Major appliances with major prices

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, Jan, 1998 by Jane Bennett Clark

Whipping up a dinner of Rice-A-Roni doesn't take fancy equipment, but cooks who pride themselves on their risottos are one force behind the trend toward equipping kitchens with ovens, cooktops, refrigerators and dishwashers at prices that may make you blanch. Many buyers of upscale appliances at sky's-the-limit prices are serious cooks who spend a good deal of time slaving over au courant cooktops. But noncooking status-seekers with an eye on resale value are also contributing to a hot market in upscale appliances, says Michael Storms, a New York City kitchen designer.

High-end appliances tend to offer more accessories than a Barbie doll factory, but add-ons aren't their only attraction (and some super-upscale appliances, such as Aga and La Cornue ovens, have relatively few functions). With all boutique models, you can expect high-quality materials, extra insulation, sleek styling and longer warranties than on mid-price models.

For instance, most refrigerators offer a one-year warranty on parts and labor and a five-year warranty on the sealed system. Sub-Zero and other high-end refrigerators offer at least a two-year warranty on parts and labor and a five-year warranty on the sealed system, with an additional seven-year limited warranty on parts. As for service, "all the major metro areas provide good service for the better lines," says Storms, but you may have trouble finding authorized technicians for obscure brands in less populated areas.

One thing such appliances won't guarantee is a significant return on your investment. "Nobody has ever said to me, `See if you can find me a house with a Sub-Zero refrigerator,'" says Lois Schenck, a real estate agent in Baltimore, who says kitchen appliances rank far behind location and layout among home buyers' priorities. And that cobalt-blue Viking stove you spent thousands of dollars for eight years ago might be a turnoff to people who don't like the color or who want a newer product.

You'd be hard pressed to find anyone better able to tell you what works and what doesn't in the kitchen than a professional chef. So we asked three well-known cooks what brands grace their own kitchens.

KINGS OF COOL

For refrigerators, substance plus status usually. add up to Sub-Zero, a maker of built-in appliances whose biggest models provide 30 cubic feet or more of storage space without jutting into the kitchen like a small iceberg. Sub-Zeros are installed flush with standard cabinets and can be faced with the same material as your cabinets or with stainless steel, the trendy option in kitchen appliances right now despite an unfortunate tendency to show fingerprints.

Perhaps more significantly, Sub-Zeros, at $2,000 to $4,500 for the full-size models (plus the cost of the panels), use one compressor for the freezer and another for the refrigerator, rather than a single compressor for both. The advantage? You can set the freezer temperature to molecule-stopping levels, low enough to preserve items for long periods, without putting refrigerated food in the deep-freeze as well. Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Cake Bible (see the box below), says she relies on that feature for storing as many as seven pies at a time.

Sub-Zero recommends that owners clean (or have a professional clean) the refrigerator's condenser every three to six months so that dust does not get into the working parts. That may be a good idea for a less-expensive refrigerator, too, says Diane White of Sub-Zero, but "we make a point to emphasize it more." Mollie Katzen, author of The Moosewood Cookbook, doesn't like her Sub-Zero's freezer-on-the-bottom configuration: "I made the mistake of buying the freezer on the bottom -- the freezer is one big drawer, and it's impossible to organize. I don't like getting down on my knees to look for something. So I'm going to go for a side-by-side next time."

For fridge connoisseurs, cooler even than the Sub-Zero is the Traulsen refrigerator, a two-compressor commercial model whose glass front allows you to spot the foie gras without opening the door. Although Traulsen stopped making the $12,000-plus appliances for residential use several years ago, some customers are reportedly salvaging old units for their see-through snob appeal, says Alane MacKay of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.

Besides Traulsen and Sub-Zero, you can also get a built-in look with a top-of-the-line Amana ($1,800 to $1,900) or one of General Electric's Monogram models ($3,500 to $4,700). Both come with only one compressor but offer nifty features such as wine caddies, gallon storage in the door and those must-have stainless-steel panels. Through-the-door ice dispensers and adjustable humidity controls for produce drawers are standard on most high-end refrigerators nowadays; a little more esoteric are Sub-Zero's alarm, which goes off if you leave the door ajar, and Frigidaire's built-in water filter.

Sub-Zero also sells a two-drawer refrigerator or freezer you can install under a counter for extra storage, a handy idea at a hefty $2,000. A wine chiller with an inset humidor for cigars runs about $1,900 from Marvel Industries, in Richmond, Ind., which specializes in under-the-counter refrigeration units.