Anyone have experience with refurbished vintage appliances?

[mandarin2j]

We're re-doing our kitchen and looking for a 1930's to '50's kind of feel & are interested in how we can fit appliances into that look. The harvest gold stove has gotta go! I should note that we're doing this on a major budget. DH keeps noting that we're not restoring, we're just remodeling, and he's right. We're doing this with an eye to resale value, but it's a small (927 sq. feet) starter home, so we don't want to sink too much into creating a feel of authenticity. So new retro-looking appliances are out.

My theory about stoves is that the new ones we could afford (up to $500-ish on an electric model) are not terribly different from a well-maintained or well-restored vintage stove in terms of what it can do, except for some fancy options like self-cleaning and so on. Fridges are another story because old 1950's fridges(in my experience)are totally lame. The freezer part of the fridge in my first apartment turned ice cream to soup but looked like a ski slope within two weeks of defrosting. Not sure how we'll deal with that. But if anyone has any experiences to share about buying refurbished vintage appliances (or using vintage appliances in the home), I'd love to hear them.

TIA!

-Amanda

[SusanT]

I stumbled accross some refurbished vintage appliances online and they're incredibly expensive (way over $2,000). You might have better luck finding one locally and having it refurbished or finding one that someone's discarding for a remodel.

If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't go with a refurbished vintage range. While it may fit the look more, the performance just won't be the same. You can buy very good ranges for around $500. I think a new appliance will be more attractive to a potential buyer. A self cleaning oven may not be important to you but it may be imporant to a buyer.

Of course, I'm about to replace a twelve year old electric with a new gas range, so I'm certainly biased against older appliances.

P.S. If the current range is working ok, have you considered having it painted and re-porcelained?

[kirkbyky]

One thing to consider for older appliances (especially fridges) is that they will eat through your electric bill!! A refrigerator older than 10 yrs will use up approx 4 times the amount of energy that a new one will. In 3-4 years, thats the price of a new fridge.

Kyle

[mandarin2j]

I did some calling around to local used appliance places and found that I'm looking at $1,000 or more for a used stove. Grrrrr. I guess I'll have to compromise the look somewhat, because we can't spend that much, and certainly not if the energy costs escalate appreciably. Oh well. Someday, I'll have my dream kitchen with vintage looking appliances, only brand new. Someday, after student loans are paid off & we have more disposable cash. :( At least the kitchen itself will look authentic.

-Amanda

[mandarin2j]

Originally posted by SusanT
P.S. If the current range is working ok, have you considered having it painted and re-porcelained?

I looked into that--there's a place locally that re-enamels old tubs, and their brochure had kitchen appliances as well. The guy I called sounded surprised that I asked about the stove, though, so I bet they don't get called on to do that very frequently. Since we're committed to spending about $500 on a stove, I think we'll go with new at this point. I envy you, getting a gas range. Maybe our oil furnace will konk out and I'll have a good excuse to convert everything to gas! ;)

-Amanda