We originally bought what we thought was a small, brand name (*cough*Kenmore*cough*) chest freezer when we got married and moved into our home. It lasted about 14 months, and took a good chunk of meat with it when it died. We finally got the manufacturer to agree to send out for a service call after much pleading. The service tech advised us that ours was a foreign-made model, wasn't serviceable, and that nothing could be done except to replace the whole freezer, which they wouldn't do because it was out of warranty.
After doing some research, it became apparent that almost all the freezers under 4-5cu ft. suffered from this same problem, and like everything else, what seems like a great deal usually isn't. We have been replacing other appliances in our house, and haven't been disappointed with GE yet. This unit was a great compromise in size, features, and price, and will hopefully serve us much better.
