Since 1974 Sargents Home Appliance Sales and Service In Reno and Sparks. (775) 358-4246

Nuts & Bolts VS Bells & Whistles.

What Are You Really Getting When You Buy High-End?

            The old saying goes “you get what you pay for”. When it comes to several products, that saying holds true. However, how does that phrase hold up when you’re talking about major household appliances? Today, we will jump in and tackle this question and learn what models are receiving upgraded parts and what models are adorned in more bells and whistles.

            We’ve all been there; standing in front of 2 items with wildly different price points, wondering if the extra cost adds additional value. Whether it was a car, alarm clock or bottle of BBQ sauce, we’ve all had to make this decision before. What are the differences? Will it be worth it? Does it last longer? These are all things that pass through our minds when we’re trying to finalize the purchase. With household appliances, this especially holds true. This is one category that truly has a “good, better, best” mentality, but what are you actually getting when spending $200, $500 or even $1000 more. This question is a little tough to answer, because it depends on what appliance category you’re shopping, ie: dishwasher, refrigerator, washer or dryer. It also depends on if you’re comparing different brands, like L.G. compared to Maytag. Many factors truly come in to play when you’re deciding on what price point you want to stay in.

            One of the biggest determining factors in an appliance’s price is innovation or features. Innovation is defined as making changes to something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products. Innovation is an important process that has truly taken us from the dark times in human history, to the bustling society we have now. In appliances, it has brought us the automatic defrosting refrigerator, the automatic washing machine and the steam dryer. However, it has also brought us refrigerators with coffee makers, washers with WiFi and gas ranges that can re-ignite a blown out burner, but won’t work in a power outage. Some of these features, although trendy, haven’t really added anything that will truly better our lives. Instead, they have increased the prices of these goods exponentially, and in some cases, lowered the lifespan because of added parts that can fail. A phrase I’ve heard in the past is “more innovation, equals less life.” When searching for an appliance, you may want to ask yourself if you’re going to use these features. If not, maybe look for something that fits your needs a little better. If you don’t need a 5.3 cubic foot washing machine, search for a smaller one that fits your lifestyle. If your dishwasher isn’t a few feet away from your couch, you probably don’t need a $1500 dishwasher with a 39 dB wash noise level. It’s all about getting the features you need while not going for the most expensive.

            Another factor that really determines the price of an appliance, is the parts that make up the machine. This is where different manufacturers and their pricing compared to each other really play a role. Speed Queen is on the higher end for washer pricing, but on the lower side for features. How can this be? Speed Queen, as compared to some other brands, uses considerably better parts to build their product. The amount of plastic you will find is far less than any other washer you can buy. Due to their commercial quality product, they have considerably more robust parts that make up the machine. Their motor is double the horsepower of any other machine, their bearings are better built bigger and they have the best warranty in the industry. A Maytag washer from the 90’s that still works, would’ve cost you around $699, depending on what model you got. In today’s money, that same product would cost you $1299+. If you use lifetime costing, or the price of a product over its lifespan, you’ll find you actually saved money going with a more expensive product.

            What about different products from the same manufacturer? What’s the major differences between their entry level and their top of the line? There are many changes that happen with the features and capacities, but sometimes the interior parts are similar if not the same. Other times, the products are very similar but have very different operating systems. For instance, entry level washers start at a smaller capacity, have a plastic console and have no glass lid. As you progress up the line, you’ll get a larger capacity, a metal console and a glass lid, as well as a better warranty and some nice comforts like a “finger faucet” or an area where you can wash your hands or pre-rinse your clothes. However, the interior parts like the water pump, motors and transmissions are all very similar to each other. You aren’t getting more robust parts, just features. Is this a bad thing? Not at all. It’s not like you’re getting cheap, low-end parts, you’re just getting the same parts whether you go high-end or low-end.

Now, if you bring refrigerators into the equation, things begin to change drastically. Refrigerators are constantly “evolving” and the higher priced refrigerators always get the newest technologies. For instance, you may have heard the phrase duel evaporator or dual cool when it comes to refrigerators. This is when you have 2 cooling components or evaporators in your refrigerator; one in the freezer and one in the fresh food compartment. This, in theory is a good idea. However, in practice it is nothing more than an innovation that increased price, but lowered the life expectancy. Sub Zero was the pioneer of this duel cool system, but did it in a way that makes much more sense. They used 2 completely different cooling systems; 2 compressors, 2 condensers and 2 evaporators to make their dual cool. The rest of the manufacturers are sharing a cooling system, but added an evaporator to both compartments. This added parts to fail, which increases the price but lowers its life. With refrigeration, you have a sealed system that carries the Freon throughout the system. When you add more sealed system components and tubing, you increase the likely hood for a leak, which is always an expensive repair. The sophistication in doing sealed system repairs is very high, and you want to minimize the potential for any kind of sealed system issue.

Another thing that you’ll see with more expensive refrigerators, is luxurious interiors. Many higher end refrigerators will have more shelves, colored interiors, wood grain and metal accents. Sometimes, you’ll even get multiple ice makers, cameras to access and view what’s inside your refrigerator and air filters that help keep the inside smelling clean and fresh. Although these features don’t add or detract from the life expectancy, it does add some nice, added flare to a usually boring appliance.

In closing, if you want to know if a products increased price is worth the value, look at the difference in features from its lower priced counterpart. If it has several features or add-ons that are nice but you aren’t going to use, odds are shelling out the additional funds won’t be worth it. Adversely, if the product is low on the features and add-ons, but has a higher price point than a brand or product that has more features, consider that maybe that appliance has added value in its warranty or the quality of the parts that were put into the unit.

If you enjoy these articles, suggest a topic for me to cover. You may see it covered in our next segment.

What To Expect When You Buy Appliances From A Small, Local Business Instead Of A Big Box Store.

• Knowledgeable Staff.
• Higher Quality Product.
• Sometimes Smaller Selection.
• In House Delivery & Service.
• Empathy.
• You May See The Owner Coaching Your Sons Baseball Team.
• Down To Earth Conversations.
• Straight To The Point Sales Techniques.
• Better Quality, Hard to Find Brands.
• A Neighbor Or Friend.

             Have you been searching for an appliance, found what you wanted but are having a hard time deciding what company to buy it from? With some product or another, we have all been there. This article will dive into what small, local businesses have to offer and how that differs from an experience at a large box retailer.

            When was the last time you were in a box store and were underwhelmed by the selection they had? Yeah, me either. I find myself either having to make my selection from too many options, or they didn’t have what I wanted at all. This problem holds true in their appliance selection. It seems nice to have your choice from 5 or more brands with several options in each brand, but in reality, if the employee helping you doesn’t know the features and talking points on 20+ models, odds are you aren’t going to get what you want. This either leads you on an online journey, sifting through several conflicting arguments on why one brand or product is either great or terrible, or the inevitable “guess” purchase.

            If you find yourself in a small business, you might realize there are less items to choose from and that the entry level price may be higher. In the case of our company, Sargents Maytag, this holds true. We hand pick and procure certain products instead of offering the entire product lines of the brands we cover. We do this strategically because not all products from the same manufacturer are built equally. When it comes to what we sell vs what’s available in the product lineup, we take many factors into consideration. We service what we sell both in and out of warranty. Due to this, we are very careful on the quality of what we offer. As a small company that’s been in business almost 50 years, reputation is everything. We’ve managed to keep our good reputation by shrinking the amount and brands of product we sell, but keeping the quality high and the service calls low. We take our warranty claims for each year into consideration when we reconsider what models we are going to sell. If we find one model is having a higher than normal service call rate, odds are, we are going to pull that model. We personally answer the phone and deal with our customers, so having disgruntled customers is not in our best interest. With box stores, you will have a hard time getting a hold of someone, and once you do, you will most likely be referred to a 1800 # to deal with your problems or have your answers completely blown off because they simply don’t know the answer. Small companies pride themselves on teaching their employees in house, and making sure they are as knowledgeable as possible. Our delivery and service staff is hand selected and trained in house to ensure they are knowledgeable and able to do your job. Our office staff is well trained and versed in the product we sell and are ready to answer questions.

             With many big box stores, they are simply a middle man. They collect the money, but do not hold their inventory, deliver or service their product. These crucial, after purchase services are usually bid out to a sub contractor by either the store or the manufacturer of the product. Because of this, the box stores can get away with selling cheaper brands, lower models and in some cases, models that were made specifically for that store, with less features or downgraded materials. When you shop at a small business, quality matters because reputation is everything. You know the phrase, you get what you pay for. We try to keep you from making the wrong decision by not even having some product available for purchase. Although it may hurt us financially to not sell some higher end products that we know are faulty, it allows us to sleep at night and engage in our community because we know deep down, we did our best to sell you a good product.

            Have you purchased something before that has broken down quickly and you were stuck feeling down about your purchase and it seems like no one cares? We’ve all been there and it’s pretty frustrating. Small businesses are staffed and owned by people that are in your community and have to make similar purchases to the ones you do. Due to this, owners of small businesses and their employees have more empathy when something does fail because we’ve probably been there. When things happen, we traditionally try and jump on it and get it rectified as efficient as possible. Throughout the pandemic and subsequent years, we’ve been faced with horrible back logs on parts needed to finish a repair job. It has not been abnormal for us to take a brand new unit, rob a part off of it and use that to fix our customers machine while we wait for the backordered part to come in so we can sell our unit. Even though we can’t sell that unit until it’s 100% again, we need to do what we can to ensure our customers have an operating product. It’s what needs to be done to keep things fair for all parties involved. Good luck with that kind of service if you’re dealing with someone from a 1800 #.

            When deciding where to buy a product, it comes down to a few key takeaways. Is access to service important to you? Is product education something you need to know before buying something or do you like to wing it and figure it out as you go along? Are you ok buying the same product every few years as long as you’re getting a good deal? How important is it to keep the money you spent in your local community?

            If you enjoyed this content, suggest a topic for our next segment. You may find it answered on our next blog post.

The Differences Between Top Load & Front Loading Washing Machines, explained.

• Top loading washers use more water.
• Front loaders are a gentle wash on all cycles.
• Top loaders wash everyday clothes better.
• Front loaders wash blankets and bulky items better.
• Top load washing machines are easier to service, in most cases.
• Front load washers will naturally have more smell or mildew issues if not properly maintained.
• Top loaders are traditionally less expensive.
• Front loaders spin at a higher RPM, so less water in your clothes for your dryer to remove.
• Top loaders have more options and models.
• Front loaders are stackable.

    One of the questions I get asked about quite often, is the difference between top loading and front loading washers. All though they are both “washers”, there are several differences between them that will determine whether you fall in love with it, or if it’s something you can’t wait to replace again. Most of the differences between these 2 styles of washers, is the method in how it gets your clothes clean and how well it is at cleaning varying  items and materials. Which style is better for washing work clothes? Is there a design that is better for washing bedding? Which one is easier to repair? These are some of the questions we will dive into.

    Top loading washers have been out the longest and have undergone many changes since the first automatic washer was rolled out in 1937. Now a days, you have larger capacities, steam cycles and even the ability to access your machine from your smart device. These innovations haven’t taken away from the base principals of how it operates. First, lets talk about how the agitation process works on a top load, then we’ll discuss how a front loader works. Top loading machines with an agitator are better at washing everyday clothes because they have a device, the agitator, to wash your clothes, instead of relying on water and soap to do most of the work. A vertical wash design, as compared to horizontal design like a front loader, allows the clothes to flow and move around in the water, moving from the bottom of the tub where the agitator is most aggressive, to the top of the tub. This cycle of moving the clothes up and down removes stains and grime that your clothes may have on it. However, the down side to having an agitator, is that your clothes may not last as long as an article of clothing that isn’t being beat into cleanliness. Something you may notice is that you have more lint build up on your dryers lint filter, than you would if you were using a front loader or agitator-less top loader. This is because the agitator is tearing fibers in your clothes, that are coming out in the dry. Another main take away from using a top load washer compared to a front load washer is the amount of water consumption. Due to the fact clothes have to move up and down in the tub to get cleaner, comes the need for having much more water for them to move around in. On average, a top load washer will use 8-15 gallons every time the washer fills, which is a minimum of 2 times, 3 if you’re using an extra rinse. This adds up over time and if you’re on a well or septic system, this may come into consideration on your purchase. If you take into consideration serviceability, top loaders are usually easier to work on because they are bottom and top serviceable, which means most of the mechanisms are either underneath the machine or on the top. With front loads, a lot of components are hidden behind panels which requires the machine to be thoroughly dismantled in order to repair it. This also affects repair costs, because longer repair times means a higher cost per repair.

    Front loading washing machines are more of a modern thing. Maytag created the Neptune front load in 1997, but not too many manufacturers started making them until 2005. There were many hurdles that Maytag endured to lay the ground work for the modern machines and there were growing pains that needed to be worked through. Due to the water tight design to keep the water from leaking out the front, comes the introduction of an environment that harbors mold. It took years to figure this problem out, so we as dealers and servicers could relay the correct method of using a front load to the consumer. This is why you hear people recommend leaving the door open after using it; to help dry left over water that may be hanging out inside the tub. The front loaders horizontal design inherently makes the machine energy and water efficient. Compared to the top loaders that use up to 15 gallons every time it fills. The front loading machines use in between 2 and 4 gallons every time it fills, which is 2-3 times through out a cycle. This really helps people that are water conscious or are trying to keep large amounts of water out of their septic system. Another benefit of this horizontal design is that it is a gentle wash that tumbles your clothes clean; something that you don’t get from having an agitator beat your clothes clean. This will help your clothes last longer because the wash isn’t as aggressive. If you want something that’s capable of washing large items like bedding or drapes, the tumbling action allows you to fit larger items, because there is more room for the material to move about without getting stuck against or around the agitator. The tumbling action also gives manufacturer’s the ability to increase the spin speed, because you have more robust suspension and bearings that help keep the machine stationary during high RPM spin cycles.

    If you have any more questions regarding the differences between washing machine designs or anything else appliance related, be sure to let us know. It could be the next topic we cover.