Richard, I had a side by side, big-as-they-get Samsung. It was the best fridge I ever had. It kept an even temp throughout the entire box. It had nice features. On its 3rd birthday the fridge side stopped functioning. The motherboard had died.
When the repairman walked into the kitchen, he groaned and said "Korean." Then, "At least it's not an LG." He said the part would take two weeks. Other brands he said took a day or two. Ten weeks, and a bunch of phone calls later (Samsung does not take individual customer calls, or didn't 5 years ago), we threw it away. Same with our "top pick" LG vacuum. No parts available.
I looked to see what brand had the fewest amount of repairs at the time. It was Whirlpool. I hate it. It freezes foods up against some walls, doesn't have great lighting, etc. It has been fine, otherwise so far. It was not expensive.
I've been told that there aren't 20-year fridges, or even 10-year fridges anymore. 5-7 years, with one repair ea., avg. People get rid of them when the 2nd repair pops up shortly thereafter. After being told that by more than one kitchen designer, I'm not going for any bells or whistles.
BTW, I always really liked Amana, but I hear they're not what they were, either. Just ask if there will be parts readily available for whatever you choose.
