Washing Machine choice
Discussion
Our old Lavamat is starting to make noises - hope its still got life in it yet - after the Santo fridge freezer went this year. The only benefit seems to be the new ones have much lower energy use - maybe 20p worth a day - but the freezer is so much smaller.
Both mother and m-i-l have both had new machines in last six weeks - and I ordered them both LG F1256 - very impressed - otherwise I wouldn't have got the second. I would go for the faster F1456 if I was picking - unless I went down the Miele or ISE line.
There is still an awful lot to be said about 'you get what you pay for' - but would have to say myself that AEG are not what they were 15+ years ago. Broken tray in new fridge replaced but a freezer 'berry' tray that was missing has still not been supplied after two months.
Both mother and m-i-l have both had new machines in last six weeks - and I ordered them both LG F1256 - very impressed - otherwise I wouldn't have got the second. I would go for the faster F1456 if I was picking - unless I went down the Miele or ISE line.
There is still an awful lot to be said about 'you get what you pay for' - but would have to say myself that AEG are not what they were 15+ years ago. Broken tray in new fridge replaced but a freezer 'berry' tray that was missing has still not been supplied after two months.
Edited by ClassicMercs on Monday 5th April 23:51
missdiane said:
Don't get a Miele, they weigh a tonne
But last a long long time
But last a long long time
This would be one of the reasons why they are so heavy..The honeycomb drum.
GEEK MODE/
Having only about 700 holes in a honeycomb drum; it allows the water to form a surface tension between the inner drum and the clothes. This protects the clothes and reduces 'pilling' when compared to the 4000 holes that are commonly found in conventional mesh type drums. Of course, this means that there is more metal. Originally patented in Europe in 1996 by Miele, the competitors decided to copy it and a big legal battle ensued.
The honeycomb drum in turn also helps to improve the quality of the wash and reduces the amount of water taken into the machine. As a result of this, a lot of customers were ringing up and complaining that their machine was not visibly taking any water in. Miele responded by making the water trickle over the door glass so that the customers could see the water going in. As less water is required, less detergent is required, and Miele machines actually record "Excess Detergent in their computer so that the Techs can advise when a problem is detected, and give them best advice on how to get the optimum results from their machine.
Most other manufacturers put a breeze block in the bottom of the machine to stop it dancing around the kitchen and possibly damaging your machine/cabinets. In a Miele, if you take the front off, you will be greeted with a HUGE pair of cast iron weights which are bolted around the drum. The outer drum is also made of stainless steel when a lot of the competitors use a cheap plastic outer tub. This extra stainless steel adds a lot of weight, and to keep it steady it is properly sprung with four heavy duty springs at the top, and two shock absorbers at the bottom - these are either oil or gas filled just like the suspension on your car. If the machine detects an imballanced load, it will not spin past 400 rpm to prevent damage to the machine.
Miele are so confident that these are reliable, that they give you a 10 year Guarantee of excellence on the drum, and the bearings, and that has nothing to do with the main warranty on the machine. All Miele washing machines have a design life of 20 years, and they promise to hold spare parts for this duration. I can't believe I'm getting excited about a washing machine, but they are just very well engineered and these days that's becoming a rare thing.
If this appliance were a car it would be a Bentley
Simpo Two said:
ClassicMercs said:
but would have to say myself that AEG are not what they were 15+ years ago.
So many brands have a good reputation then lose it by penny-pinching it seems.AEG was swallowed up by Electrolux in the 80's who also own Zanussi and Tricity Bendix and all their machines share a lot of parts and are often just badge engineered to suit the price ticket. Whats worse, production has now started at the "little Swan" factory in China.
Bosch/Neff/Siemens will most likely be made, or include parts, from Spanish factories or eastern Europe.
Yep, Miele, still made in Germany and made well but, and its a big one, their spare parts policy is way out of order....if something does fail it will cost a packet to repair and, after 5 years may still end up as scrap- you may as well bought the cheap machine in the first place.
Some random examples from our price list:
Heater element:
Indesit/Hotpoint £14.50
Bosch/Siemens £28.50
Zanussi/AEG £22.50
Miele £109.00
Fridge thermostat:
Indesit/Hotpoint £14.50
ELectrolux £21.00
Miele £114.00
I could go on..... Its sometimes embarassing to present a £200 bill for changing a fridge stat in some little fridge that for any other make would be more like £70.
Yep, they do sometimes offer long warranties, but its not across the board and the warranty on drum and motor (carbon brushes exluded-brush module £80.00) are worthless as these never really fail unless you are really hammering them and if they get a hint of semi commercial use your warranty will be thrown out.
Can't answer the op - but my tuppence worth
Spent couple months deciding what washer to go for. Went for a Miele in the end (ISE would have been close 2nd choice)
However, missus hates the look of it (huge door). The drum is smaller than cheapo one it replaced. After EVERY wash we have to give it an extra spin to get clothes less than drenched (if slight angle or too many clothes it doesnt rinse very well) and finally after 3mths use it has just leaked...Currently waiting for their customer services to arrange a call out as they don't usually do weekends and told me they may charge if no fault found...
I would most certainly buy a cheap one and replace every few years....
Spent couple months deciding what washer to go for. Went for a Miele in the end (ISE would have been close 2nd choice)
However, missus hates the look of it (huge door). The drum is smaller than cheapo one it replaced. After EVERY wash we have to give it an extra spin to get clothes less than drenched (if slight angle or too many clothes it doesnt rinse very well) and finally after 3mths use it has just leaked...Currently waiting for their customer services to arrange a call out as they don't usually do weekends and told me they may charge if no fault found...
I would most certainly buy a cheap one and replace every few years....
Soir said:
I would most certainly buy a cheap one and replace every few years....
Thats always been my plan.I walked in to the nearest large electrical retailer and said "I want your cheapest 1200 rpm washing machine thank you".
Job done. That was 4 or 5 years ago now. (No kids although it's always used overloaded) Cheap BEKO wins!
Interesting, thanks all.
I am usually in the buy the best you can aford camp myself but have recently had a few issues with things that should have been bullit proof for the reputation and price being far from it.
Added to this, whilst we aren't exactly going to be in the poor house, £500+ is more than we want to have to pay out right now.
I'll go back through this lot again tonight and start looking on the net!
I am usually in the buy the best you can aford camp myself but have recently had a few issues with things that should have been bullit proof for the reputation and price being far from it.
Added to this, whilst we aren't exactly going to be in the poor house, £500+ is more than we want to have to pay out right now.
I'll go back through this lot again tonight and start looking on the net!
Rude-boy said:
Interesting, thanks all.
I am usually in the buy the best you can aford camp myself but have recently had a few issues with things that should have been bullit proof for the reputation and price being far from it.
Added to this, whilst we aren't exactly going to be in the poor house, £500+ is more than we want to have to pay out right now.
I'll go back through this lot again tonight and start looking on the net!
I had a Zanussi for 11 years. It served us well, but now with 2 children it's on daily if not more..I am usually in the buy the best you can aford camp myself but have recently had a few issues with things that should have been bullit proof for the reputation and price being far from it.
Added to this, whilst we aren't exactly going to be in the poor house, £500+ is more than we want to have to pay out right now.
I'll go back through this lot again tonight and start looking on the net!
We replaced it with a Bosch. I had a look at the Which? report on them and whilst sometimes they are a load of chunter monkeys they do seem to test an awful lot of washing machines with a lot of attention paid to fine details.. I then went through the list and one caught my eye that scored just below the highest ones, but cost a good £150-200 less than the others around it (above and below in their ranking). I think we got it from Hughes Direct and used a freely available Which discount of 5% - I think the Hughes website publicly displays it somewhere.. I installed it myself and got rid of the old one to someone on our local Freecycle (they were aware that it wasn't functioning).
I just got a new Bosch washing machine and dryer based on advice on PH. Only had them a couple of weeks but very happy so far.
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Edited by marctwo on Tuesday 6th April 16:45
eps said:
I had a look at the Which? report on them and whilst sometimes they are a load of chunter monkeys they do seem to test an awful lot of washing machines with a lot of attention paid to fine details..
Totally agree here - I wouldn't trust Which on most things but they do seem to know their white goods. Our household is a bit brutal in that there are six of us using dishes and the youngest 4 tend to get through a lot of clothes etc.We tend to end up with a different brand for each appliance. We decided to replace our 20 y/o Zanussi dishwasher (still functioning but cosmetically battered and needed some new plastic bits still available on the internet...) and ended up with a Miele. Huge leap in technology: less water, less noise, less power, cleaner - takes longer but no longer flips things upside down and fills them with water.
Our cheepie Hoover tumble drier died after a few years - no surprise as it had endless call-outs in the warranty year and featured on Watchdog. We replaced it with a Bosch classixx and again a huge technology leap: sensor technology stops the drier when things are dry - no messing about guessing how long they'll need.
We're currently on a hand-me-down basic Bosch washing machine which seems to be up to the hammering, which replaced a cheepie that wasn't. However it's about 10 years old, so I'm wondering if it's worth replacing just for the technology leap.
Edited by FamilyGuy on Tuesday 6th April 21:29
FWIW I was thinking of buying Bosch, it having a good reputation. According to my local indy, some time ago production was transferred to Poland and quality suffered. Still ok, but not what it was. He recommeneded Siemens, which was still made in Germany, ardly any dearer, and came with a 5 yr guarantee.
Bit dearer though, so on a budget I'd still go for Bosch.
Bit dearer though, so on a budget I'd still go for Bosch.
Interesting tp hear the good word is still being spread about Bosch. I always used to buy Bosch/AEG stuff and have to say that the only thing that killed my old one after 10+ of abuse was having to leave it standing for 2 years unued in a garage and not realising it wasn't fully drained...
Bonefish Blues said:
Sorry I'm late. The answer is Miele - what was the question again?
Can't kill our Miele washing machine - c18 years now and has needed only a new set of bushes in that time.
They're not all like that. Parents bought a Miele W/D about 10 years ago for about £1300. Apart from all the work that's been done on it, it currently needs a new brain due to random flashing lights, and restricted functions. It's crap! I'd rather spend less, and update it to a more efficient model every 5 years. In fact, I've bought 3 in the last 10 years (new one last year) and still spent less than the folks.Can't kill our Miele washing machine - c18 years now and has needed only a new set of bushes in that time.
fatboy b said:
Bonefish Blues said:
Sorry I'm late. The answer is Miele - what was the question again?
Can't kill our Miele washing machine - c18 years now and has needed only a new set of bushes in that time.
They're not all like that. Parents bought a Miele W/D about 10 years ago for about £1300. Apart from all the work that's been done on it, it currently needs a new brain due to random flashing lights, and restricted functions. It's crap! I'd rather spend less, and update it to a more efficient model every 5 years. In fact, I've bought 3 in the last 10 years (new one last year) and still spent less than the folks.Can't kill our Miele washing machine - c18 years now and has needed only a new set of bushes in that time.
Edited by eastlmark on Wednesday 7th April 20:02
Have to agree - Miele are not all they're cracked up to be.
I have a Miele Washer a Miele Tumble Dryer and a Miele Dishwasher,
So far Miele have spent the equivalent of nearly £3,000 keeping them going under warranty.
Only the TD has been without fault.
And now the WM has been condemned as un-repairable and is to be replaced under their AMAZING 10-yr warranty.
A good company?
Yes of course....but their machinery is not all it's made out to be.
I have a Miele Washer a Miele Tumble Dryer and a Miele Dishwasher,
So far Miele have spent the equivalent of nearly £3,000 keeping them going under warranty.
Only the TD has been without fault.
And now the WM has been condemned as un-repairable and is to be replaced under their AMAZING 10-yr warranty.
A good company?
Yes of course....but their machinery is not all it's made out to be.
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