recommendations for dishwasher?

[TahliasMom]

the dishwasher that came with my place is 15 yrs old and starting to leak. the seals are going out partly because it wasn't used for a year (place was vacant) and partly because the seals are old. so it's leaking all over the place. hoping to get a replacement this week and seeking recommendations. nothing fancy, under $500. i went to look at sears and i was overwhelmed.
thanks
Kat

[ellies mom]

I have noticed that having more of a selection makes it a lot harder to make a decision.

So your choices are to go someplace with only a few dishwashers and just buy one or going to a place like Sears with a plan. The absolute first thing to do is to decide what is important to you. For us, the important features were quiet operation, delayed start, metal interior and not flipping my glasses upside down. That was it. So we could ignore all the other features such as 15 different wash settings and super easy upper rack height adjustments

The thing with Sears is that all of their Kenmore dishwashers are made by the same people that make the rest of their dishwashers. So you can buy a dishwasher made by Bosch, Whirlpool or Kitchenaid with the Kenmore logo. What we did was to look at the different makers that had dishwashers in our price range and then at the Kenmores to see who made them. The Bosch and Kitchenaid ones especially are very distinctive inside. Think about the dishes that you put in your dishwasher and how they are going to fit in the racks. That nixed the Boschs dishwashers for us right away. We ended up liking the Kitchenaid the best. So we looked at those and the Kenmores made by Kitchenaid. Then compare prices. Sometimes the Kitchenaids may be on sale and are cheaper than the Kenmore counterparts and sometimes the Kenmores are on sale. It may help to ask if they have any big sales coming up as well.

[ThreeofUs]

I agree with Veronica. First, think about the features you want. Do you want sanitizing? Do you want a child lock? What finish?

Then go looking. (I'd start at Consumer Reports, but that's just me, lol.) When you find the model you want, get Sears, Lowe's and Home Depot to bid against each other. Get the best price with:
-free delivery
-free set-up
-free take away of the old appliance
and maybe 90-180 days same as cash.

GL!