tray. All other options checked out, they landed on a model that had a white front or a stainless steel front for ~$100 more. After mulling it over, they decided it was ridiculous to pay an extra 100 just for a pure aesthetic, so they went for the white one.

For reasons unknown to my friends, when they unloaded and unpacked the appliance, it was the stainless steel one after all! Turns out they had bought so many appliances from the same retailer recently that they footed the extra.

Do people really care that much about their appliances matching? We have all sorts of different things in our flat. Even if it was important to me, I could look at a kitchen and go "Oh, goodie, 2/5 appliances are already stainless, yay!", I wouldn't go "Boo, these appliances don't match. -$10k value!".

I would look at exactly what your needs from a dishwasher are and the budget you are shopping within before adding any aesthetic preferences.

[sokoloff]

Most of my kitchen appliances are from a 1997 remodel of the kitchen (as near as I can tell from limited research). I wouldn't bank on needing to replace all/most of them in the next 3-5 years.

In the past 5 years, I've replaced a heating element in the fridge (for the auto-defrost) and ice maker. Those were ~$20 and ~$35 in parts. I replaced the dishwasher (with a spendypants Bosch dishwasher that I absolutely love). Disposal, compactor, stove, and oven are all original to the remodel and I don't fear for a moment that they're on their last legs.

Replace the dishwasher and replace it with a matching white is my advice. If you didn't pine for stainless appliances before it started acting up, don't go buying them now just so you hope that someone at some indeterminate point down the road will decide that they have to have your particular house because of the gorgeous stainless appliances. If that turns out to be the case, you're only "out" about half of $250 (because the dishwasher gave you $25/yr in utility along the way) when you toss out a working white dishwasher to buy a stainless one to match.

[chemistk]

How long are you willing to hand wash your dishes for?

If it were me (and it's not, because I rent right now - though, our landlord's dishwasher is on its last legs...), I would be regularly checking Lowe's/Home Depot/Best Buy/other appliance retailers for discounted floor models/damaged models/returns. Every time I walk through somewhere that sells appliances, I'm always amazed at how much of a discount they put on something that has a dent/scratch/cosmetic flaw, or something that was a return but otherwise works well. I bet within a month or two you'll come across a great deal on one.

The other downside to ~$250 dishwashers is that they're simply not designed to last long - not nearly as long as older units. My in-laws recently had a new dishwasher delivered & installed and they were talking about the entry level models with the installer and the guy said that most of the time, he sees the basic models that see regular use (3 or 4 loads a week) fail in 5-7 years, sometimes sooner depending on water quality. They're so cheap, they're basically single-use appliances, because repairs usually are 50% or more of their MSRP.

[Frugal Lizard]

We replaced two of the four appliances in the kitchen last summer.  The stove and microwave still work fine - or better than fine.  They are both 80's vintage. I have replaced a number of parts on the stove. The dishwasher we replaced was an '83 Hobart commercial dishwasher.  The fridge was from the nineties.  Every repair person I talked to said the new ones never last as long or built as well - except fridges are more energy efficient. Waiting until a fridge is finished beyond repair can be risky as you can lose a fridge full of food or make yourself sick - so buy a good thermometer.  And buy a brush to clean the grills of the fridge once a month.  My repair guy sells them with the advice - your fridge shouldn't be wearing a fur coat over the coils. Reminds me - I haven't done the fridge in a bit. One the list for the weekend.

Our new appliance do not match the old ones - there is nothing on the market like the fake wood grain on the microwave or the chrome on the stove.  But I love their vintage look. 

[NeonPegasus]

White is coming back in so without hesitation, I'd say get white.


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