Repair-prone kitchen ranges

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- With the holidays coming, every cook needs a reliable stove. But Consumer Reports finds big differences in reliability based on its survey covering more than 67,000 gas and electric ranges bought in the last five years. Popular brands such as KitchenAid and Jenn-Air have proved among the most repair-prone.

Consumer Reports does the survey every year, and though it doesn't have repair histories of individual models, it has found that you are much less likely to need repairs if you buy from a brand with a good record of reliability.

Among the most reliable electric ranges: Hotpoint, General Electric, and Whirlpool. Among the most reliable gas ranges: Hotpoint, GE, and Kenmore.

What about pro-style ranges that can cost thousands? Consumer Reports surveyed more than 500 of its readers who own one. The repair rate is significantly higher for those expensive ranges. Of those bought in the last five years, more than a third needed to be repaired. And 9 percent of them needed to be repaired three times or more. Repairs for pro-style ranges averaged $100 or more than repairs for standard stoves. It was also harder to find a qualified repairperson for the pricier ranges.

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consumer, christine park

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