The Fiat of Refrigerators

When I was a kid, my parents drove Fiats. There’s some truth to the old joke about what does Fiat stand for? Fix It Again, Tony; the head mechanic at the dealership was named Tony. For a long time, there was a Fiat engine block in our basement (long story, Dad swore the oil pan just fell off). At one point or another, they had an 850 spider, a 124 spider, and a station wagon that I can’t recall the model number (but the interwebs insists must have been a 124or a 131). I’m pretty sure there was another convertible and maybe another sedan in there too.

The last Fiat to grace our parking area was what I recall having been a 136 Brava. It was the first Fiat we’d ever had with Air Conditioning! Oh the modern advances! However, it would be proper to point out that the AC and heat never worked very well in that car. Somehow nobody else considered it an issue at the time. “There’s nothing wrong with your car.” “They all do that.” “It’s perfectly normal.” “Oh come on, it’s not that cold.” In the end it was the problem that got my family out of Fiats altogether.

It was my birthday, and there was a buffet restaurant a ways south of town that would give you a free dinner on your birthday. I was probably 9 or 10, and it was the dead of winter. On the way home, I announced that it was my birthday, and I was riding in front! My father, whose hatred of the cold was second only to Sam McGee, rode in back, teeth chattering. I wish I had thought do to it sooner.

That car was gone within 3 days.

This is not a post about the new management at Chrysler. Trust me, I have stories involving a 1978 LeBaron that are almost that good. This one advertises a “rebuilt transmission”. I sure hope so, since Dad went through 4 trannys (and 7 torque converters) in the time he drove it.

Nope, this is a post about our recently departed Samsung Refrigerator.

We purchased this faux-stainless model new two years ago when we purchased our current home. It really seemed nice sitting in the store. However, once you actually try to put food in it, things seemed different. The layout was sub-optimal, with lots of wasted space. The water dispenser always seemed a bit slow. Some months later the “change water filter” light came on. Replacements were unavailable anywhere in the nation for several more months.

A few weeks ago, we noticed that the ice-maker was not keeping up with our demand. This was frustrating, since among other reasons one needs ice to shake a proper martini. We fiddled around with troubleshooting and reset  buttons.

Tuesday evening, we realized that it was starting to be not-particularly-cold in the fridge. We got out the thermometer and our suspicions were confirmed. At least we found out early enough that I could go get ice and save a lot of the contents of the freezer. A large cooler and a mini-fridge from the garage saved us much greater disaster.

In the morning, we called Samsung to see if by some fluke, our problem might be covered by warranty or recall. The answer could be summed up as “maybe”. I called around to see what a service call would cost. Everyplace I talked to said that they don’t service Samsung appliances because it’s too hard to get parts. Remembering our experience with the filter, I could see their point. Even if it was simple and easily repaired, it can’t be fixed without parts.

Since we have no desire to be without a full-size fridge for weeks while parts come in — assuming we can even find a repair person who will figure out what parts are needed — we purchased a new fridge by noon, and it arrived that evening. It’s a joy to have a cold fridge that actually makes adequate quantities of ice.

A quick search tells me that we are not alone in having problems with these units. While looking, my partner was told that Samsung was “one of our most popular units.” Gee, I’m sorry.

No “in closing” tonight. Have a great weekend.