Home Depot appliance buying experience

1988 Views 9 Replies 7 Participants Last post by raylo32, Dec 8, 2012

raylo32

Discussion Starter · Dec 7, 2012

I just wanted to post my recent experience with Home Depot as a cautionary note to those of you in the market for major appliances.

I planned to surprise my girfriend by installing a new dishwasher in her place when she was away for a weekend. Ordered it from Home Depot.com, set up delivery for my Friday off. Delivery came right on time and it looked OK to me at first. Box looked fine, the delivery guys were in and out quick and nothing stuck out at me so I accepted it. Later on when I went to slide it into place I discovered that the lower part of the frame was bent and bowed just enough to keep it from going in. Also made the door difficult to operate.

So I call them and explain the problem and they agree to bring me another one... in a week. OK, not ideal but that's life and I can handle that.

So next Friday comes and I take the day off, delivery comes on time again and the dishwasher looks unbent at least. Then I open the door and the inside (SS tub) is covered with water droplets. Delivery guys say it must be condensation (it was super cold inside the dishwasher, must have sat out overnight in the truck). Otherwise looks OK. I would have rejected it again but I have already taken the day off and the GF would then have to go at least another week without a working DW. So I installed it. During the install I found that one of the hose spring clamps was rusty. It was supposed to be blue but was in fact rust orange. Also, when I laid the DW on its back to make up the drain hose connection (as directed) there was enough water in there to make an audible slosh. Seems a stretch that enough humid air could get into a sealed box and then by the rubber door seals to produce that much condensation even on a 30 degree night.

What I think is going on is that they are playing some shenanagins with damaged and/or returned appliances, placing them in undamaged boxes to cover it up... and hoping that folks accept them. I am a little pissed off that I accepted the one with water in it but I just didn't have the time to go through all that again and waste another day off.

But luckily the DW seems to work well so far and looks OK cosmetically... and we do have the mfgs warranty... but I really wonder what caused that much water to be inside and if there might be some long term implications.

So my advice: if you buy an appliance from these guys don't let them rush you. If they do it's a good bet there is a reason beyond their delivery schedule. Do a very thorough inspection.

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jomama45

· #2 · Dec 7, 2012

I've had a few different dishwashers installed over the last few years, at home and at our apt. complex, and I'm fairly confident all of them had a little water in them from testing, or at least that's what my plumber told me it was from.

On a side note, I'd be more concerned with a GF that couldn't go a week w/o a dishwasher. I made my wife go for 10 years w/o one, it took the second baby, and the huge amount of dishes/bottles that comes with kids, for me to cave in..........:laughing:

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raylo32

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 7, 2012

That's interesting about the water possibly being from testing. It would make sense.... I have done a lot of DIY including furnace, and water heaters... but never before a dishwasher so I don't have the experience with them to know what to expect. But you'd think they might mention that in the install manual... The first one they delivered (the bent up one) was bone dry.

I am going to get another one of these soon for my house (it is a nice quiet DW) to replace my ancient noisy one but from a different seller. We'll see if it is dry or sloshing...

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SuperJETT

· #4 · Dec 7, 2012

Our new dishwasher had water from testing as well. It was brand spanking new, no doubt about that based on the packaging/etc. Then again it also had to be ordered since it wasn't in stock.

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oh'mike

· #5 · Dec 7, 2012

Yep---most have a bit of water in them---never had one slosh---but a dribble or two is common enough---

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raylo32

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 7, 2012

Thanks for the feedback guys. I feel a little better about the purchase now knowing that some amount of water is common. Yes, the packaging looked new and the wire ends hadn't been twisted. So maybe it was in fact a new unit as promised. The model I ordered is apparently a new one... not stocked locally so probably came straight from Whirlpool. It did have a slosh and a gurgle when I tipped it. One thing I was a little concerned about was the possibility that it could have frozen up with water in the pump since temps got down into the 20s that night. When I opened up the door it felt like a refrigerator inside but no signs of ice. But water droplets everwhere, slightly discolored/spotted SS tub(that cleared up after it was run the first time through a dry cycle), wilted energy use placard, and the slosh/gurgle during the install.

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hardwareman

· #7 · Dec 7, 2012

you are right to be cautious about Home Depot appliance purchases but in this case, nothing to worry about. All dishwashers get a quick test run at the factory before being sent out the door.

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stephen9666

· #8 · Dec 8, 2012

Yup, dishwashers are frequently tested with water at the factory. You can see it on the How It's Made episode on dishwashers, which is available on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lFuLm5yOIM

Home depot doesn't have the ability to repackage items back in the factory packaging. If the factory packaging hasn't been opened, it's probably still new.

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hammerlane

· #9 · Dec 8, 2012

raylo32 said:
So my advice: if you buy an appliance from these guys don't let them rush you. If they do it's a good bet there is a reason beyond their delivery schedule. Do a very thorough inspection.

Do you really think when the delivery guys leave the warehouse, the warehouse manager says...OK now this one is used and bent so try and get then to sign quickly...this one is new so take your time...etc.

I do agree that an inspection should be done at delivery.

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raylo32

Discussion Starter · #10 · Dec 8, 2012

One would hope not but I was starting to wonder.... I have bought a lot of appliances online: gas grill, gas range, refrigerator, furnace, water heater, all installed DIY. Never had an issue with a freight delivery. But 2 problems in a week? Well, after you guys say that some water is normal in diswashers maybe the water wasn't an indication of it having been used. But I think mine must have had more than most and the thing had to be mishandled (inverted?) in some way to have the water distributed all through the interior, spotting the SS, wetting the placards, rusting the clamps, etc. Hard to know if it happened at the mfg or in the HD warehouse. But at least it wasn't bent and it works.

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