SubZero - worth it?

[Scuba]

Thanks for the information. It really helps to hear from people who own and use them that you’ve had a positive experience and don’t regret the purchase.

We were initially thinking of the 42” French door model, but after researching it further, we are considering a really big splurge - a 36” column refrigerator with a 24” freezer. We cook and entertain at home a lot and have never had a fridge and freezer that weren’t packed to the gills. It would be such a luxury to have a nice wide fridge and freezer, and the big built-in units look just beautiful.

BTD for sure. They are offering a small deal - 3 year warranty extension of the 2 year manufacturer’s warranty - so total of 5 years OR a $1,000 rebate if you buy a SubZero fridge plus a couple of Wolf appliances. We’re looking seriously at the Wolf speed oven (combo microwave, convection, and broiler) and a single regular/convection oven combo, plus the Wolf induction cooktop. We will likely take the extended warranty over the cash.

We thought we were going to buy a Bosch dishwasher but the appliance dealers and reviews have convinced us to go for the Miele. Supposedly you can wash Riedel glassware in it, and DH loves the idea of not having to hand wash our wine glasses. Both Bosch and Miele dishwashers now have a feature where they automatically pop open after the drying cycle to allow the plastics to air dry. Not sure how long air drying plastic containers will take without first dumping out the water that accumulates on top of them, so that feature may just be a gimmick.

 

[davebarnes]

We have a 24-inch Miele speed oven and love it. 2.5 years of experience with it.
We have a 24-inch Miele convection oven and also love it.
See photo in post #3.
Both ovens have caused us to cook more with ovens than when we had the 30-inch range.

We are very happy with our Miele dishwasher.

 

[atmsmshr]

DW bought a used Subzero 15 years ago for the garage. Now my beer fridge. Convinced this decades old beast will survive the apocalypse.

 

[zinger1457]

At >$10K for a frig it better last a lifetime, that's 3X more than I've spent on refrigerators in the last 40 years and that includes a new LG I just bought last year.

 

[ncbill]

If you want to kill nematodes in fish, you need to store it at -4 deg F for 72 hours. Most home freezers can’t do this.

Do you mean the standard kitchen fridge's freezer?

I found the 1980s Kenmore 15 cuft. chest freezer I bought for $25 from a garage sale over a decade ago was set to -20ºF after I plugged 'er up.

I've never bothered to change the temperature setting.

 

[tb001]

We also have the subzero/Wolfe/Miele combination.

This is the second house we’ve had a subzero. Both installed by the previous owners and both going on 20yrs. We had an issue with our last fridge that required a $150 repair, but other than that they’ve been rock solid. We love them and I’ve heard the same story about energy use—never bothered to check if it’s true. The one downside is that they form a tight door seal right after you open them, so you have to wait a minute to open the fridge again. Which leads to lots of leaving the fridge door open while you work or yelling nooooo as you see the door swinging shut.

FWIW, we’ve had Bosch and Miele dishwashers and I prefer the layout of the Miele. Our current house is ~20 yrs old and the only appliance we replaced was the Bosch d/w because they just weren’t getting things clean and we missed the top silverware rack. DH is *very* resistant to spending on things like this, especially when we already have something that’s functional. Within a month he was researching dishwashers trying to find the Miele we used to have.

Our current house has a Wolfe cooktop and separate double ovens. Last house had a standalone commercial style stove. Also fwiw, I much prefer the separate ovens—they preheat much faster.

 

[tb001]

Thanks for the information. It really helps to hear from people who own and use them that you’ve had a positive experience and don’t regret the purchase.

We were initially thinking of the 42” French door model, but after researching it further, we are considering a really big splurge - a 36” column refrigerator with a 24” freezer. We cook and entertain at home a lot and have never had a fridge and freezer that weren’t packed to the gills. It would be such a luxury to have a nice wide fridge and freezer, and the big built-in units look just beautiful.

BTD for sure. They are offering a small deal - 3 year warranty extension of the 2 year manufacturer’s warranty - so total of 5 years OR a $1,000 rebate if you buy a SubZero fridge plus a couple of Wolf appliances. We’re looking seriously at the Wolf speed oven (combo microwave, convection, and broiler) and a single regular/convection oven combo, plus the Wolf induction cooktop. We will likely take the extended warranty over the cash.

We thought we were going to buy a Bosch dishwasher but the appliance dealers and reviews have convinced us to go for the Miele. Supposedly you can wash Riedel glassware in it, and DH loves the idea of not having to hand wash our wine glasses. Both Bosch and Miele dishwashers now have a feature where they automatically pop open after the drying cycle to allow the plastics to air dry. Not sure how long air drying plastic containers will take without first dumping out the water that accumulates on top of them, so that feature may just be a gimmick.

We got the Miele with the pop open door. It’s fantastic. The only time we have issues is when something ends up upside down and accumulates a lot of water. We run them at night, so they have plenty of time to dry, but it makes a big difference. The wine glass holders are great. Never broken a glass.

 

[Golden sunsets]

We gut renovated our kitchen in 2006 and installed a built in panel ready Subzero and have had no problems since then. We also installed a Subzero wine cooler but that lasted only 7 years. We replaced it with a Viking last year. Our other appliances are all Viking Professional series and they have been just as reliable as the SubZero frig. I believe Viking makes a panel ready frig and if I were to do it over again, I would probably purchase a Viking.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We have never had a refrigerator last less than 10 years.

 

[Music Lover]

My current fridge is a $800 floor model bottom freezer Kenmore bought 20 years ago when I remodeled the kitchen. It keeps food and the right temperature and is still going strong.

We've looked at Subzero but we're both too cheap to spend that much for what we feel is little to no additional advantage.

 

[BeachOrCity]

My husband is frustrated that our Whirlpool model from the 1980s just WON’T DIE!!!!

On subzero make sure you understand and are ok that right after the fridge door shuts it is hard to reopen right away because of the pressure seal. Atleast that is how they used to work. Annoying if you are the type who goes in and out of the fridge a lot while cooking.

 

[Moemg]

We have never had a refrigerator last less than 10 years.

You are lucky ! I had an expensive LG side by side die at 31/2 years .

 

[harley]

My husband is frustrated that our Whirlpool model from the 1980s just WON’T DIE!!!!

On subzero make sure you understand and are ok that right after the fridge door shuts it is hard to reopen right away because of the pressure seal. Atleast that is how they used to work. Annoying if you are the type who goes in and out of the fridge a lot while cooking.

My 12 y.o. one does that too. It's just trained me to get everything I need at once. And it only lasts for a few seconds.

 

[davebarnes]

Some like the feature and some don't

On subzero make sure you understand and are ok that right after the fridge door shuts it is hard to reopen right away because of the pressure seal. Atleast that is how they used to work. Annoying if you are the type who goes in and out of the fridge a lot while cooking.

Not anymore.
Our 1987 Sub-Zero did that and I liked it.
Our 2017 does not and I called them to complain. LOL.

 

[Scuba]

Not anymore.

Our 1987 Sub-Zero did that and I liked it.

Our 2017 does not and I called them to complain. LOL.

They now sell a kit that makes it easier to open. You just push on the handle. $99 extra.

 

[CoolRich59]

I say "yes".

When we moved into our current home we inherited an older (20+ years) SubZero fridge. Nothing fancy, no bells or whistles, but it worked fine. A couple of years later, the compressor went out.

The estimate for the repair would have been half the price of a brand new fridge, so we junked the SubZero and bought a fancy new LG -- and it is a piece of garbage. In the first year, we had to have the ice maker on the LG serviced five times.

Earlier this summer, we had a local appliance service shop out to look at our malfunctioning dryer. I got to talking with the service tech and told him about the fridge. He said it would have been well worth the money to fix the SubZero.

 

[Scuba]

I say "yes".

When we moved into our current home we inherited an older (20+ years) SubZero fridge. Nothing fancy, no bells or whistles, but it worked fine. A couple of years later, the compressor went out.

The estimate for the repair would have been half the price of a brand new fridge, so we junked the SubZero and bought a fancy new LG -- and it is a piece of garbage. In the first year, we had to have the ice maker on the LG serviced five times.

Earlier this summer, we had a local appliance service shop out to look at our malfunctioning dryer. I got to talking with the service tech and told him about the fridge. He said it would have been well worth the money to fix the SubZero.

Our previous LG fridge was also junk, even though it was their most expensive model. We have become convinced by people here as well as at the appliance stores that you really are getting quality when you buy a SubZero. We are getting a 30”fridge with a 24” freezer. Really wanted a 36” fridge but decided our kitchen layout was better with the 54” combo. I’m looking forward to it!

Thanks to all who commented with your experiences.