By the Numbers: Haier buys 20 percent stake in Fisher & Paykel. Is this the appliance world's version of Fiat buying Chrysler?

$50 million

Approximate amount Chinese appliance maker Haier is paying for a 20 percent stake in Fisher & Paykel, a New Zealand appliance manufacturer. The deal shoud help both countries grow beyond their home markets, according to this recent article in The Wall Street Journal.

Haier has been looking to expand its holdings but was outbid by Whirlpool for Maytag in 2004 and last year dropped a bid for General Electric's appliances unit. (Find out who makes which appliances in "Appliance Sleuthing.")

The stake in Fisher & Paykel "will allow Haier to share the marketing and research-and-development resources of Fisher & Paykel in the high-end whiteware market," according to a Haier statement.

Could the investment turn out to be a mixed blessing? Like the Chrysler-Fiat deal, it involves a company (Fisher & Paykel = Chrysler) whose product performance in our tests and reliability are often less than stellar and one (Haier = Fiat) whose appliances are generally aimed at the lower end of the market. Some Haier products do well in our tests, including the ESAD4066 air conditioner, part of our July 2009 report on air conditioning (report and ratings available to subscribers).

Fisher & Paykel, along with Amana, has been among the more repair-prone brands of top-loading washing machines; brand-reliability data, based on responses to the Consumer Reports Annual Product Reliability Survey, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center are available to subscribers. (The Fisher & Paykel Intuitive IWL16 top-loading washing machine is shown.) And the New Zealand company has been the the most repair-prone brand of dishwashers, according to our survey.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Flame or acclaim your appliances on our recently redesigned appliances forums.

User Reviews: Useful, but know what you’re using

Type in the words user reviews on Google, and you'll get more than 160 million results. As many as 80 percent of shoppers nationwide now base at least part of their buying decision on these digitized experiences, including the ones on model pages, available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers. You'll also find user reviews on retailer sites like Amazon, Home Depot, Lowe's, Sears, and thousands of others.

User reviews can provide the feeling of reassurance you'd get from a friend or neighbor. Some cover models Consumer Reports hasn't tested. And many offer unique insights about specific models, including breakage and other durability complaints that may not show up in our tests or brand-repair surveys. Even months of rigorous testing may not uncover flaws that could take a year or more of everyday use to surface, which is why we monitor user reviews closely. What's more, an unreliable model may be too new or too limited in sales to affect our survey results for an otherwise-reliable brand.

That's why we were concerned when roughly half of the more than 100 user reviews for the Hoover WindTunnel Bagless S3765-040 and the Kenmore Progressive 27514 canister vacuums cited durability complaints. Both are CR Best Buys. Both also come from brands that have been reasonably reliable in our surveys. We noted those issues in our most recent report on upright and canister vacuums and promised to follow up. Our research confirms that user reviews, while often helpful, may not tell the whole story.

Our experts at the Consumer Reports National Research Center began by recontacting more than 1,200 Hoover and Kenmore canister owners who responded to our online Annual Questionnaire on brand reliability. The number who owned the Hoover WindTunnel and Kenmore Progressive was similar to the user-review total for those models. But our scientific sampling provided a more-representative look at their experiences—good, bad, and indifferent. It also yielded different results:

According to our respondents, both models broke less than the average in our surveys for those canister brands, even when we included broken belts—an inexpensive do-it-yourself repair we don't score in our repair data. Most who owned the Hoover and nearly all who owned the Kenmore said they would definitely or probably buy that model again.

Our research into user reviews for vacuums highlights several factors that can skew reviews for other products or services, wherever you find them:

• People are likelier to review a product they strongly like or dislike than something they find simply okay. Our analysis of more than 1,800 user reviews for uprights and nearly 500 for canisters found that most were either very positive or very negative, with few in between. Good surveys, including our brand-repair surveys, are designed to eliminate those biases. They also eliminate biases related to a product's age and other factors, which user reviews don't do.

• Even the most thorough reviewer may lack the context that comes from extensive side-by-side tests. For example, few could buy, test, and comprehensively compare the roughly 30 cars or trucks, 60 vacuums, and 80 refrigerators and TVs in a typical Consumer Reports Ratings. A model someone loves or hates could be far less lovable or loathsome if the same person compared it with several dozen other models.

• Some reviewers may be especially hard on a product or use it incorrectly. And some may inadvertently praise or pan the wrong model, since vacuums and other appliances can include 20 or more letters and numbers a reviewer may—or may not—get right.

• Users and manufacturers may also try to skew the results by intentionally posting biased reviews themselves or through others. Some reviewers could actually be shills.

All of those issues explain why we don't base our Ratings and model recommendations on user reviews. That doesn't mean they aren't a useful adjunct to our unbiased, scientific tests and brand-repair surveys. User reviews can also tell you about unique features that meet special needs. Just don't assume they're all unbiased or scientific.

The bottom line: Consumer Reports buys and tests more than 3,000 products and analyzes more than 1 million survey responses each year to create our Ratings and brand-repair histories. We're taking a close look at all of our model-specific user reviews in an ongoing effort to learn from them and make them as helpful as possible. Meanwhile, use our Ratings and repair data first for something you'd buy for yourself or a loved one. Then use our user reviews to help inform that decision.

We invite you to share your experiences in our user reviews and forums.

Forum Friday: Top forums in recent weeks

Washing machines: This has been the most popular appliances forum recently, with the least-repair-prone front-loading washer and LG washer smell among the hottest discussions. These topics have emerged as our other top forums.

Vacuums: Vacuum aficionados have been posting in our best vacuums topic, while picks and pans of deep and steam cleaners have drawn numerous reviews.

Refrigerators: A newer French-door refrigerator discussion has sprung up to replace the old discussion on the same topic, along with a call for the quietest refrigerator.

Mattresses: The hottest non-appliance forum has many folks chatting about latex mattresses. And thanks to the member who posted the last word on how to buy a mattress.

Dishwashers: The I love my dishwasher discussion continues with passionate posts. Can top one member’s tale of her 24-year-old dishwasher?

Central heat/air conditioning: Cold weather and energy prices probably stoked discussions, like Which gas furnace should I buy?, which ranks as our most viewed discussion. We're looking forward to responses to a member's call for opinions on integrated heating and hot-water systems.

Ranges: These kitchen appliances have seen more activity as the holiday-cooking season kicked off and Consumer Reports published new ratings. The pros and cons of induction cooking is especially useful.

Small appliances: Coffeemakers dominate here. As detailed in a recent Forum Friday, numerous threads are percolating away in the wake of our latest review of coffeemakers.

Dryers: You’ll find numerous discussions of particular brands and some interesting exchanges on ventless condensation dryers and ways to prevent clothes and sheets from “balling.”

While it didn't crack the Top 10 in traffic, the energy saving in your home forum has had some wonderful insights to put more green in your holidays.

Protect Your Investment: Repairs for your washing machine

Perhaps you've experienced this scenario: Your washing machine is broken but you're not sure whether you should repair it or replace it. Replacing your clunker of an appliance will be pricey, but determining repair costs can be elusive until you’ve sprung for the initial service call—and then you fret over whether the quoted price for the fix is legit. Meanwhile, loads of laundry are piling up and the kids are clamoring for their favorite jeans or hoodies.

That's why we've consulted with RepairClinic.com, an appliance-parts retailer whose site offers diagnostic, maintenance, and repair advice for appliances, to help you with the most common washer problems. In the table below (click on the read more option), we've listed the typical costs for a DIY fix and a professional repair for the most common problems with washing machines. Prices for pro repairs include parts.

Front-loading washing machines have become more popular in recent years, with U.S. consumers apparently willing to pay more for the better cleaning performance these appliances typically deliver. Professional repairs for front-loaders tend to cost more than they do for top-loaders, too.

Most washing machines are worth fixing if they are three or four years old or less (available to subscribers). But we suggest that you replace your washer when repairing it would cost 50 percent or more of the cost of a comparable new model. For more details, read our guide to repairing or replacing your appliances.—Ed Perratore

Essential information: The best of today's washers provide superior cleaning while using less energy and water. Visit our washing-machine product page for more details, including a breakdown of types, features, brands, and, for subscribers, ratings and brand repair history.

End-of-year deals on top performers

Discounted prices on many home appliances abound at this time of year, but a discount alone doesn't make a product a good deal—you need solid performance, too. The following high-scoring items from our tests are on sale at national retailers:

One of our sharp-eyed market analysts tipped us off to a timely sale on the Kenmore Progressive With Direct Drive 35923 vacuum, similar to the 35922, which sits atop our ratings. This upright is now sale through December 6 at Sears for $230. "That's $120 off its regular retail and the lowest price I've seen on it,” wrote our analyst.

Costco is offering Cyber Monday prices on dozens of products. The Whirlpool Duet front-loading washer and dryer set with pedestals are on sale for $1,750; our reviews of the similar WFW8300S[W] washer and WED8500S[R] dryer (available to subscribers) can help you decide whether this laundry combo is right for you.

Kohl’s is promoting 45 percent off many cookware sets we've reviewed until December 6. And the Cuisinart DCC-1200, which topped our latest report on automatic drip coffeemakers, is marked down to $80.

At the Home Depot, sales continue on cordless drills, gas grills, and ceiling fans.

Essential information: Learn more about vacuums, washing machines, and dryers. Then read our survey-based report on finding the best appliance deals.

Buzzword: Reliability

What it means. The word reliable typically means someone or something that's dependable, but in the scientific realm, it applies to experiments that, according to Merriam-Webster, give "the same result on successive trials." Combining those two notions, reliability implies both quality and consistency, making it a core element of the work we do at Consumer Reports.

Why the buzz? When economic times are tough, reliability becomes an even more important part of people's shopping habits. "Reliability may not be the sexiest thing, but in today's environment, people are wondering if a company is going to be around for the long term," says Darcie Meihoff, managing director of public relations at CMD Agency, a marketing firm in Portland, Oregon. "Everybody has that fear, and so knowing that a company is going to back up its products and its warranties is at the forefront of people's minds."

Of course, saving money is key as well, but it doesn't trump reliability. "A person may trade down to a lesser-price brand but not if it means sacrificing reliability or quality," says Stanley Stasch, a professor of marketing at Loyola University Chicago.

What this means is that manufacturers will have to work harder to win over consumers. "While this is a very difficult time for everyone, it's also a moment for leadership," says Raphael Bemporad, founding partner and principal at BBMG, a branding and marketing firm based in New York City. "Brands that see the multiple dimensions of reliability—which include not only price and quality but also character, relationship, and trust—will be best suited to weather the economic storm and thrive long term."

Consumer Reports' evaluations of ranges, refrigerators, and many other products include details on how they performed during our extensive in-lab testing. For many product categories, we also report on how individual brands have measured up over time in real-world conditions, using data from the hundreds of thousands of responses to our Annual Product Reliability Survey of subscribers. The experts in the Consumer Reports National Research Center analyze the results to come up with the brand repair histories that accompany many of the product reports in our magazine and on ConsumerReports.org. This potent combination of lab testing and brand analysis allows us to paint the most complete possible picture of product reliability.

Let's look at upright vacuum cleaners, most recently reviewed in the October 2008 issue of Consumer Reports. Several Hoover, including the Tempo Widepath U5140-900 (shown), scored very good overall. But Hoover is the most repair-prone brand of vacuum cleaner, according to the more than 135,000 reader responses about vacuum cleaners to our annual survey. So you might be better off buying a model from a brand with a better track record.—Daniel DiClerico

Essential information: Not sure whether your appliance should be fixed or nixed? Use our repair-or-replace information to determine the life span of more than a dozen products, including ranges, refrigerators, and washing machines. Check out our ever-expanding roster of Buzzwords.