I'm curious, you seemed to have a pretty bad experience with your first AEG fridge. What made you go for the same brand again?

It wasn't my first choice, but when ordering an entire kitchen, it's easiest when all machines come from the same manufacturer. Bosch was another option, but slightly more expensive. AEG let us stay within our budget.

And although I admit I've hated AEG for their crappy fridge, it's probably not AEG's fault. It was installed by an independent installer, and it seems he royally fucked up. Although I think we did have an AEG mechanic take a look at the fridge, and he didn't fix the problems. So AEG isn't entirely blameless.

Still, they're supposed to be good, even if our fridge was basically wasted.

In the end, though, it was really my wife who made the decision. She apparently doesn't hold irrational grudges against manufacturers like I do.

I think a brand is a very poor predictor of quality. For starters, the link between brand and manufacturer is tenuous at best. Brands get sold all the time.

There are only two or three big manufacturers left, and they each own many brands. They rotate which one is reliable to create more consumer confusion and trick you into buying major appliances more frequently.

The difference between a 3 year and 20 year fridge is usually only a few dollars (maybe 10), and has nothing to do with efficiency.

Case in point: The outer shell of new chest freezers are made of substantially thinner sheet metal and paint. This causes them to dent rapidly, and, in moist climates, rust through. It also reduces shipping and manufacturing costs, since it cuts the weight by a few pounds.

> They rotate which one is reliable to create more consumer confusion and trick you into buying major appliances more frequently.

Do you have a source for this? It may well be true, but to my ear it sounds like one of those "everybody knows..." conspiracy theories.