High end kitchen appliances worth it?

[Anonymous]

Op here -- thanks for the advice! Our reasoning for the subzero is that it will be freestanding against a small wall -- we thought the subzero looked the best for a not ideal situation. The previous owners had a subzero and we love it (and it's 28 years old). Would love to hear other fridge options if anyone has suggestions!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it depends on the value of the house. If it would sell for more than around $1 million, and has been renovated recently, high end appliances are expected and will help resale (although you may not be able to document a direct increase in your sale price). Less than a million, I think nice (but not necessarily subzero) is fine.

This. High end appliances are expected in homes over 1 mil. Price points less than that buyers might feel like they are paying a premium for them and won't be worth the investment.

We paid 800k to teardown , it depends on the area

I'm the original pp here -- that's why I said if it "has been renovated recently." If you're paying $1 million for the lot, then it doesn't apply. lf the fact that the buyer is going to need to redo the kitchen is factored into the price, then it doesn't matter (no matter what the price point). However, the worst situation is when somebody does a renovation on the cheap, but then expects to get full price for a "completely updated house." You're better off doing nothing. I think this is what OP was asking about. I think $1 million is about the cut off between the "good enough" reno being ok and it being a waste of money.

I say this because I learned the hard way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here -- thanks for the advice! Our reasoning for the subzero is that it will be freestanding against a small wall -- we thought the subzero looked the best for a not ideal situation. The previous owners had a subzero and we love it (and it's 28 years old). Would love to hear other fridge options if anyone has suggestions!

I don't think everyone has to get a Subzero, but don't pass on it because of what people say on this forum. There are people (it's hard to tell how many of them there are, but it seems like the same person(s) every time, because they always use the same phrases) who ALWAYS pipe up to trash Subzero whenever it's mention on this forum. I know lots of people who have them who have never had a problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here -- thanks for the advice! Our reasoning for the subzero is that it will be freestanding against a small wall -- we thought the subzero looked the best for a not ideal situation. The previous owners had a subzero and we love it (and it's 28 years old). Would love to hear other fridge options if anyone has suggestions!

I don't think everyone has to get a Subzero, but don't pass on it because of what people say on this forum. There are people (it's hard to tell how many of them there are, but it seems like the same person(s) every time, because they always use the same phrases) who ALWAYS pipe up to trash Subzero whenever it's mention on this forum. I know lots of people who have them who have never had a problem.

+1. I've had a Subzero for 6 years and am very happy with it. Never had a problem so far.

[Anonymous]

If you are buying a Wolf, you are buying it for the name. Or, more accurately, the red knobs, so everyone will know you spend a lot on your appliances. There are other high-end appliances that actually increase functionality, so may be "worth" the premium - a Wolf does not. It's basically a marketing scheme.

[Anonymous]

You might look into Liebherr refrigerators. Ours is extra tall and counter depth and can be ganged together to form a double unit. It comes all stainless or without panels to customize. We are very happy with this fridge because it looks and works so beautifully, but also, it is amazingly quiet.

I have Miele for everything else. Love the dishwasher and laundry but HATE the speed oven. Oh it works beautifully and looks even better, but you CANNOT clean it. It's repulsive after cooking certain meals and takes hours of scrubbing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are buying a Wolf, you are buying it for the name. Or, more accurately, the red knobs, so everyone will know you spend a lot on your appliances. There are other high-end appliances that actually increase functionality, so may be "worth" the premium - a Wolf does not. It's basically a marketing scheme.

We have a wolf and chose black knobs because we didn't want the red. We've been very happy with it. Also have a sub zero because we have a narrow kitchen and the extra few inches of depth made a difference. So sometimes it is about functionality.

Our beach house has the next tier of appliances (Kitchen Aid and Jenn Air) and they are pretty crappy. We are going to replace them all. The fridge freezes half the food, the stovetop barely gets hot enough to boil water, the dishwasher has had to be repaired. But from a resale perspective for the previous owner they were a plus - we thought they were good quality until we started using them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it depends on the value of the house. If it would sell for more than around $1 million, and has been renovated recently, high end appliances are expected and will help resale (although you may not be able to document a direct increase in your sale price). Less than a million, I think nice (but not necessarily subzero) is fine.

This. High end appliances are expected in homes over 1 mil. Price points less than that buyers might feel like they are paying a premium for them and won't be worth the investment.

Not true

Agree. Especially not true if the house is relatively small and a giant subZ will take up all the space you'd have for cabinets.

[Anonymous]

We hava an 18 year old subzero that works great and looks brand new.

I absolutely expect higher end appliances in a higher end home unless it is clear the kitchen will be gutted. I also would be turned off by an ikea kitchen in a $1.5 million house. You can't reasonably expect to be selling in a seller's market in the future.

[Anonymous]

I've heard a lot of bad things about Viking and subzero.

[Anonymous]

Thats because someone here keeps posting that they are trash.

Where are some online reviews that backup the hearsay?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thats because someone here keeps posting that they are trash.

Where are some online reviews that backup the hearsay?

They are everywhere. Including consumer reports. This is a known thing in the home/home improvement world.

[Anonymous]

Viking is pretty bad.

We have Wolf and SubZero and they have both been fantastic - also American made. To the PP above, mine has black knobs so again, another off the cuff, one size fits all theory that doesn't fit into the snark box.

[Anonymous]

It all depends on how much you pay for the "high end appliances". In 2013, I worked a deal-of-a-lifetime during a kitchen remodel, buying Diamond Miele DW and Wolf 36" gas stove & vent hood/fan. I did get a Jenn Air French door fridge but dislike it's stainless front doors intensely. Lesson learned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thats because someone here keeps posting that they are trash.

Where are some online reviews that backup the hearsay?

They are everywhere. Including consumer reports. This is a known thing in the home/home improvement world.

The CR Kitchen Remodel guide for 2017 has Sub Zero and Wolf almost at the bottom of the rankings. We're getting ready to gut a kitchen and I'm going with Thermador appliances. I had a 30 inch Thermador gas range in our old house and loved the 90 degree auto-simmer feature which is perfect for melting chocolate without scorching, simmering butter sauces, etc. If you read the pro-chef forums, you will see them give honest feedback about all the high-end appliances - worth spending a couple of hours of research before you spend a lot of money on this.