If you are considering buying a production-built home in a new subdivision, you’d better set aside a separate bundle of cash for that important item rarely included in the package price: the refrigerator.
Many builders leave this appliance (along with washers and dryers) out of the sale price, even though a range, stove vent and dishwasher are likely to be included.
Not every home buyer is a first-time buyer, noted Michael Menas, vice president of Deer Point Homes Development Corp. in Hainesville; many buyers already have their own appliances, which they want to bring to the new home.
An exception is KLM Builders, which includes Whirlpool appliances at the Woods of Antioch, a subdivision of single-family houses priced from $170,900.
President Kim Meier said KLM chose Whirlpool’s top line–the same as appliances featured in the builder’s more pricey $229,000 Breezy Lawn Estates in Spring Grove (where homes begin at $229,000)–because of consumer recognition.
Another sales point was Whirlpool’s 24-hour service hotline, Meier.
KLM offers appliance upgrades and also will credit buyers who prefer to shop for their own appliances.
But mostly, home buyers have the freedom–or the burden, depending on your point of view–of choosing their own refrigerators.
Anybody in the market for a new refrigerator can find a perfectly satisfactory 18-cubic-foot model from most manufacturers for about $400; this is large enough for a family of four’s average needs.
But the 20- to 24-cubic-foot models, which run from about $800 to $1,000, are the best sellers, with the 24 cubic foot model the easiest to fit in the average kitchen, according to Erika Gasperik, a sales associate at Circuit City in Vernon Hills; she has been selling refrigerators for 30 years.
The very basic model has wire shelves instead of the newer, easier-to-clean glass shelves. It has no icemaker, but its insulation and compressors are the same as in all models in all price ranges.
The industry more or less regulates itself in the area of performance in order to remain competitive, s id Gasperik. In recent years, refrigerators have become about 40 percent cheaper to run, Gasperik said.
At Circuit City, prices of same-size refrigerators are pretty much the same, regardless of brand.
Highly popular right now for customers looking for up grades are the side-by-sides in the 27- or 30-cubic foot size.
With price tags around $1,500, these models brag outside dispensers for water, ice cubes and crushed ice. This feature can help lower electricity bills because it’s not necessary to open the refrigerator door so often.
At ABT in Morton Grove, the most popular sizes are also the 20- to 24-cubic-foot models in the $599 to $899 range. These have deli drawers, slide-out shelves, temperature control and optional icemakers. Store manager Wayne Cobb said only about three out of 10 buyers choose the icemakers.
And if you are one of those fortunate shoppers for whom the sky’s the limit, you’re ready for brands like Sub-Zero or Pro Chef or Trauslen, all in the $5,000 to $8,000 range. These beauties are all side-by-sides, each 48 inches wide, have dual compressors for better temperature control and offer a variety of ice makers.
Plass Appliance and Electronics in Highland Park, which specializes in high-end appliances, carries the Trauslen brand, which features stainless steel inside and out.
Sub Zero and Pro Chef offer so many front panel choices to integrate them into a new designer kitchen, they seem to be designed so that you won’t even know they are refrigerators.
Because they are special orders, you can pretty much make any changes you want.
Who buys these luxury models, and why does anyone need an $8,000 refrigerator?”Frankly,” said one dealer, “it’s often because a neighbor has one and they have to have one just like it.”
