I brought Godrej 165 lts Classic in New Delhi for Rs.6400 in 1992. Been going steady for 13 years. Never thought of replacing it as my family is small and vegetarian; this one caters to our needs.
Actually this is not “auto-defrost” model in the strict meaning of the term as used by modern refrigerators. Whenever we see the red-marker inside the freezer compartment covered by snow, we have to press the de-frosting button and allow the freezer compartment to defrost and manually dispose the melted water which falls into the ‘chiller” tray. This is one disadvantage of this model when compared to the modern models, which do real auto-defrosting (the melting of ice and removal of water is automatic).
Another disadvantage I have noticed in this model is it is very fussy about the “leg” positions. If all the 4 leg-stands are not properly fixed in a strict horizontal position (one may have to use a spirit-level to adjust), the door of the refrigerator does not lock properly in place (magnetic lock), making a small gap.
I remember this model was the first PUF type model which came in the market at that time of purchase. I have not done any major repairs on this product for 13 years of use. Once the door of the freezer compartment came loose and I have to fix it. If the ice formation is high, the door of the freezer does not close properly. I transported this refrigerator from Delhi to Palakkad and then to Chennai during my transfers and it worked coolly in all environments. I have never connected any special voltage stabilizer for this refrigerator for 13 years and the compressor has been working happily. As time goes by the noise of the compressor increases and I feel the noise more than that of 13 years ago. I have never experienced unpleasant odours taken by the machine, may be because we never store any non-vegetarian food in it. A weekly de-frosting and wash of all the trays is the only maintenance needed. Never noticed any high energy consumptions at any times. Sometimes the de-frosting has to be done twice a week during summers in Chennai when the humidity around is very high.
Overall I am very satisfied with my refrigerator.