Washing Machine Hell

[Revs_Addiction]

There's nothing I'd rather spend my money on less than a washing machine, but ours has died and so a trip to currys beckons

So are there any pearls of wisdom you learned lot would care to share?

I have no clue which brands are good, and which should be avoided?

Ideally looking for a washer/dryer for the minimum outlay that will still get something 1/2 decent.

Thanks in advance.

[singlecoil]

Avoid washer/dryers. Get seperates. Find a way to make it happen. Do not buy a washer/dryer. Most of the makes are OK, or if you want to be sure then get Bosch. Do not buy a washer/dryer

[fatboy b]

mickken said:

Curry's will mug you off.

www.pricerunner.com

HTH

Yep - avoid Currys at all costs. They'll try to mug you further with extortionate extended warranties too.

[Kuroblack350]

Had an Indesit Washer Dryer for 4 years which has been faultless, and all for £299...

I've heard really good things about Miele - we have a Miele hoover and it's uncanny just how freaking marvellous it is. Apparently however their washer range is not cheap...

[Kuroblack350]

mickken said:

Curry's will mug you off.

www.pricerunner.com

HTH

ETA...I can't believe people still shop in this sthole. It's service is st, no fker has a clue about any of the products, they are expensive, no fker speak English, and you have to physically strangle the s to shut them up whilst they try to sell you extended warranties.

Edited by mickken on Tuesday 29th April 14:09

Agree wholeheartedly - but where (on your average high street) do you go to buy a washer/dryer/blender or whatever? It's not as though there's a great deal of choice

[Mojocvh]

Kuroblack350 said:

Had an Indesit Washer Dryer for 4 years which has been faultless, and all for £299...

I've heard really good things about Miele - we have a Miele hoover and it's uncanny just how freaking marvellous it is. Apparently however their washer range is not cheap...

Absolutly true but "the best".

[Bill Carr]

I have a 2 year old SMEG washer-dryer. It broke in January and took 12 weeks to fix (out of warranty, so dealt with by a local firm).

Personally, I'd buy the cheapest one possible with the longest included warranty possible e.g. <£200 and if it lasts you 2+ years, then great. I've seen places (Asda, Dixons, Tesco) selling washing machines for £160-£180 and I'm sure they're perfectly servicable. These things cost a fair bit of cash to fix when they're out of warranty so IMO you may as well treat them like a disposable item. My SMEG needed a new pulley and belt - £75 + £60 labour charge = pain in my arse.

E.g. http://www.johnlewis.com/230445774/Product.aspx - 2 years warranty.

[bobthemonkey]

John Lewis.

[Meeja]

Kuroblack350 said:

mickken said:

Curry's will mug you off.

www.pricerunner.com

HTH

ETA...I can't believe people still shop in this sthole. It's service is st, no fker has a clue about any of the products, they are expensive, no fker speak English, and you have to physically strangle the s to shut them up whilst they try to sell you extended warranties.

Edited by mickken on Tuesday 29th April 14:09

Agree wholeheartedly - but where (on your average high street) do you go to buy a washer/dryer/blender or whatever? It's not as though there's a great deal of choice

Just go to Currys or Dixons et al to view and decide what product you want, then use Kelkoo or Pricerunner - order it online and have it delivered to your door.

Job done.

[miniman]

DON'T buy from Currys or Comet or Dixons or any of those places!

www.sainsburyskitchenappliances.co.uk

My washer / dryer was £150 cheaper from them than Comet, anc you get the Nectar points.

[pdV6]

Mojocvh said:

Kuroblack350 said:

Had an Indesit Washer Dryer for 4 years which has been faultless, and all for £299...

I've heard really good things about Miele - we have a Miele hoover and it's uncanny just how freaking marvellous it is. Apparently however their washer range is not cheap...

Absolutly true but "the best".

You're talking about a minimum of around £800 for a Miele washer but it will out-perform and outlast pretty much anything else on the market.

[Wings]

pdV6 said:

Mojocvh said:

Kuroblack350 said:

Had an Indesit Washer Dryer for 4 years which has been faultless, and all for £299...

I've heard really good things about Miele - we have a Miele hoover and it's uncanny just how freaking marvellous it is. Apparently however their washer range is not cheap...

Absolutly true but "the best".

You're talking about a minimum of around £800 for a Miele washer but it will out-perform and outlast pretty much anything else on the market.

Agree any German make will outlast the cheaper UK manufactured ones

[morebeanz]

Our Bosch was middle of the range when we bought it, and still going strong over ten years later. I'd recommend them!

Heard good things about Miele, Smeg and Siemens too.

Shop mark ups aside, you WILL get what you pay for, whether it be water saving, noise levels, efficiency of wash, etc, etc.

[_daveR]

Bosch here too. 2 years of regular use (well I see Mrs R putting things in it all the time!) and no problems.

If money were not an issue Id buy Miele though.

[SeanyD]

stay WELL AWAY from Indesit. We had a long drawn out battle with them, having been subjected to replacement after replacement, engineer after engineer. Almost used up my full years annual leave house sitting waiting for engineers and replacements

Add to that their customer service ability is shocking and beggers belief at some of the tomfoolery.

We cut our losses in the end and simply gave up and walked away (on an otherwise brand new appliance) and ended up buying a different brand, just so we could get some damn washing done for once. It takes a special something to make me give up, trust me I dont go quietly or easily

Dont go there.

HTH.

[toastboy]

I got a Bosch washer 5 years ago and it's been completely faultless. I was advised to go for one of the basic Classixx ones as it's the ones with hundreds of functions that tend to go wrong more often.

[maxrider]

I have a Zanussi washer/dryer 5 years old, used 3 - 4x a week, had no problems at all.

My brother and his family of 4 have the same model.

My parents had the same model.

No problems with any of them, around the £500 mark if I remember right.

[pdV6]

SeanyD said:

stay WELL AWAY from Indesit.

+1

Been there, got that t-shirt.

Bought a cheap Indesit a few years ago as we'd blown the appliance budget when moving to a new house.
Over the next few years that saving was eroded to nothing by expensive repairs and wasted time waiting for home visits.

Now binned in favour of Miele and it hasn't put so much as a toe wrong yet (gets run on average about 8-10 times a week I'd say). Everybody I know who's tried Miele have had years and years of trouble-free service from them.

Edited by pdV6 on Tuesday 29th April 15:04

[GTIR]

Cue me telling you about a £10 washing machine I bought 7 years ago and its still going strong.

It all started....

[Mr E]

maxrider said:

I have a Zanussi washer/dryer 5 years old, used 3 - 4x a week, had no problems at all.

I had a 10 year old Zanussi donated to me when I bought my first house some 6 years ago. I donated it to a friend 2 years ago. She still uses it.