When it comes to buying stuff, be it cars, computers, clothing, electronics, hand guns, beer or anything else... Which brands would you recommend? Which brands would you recommend avoiding? On the "recommended list" I'll add JVC. Every JVC television we've owned has been awesome, we've a twenty year old unit that works as well as it did on day one. Same goes for Honda and Toyota vehicles, keep changing the oil and they last forever. And Levi-Strauss has been putting out quality jeans for over a century. On the "don't buy list" Toshiba is my top entry. Both their TVs and laptops have been a let down. Haven't had any luck with Chevy trucks either. And most everything from IKEA fails to meet expectations. What's your experience with brand names?
It seems to depend a lot on where you buy them. I refuse to buy electronics from Walmart, Superstore or any other store like that every single time I've bought an electronic from there its lucky if it lasts 6 months.
We have owned a Ford Escape (never again) and a Grand Jeep Cherokee which was actually great. We really liked it, except the gas mileage difference on the SUV and the van is massive. DH wants to get a Pathfinder next and we looked at one but we owe too much on the van yet. I really wanted a van and we bought one before they became all wheel drive which is NOT smart when you sometimes get several feet of snow at once on a rural road.
I love pretty much anything Samsung. Great quality, better prices than other "name brand" electronics, and a good portion of the time, they actually make the products for others who simply slap a different faceplate and logo on them (for instance, they make a bunch of HDTVs for Sony). When it comes to cars: Nissan! I currently own 2--a 98 Maxima that my son drives. ~200K miles on it, and running well. Been a very good car for me. [action=Nautica]knocks on wood[/action] and a 2009 Altima Hybrid that is my regular ride. Also, the Mrs. owned a Sentra back many years ago when we first started dating, and she loved it. We also love our 2008 Toyota Sienna! I like our HP printer for the most part, and will never buy a Lexmark printer again--cheap ass POS always breaking! For laptops I've had HP, Toshiba, and currently Lenovo. They've all been OK. For other stuff, it depends. Coffee is either Folgers or Maxwell House. Keep your Charbucks, or even worse..Dunkin Donuts coffee! That shit tastes like dirt! For jeans, I prefer Lee, but will buy Levis or Union Bay or whatever fits. For beer I prefer Bud Select or Bud Light Lime, but will buy a variety of other beers are well, such as Goose Island Summertime, [BKillian's Red[/B], and Boulevard Wheat. For Gin my preference is Bombay Sapphire, but I've got a bottle of Hendricks in my liquor cabinet also. I prefer Chick-Fil-A, Panda Express, Taco Bell, and Arby's for fast food. Qdoba over Chipotle, but both are good. For Fast food burgers, the order of preference among major chains is: 1) Rally's 2) White Castle 3) Wendy's 4) Mickey D's 5) Burger King
Guinness Johnny Walker New York Burrito Nike Mountain Dew Throwback Someone might be expecting me to put "Jeep" in there, but actually that manufacturer is just the closest fit to my own design requirements. They are far from perfect, and those imperfections cause me a good deal of grief.
When I used to bass fish, REBEL brand super-soft plastic worms gave me the best strike-to-hookup ratio ever.
mac & cheese has gotta be kraft. i like LG for electronics/phones. Nintendo kicks Playstation's ass. most everything else is negotiable.
cars: Fast ones computers: powerful ones clothing: rugged and durable electronics: Japanese hand guns: No caliber starting with anything less than a '4'. beer: Guiness anything else: If it flies, floats, or fucks, RENT IT.
Recommend: Autozone Gold products have the best warranty (life time warranty on fucking brake pads? Yes please!) Samsung (I own a HDTV, soundbar, and Android phone - all great) 8 O'clock Coffee Intel Wyndham Hotels - never a problem Func mouse pads (I have a 1030 at home and work) I'm also a big fan of Titties. Never had one I didn't like. I recommend to anyone that asks to not buy a fucking Dell. Ever ever ever.
Best Western- Most of them are renovated older hotels, held to a standard but very affordable. Toyota- 160,000 miles and counting, I've worked on the A/C that's about it. HP Printers- I've had computers for over 15 years, I've owned two printers. DeWalt- I've had my own tools for 15 years, I've owned two cordless drills & I skull fuck power tools. Leatherman- Please...
A few brand name products with which I've never/seldom found fault: Sony televisions. Coca-Cola soft drinks. Wonder Bread. Smuckers jam/jelly. Ford automobiles. Fancy Feast cat food. Levi's jeans. Irish Spring soap and body wash. Glock automatic pistols. Verizon wireless service. Guinness beer. Right Guard deodorant. Texas Roadhouse restaurant. Togos sandwich shops. Intel CPUs. K.C. Masterpiece BBQ sauce.
Nike for both workout outfits and running shoes Coke Zero above all other sodas! <3 Samsung Raidmax for gaming cases and power supplies. Gigabyte for motherboards. Intel CPUs. Western Digital hard drives. nVIDIA graphics cards. Chick-fil-A Organic Valley Apple. Love my iPod touch. KIA! ZooMed has great stuff for reptiles. I absolutely HATE Kraft ranch dressing. O'Charley's ranch is 10,000x better. Actually, almost any ranch dressing on the planet is probably better.
I've been looking to get a new laptop, and a Samsung is high on the list . . . glad to see it's getting good reviews here! Or is all the love for non-laptops only?
Pepsi shall forever be on my black list until they offer up their marketing people to be tried and painfully executed for crimes against humanity. Nothing else comes to mind.
I'll say it: Apple for computers and phones. They cost more up front but last for years so the price is balanced out by the useful life and ease of use of the products. Samsung is the best TV maker right now and are putting out great appliances as well. I just got a new Samsung fridge and love it. I love my Porsche enough that I'm considering trading it in for their SUV since my 911 is not exactly baby friendly. Dos Equis Lager Heinz Nike I'm sure there are more but that's all I've got for now.
Sony and Samsung for home electronics (only the former professionally--Panasonic and JVC are shit). Heinz ketchup. I've had very good luck with Dell desk- and laptops. Shiner Hefeweizen, though the only real "brand" loyalty I have when it comes to beer is that I don't buy nasty industrial beer brewed by any of the big "name brand" companies. I've never had a problem with any Ford I've ever owned and my Toyota pickup will probably run until the day I die (though I don't know if I'll keep it that long). Gerber knives and multi-tools. I'm sure there are more, but I can't really think of any right now.
Quizno's Traditional > Blimpie's Best > Jimmy John's > Subway Domino's > Sbarro > Pizza Hut (but then, our Domino's has always been good) I like Best Western too, but I don't have any particularly strong brand loyalty there. Been years since I stayed in one, anyway.
I bought a Samsung laptop earlier this year. It's definitely one of the best I've ever owned, rivaling even my MacBook.
When it comes to home fans Honeywell has always been solid, and Holmes has always been crap. Oh and the best full home air-conditioner we've ever owned was made by Rheem.
You should hear the screaming around here if I buy no-name stuff compared to the brand name. The only thing I care about is Heinz Ketchup and Kraft mac and cheese. The rest I can take it or leave it but if I don't buy brand name nobody around here will eat. And if I don't MAKE the baking myself. Nobody will eat it (unless its oreos). 5 frigging damned picky people. God forbid my husband gets the wrong type of fork at meals.
I'll add my voice to Samsung for TVs. Also, Tide for washing clothes. Tried all kinds of other brands but Tide seems to work best.
We leave Friday. I like packing early so I can go through the checklist, otherwise it'll be like last time 'omg you forgot the lemon pepper spice'. Really? Who cares <.<
My early 2008 MBP is finally showing its age. While I'd love a Retina MBP I'm not willing to go over 1500-1600 for a new laptop so I'm considering either the MBA or one of those super thin new Samsungs. Is that what you have? I could also just use my work laptop and get a 6th month old iMac for home use. I love/hate buying new computers because the decision always takes so long.
In my areas of expertise: Hotels brands that I really like: - Park Hyatt has been absolutely superb wherever I've used them for both dining and staying - W Hotels are the best of a usually pretty bad bunch of SPG properties - Doubletree by Hilton also has yet to disappoint Hotel brands that I try to avoid as much as possible: - Le Meridien is one of the SPG brands where I pretty much haven't had a single enjoyable experience - they're usually outdated and look a bit dirty - Four Points by Sheraton is another SPG brand I try to avoid whenever I can - but then again they are positioned lower in the market Airlines I love (yes, such a thing exists): - Emirates has always treated me very well - and they've got pretty stewardesses on top! Airlines where I've had truly bad experiences: - British Airways cancelled my flight to Japan 11 hours prior to departure - ended up saving me 600 EUR but still a major annoyance
You generally can't go wrong with any of the Hilton brands, and believe it or not I've found the newer Holiday Inn Express hotels to be pretty decent when I'm in a smaller city with not much selection. Best Western can be touch and go. I've stayed at some fairly good ones and some really really really scary ones. I'm also a fan of Fairmont, even if most of their properties are "historic" (i.e., old.) Never had a problem with British Airways.
