Miele - worth it?
Discussion
I'm wary of the "I've had mine for 15 years and it's still going strong" testimonials. That may be true of a machine manufactured to specifications and quality standards 15 years ago, but you're buying a machine made most likely in the past 12 months so who knows what cutbacks and design changes have been made?
We've been through a range of Hotpoint, Indesit and Bosch washing machines over the past 10-15 years, all have had flaws in one way or another with varying degrees of parts availability before it becomes more economic to just buy a new one.
Ended up needing one in a hurry a couple of years ago and went for a cheap as chips Beko. It's not as quiet as the previous machines but it's cheap, does the job and will be equally cheap to replace in the future.
We've been through a range of Hotpoint, Indesit and Bosch washing machines over the past 10-15 years, all have had flaws in one way or another with varying degrees of parts availability before it becomes more economic to just buy a new one.
Ended up needing one in a hurry a couple of years ago and went for a cheap as chips Beko. It's not as quiet as the previous machines but it's cheap, does the job and will be equally cheap to replace in the future.
Buy what's on offer. The drum will be screaming at you in 2 years anyway. Can easily buy 2-3 machines that altogether last alot longer than an expensive one.
I do like being able to add that last sock with the we door thing though. Always always always find a we hidden sock once it's on. Did I mention I never find any socks now I paid extra for a we door? Typical.
I do like being able to add that last sock with the we door thing though. Always always always find a we hidden sock once it's on. Did I mention I never find any socks now I paid extra for a we door? Typical.
Fishlegs said:
Washers at the top end of the Miele product line are nice and quiet, so if noise is a primary concern it might be a good bet.
They're no more functional or reliable than Neff/Bosch/Siemens though. So if quiet isn't your main goal, save your money.
Difficult to calibrate these things, but I'd say the £400 Bosch machine we got a few weeks ago is astonishingly quiet. It lives in the garage and there's no cupboards around it to absorb noise, either.They're no more functional or reliable than Neff/Bosch/Siemens though. So if quiet isn't your main goal, save your money.
ETA: I just noticed it's back on the Costco site - it was £399 when we got it: https://www.costco.co.uk/Appliances/Washing-Machin...
Don't base your decision on Trustpilot reviews. We're currently speccing a kitchen and based on Trustpilot reviews we wouldn't buy any appliances from any of the manufacturers. I think every single one scores 2 stars or less.
We've still got a Zanussi washing machine we bought 18yrs ago along with the matching fridge. Washer had a new drum about 10yrs ago (bearings had gone and it was a single piece), and a new recirc pump about 3yrs ago. However, according to reviews at the time we bought we should have steered clear of anything Elextrolux...
Oh and as for quiet, there's 1 Bosch machine that's under 40db, and apparently almost whisper quiet.
We've still got a Zanussi washing machine we bought 18yrs ago along with the matching fridge. Washer had a new drum about 10yrs ago (bearings had gone and it was a single piece), and a new recirc pump about 3yrs ago. However, according to reviews at the time we bought we should have steered clear of anything Elextrolux...
Oh and as for quiet, there's 1 Bosch machine that's under 40db, and apparently almost whisper quiet.
My partners mother has a Miele washing machine, something like 12 years old, honeycomb something... she loves it and it seems a nice piece of kit.
I've got a reasonable spec Zanussi which I bought 'nearly new' for £80 of ebay 9 years ago. It's not a missed a beat parents have a maybe 15yo bosch which they bought from the local indi who recommended the model not just the brand, price matched online prices and fitted in with the cost.
If I had to buy again now, I would be another nearly-new model off ebay. The savings and choice available is huge, they seem to fall in price like cars.
Daniel
I've got a reasonable spec Zanussi which I bought 'nearly new' for £80 of ebay 9 years ago. It's not a missed a beat parents have a maybe 15yo bosch which they bought from the local indi who recommended the model not just the brand, price matched online prices and fitted in with the cost.
If I had to buy again now, I would be another nearly-new model off ebay. The savings and choice available is huge, they seem to fall in price like cars.
Daniel
Swervin_Mervin said:
We've still got a Zanussi washing machine we bought 18yrs ago along with the matching fridge. Washer had a new drum about 10yrs ago (bearings had gone and it was a single piece),
I'm amazed you thought that was worth it, but you even hear of people splitting the drum and replacing the bearing!The one we just replaced was badged John Lewis but it was made by Zanussi. The bearing had gone. It was only 6kg capacity though and daughter and her young family have used it very heavily for several years and it was my mum's originally so it's done pretty well.
Sheepshanks said:
Swervin_Mervin said:
We've still got a Zanussi washing machine we bought 18yrs ago along with the matching fridge. Washer had a new drum about 10yrs ago (bearings had gone and it was a single piece),
I'm amazed you thought that was worth it, but you even hear of people splitting the drum and replacing the bearing!The one we just replaced was badged John Lewis but it was made by Zanussi. The bearing had gone. It was only 6kg capacity though and daughter and her young family have used it very heavily for several years and it was my mum's originally so it's done pretty well.
As it was, we got the repair for free as the guy managed to fry the control board when he put it back together
New board cost about £20 IIRC and I found the programming sequence online. The recirc pump I did myself so it was just the cost of the pump at c£50It annoyed the hell out of me last year when our 5yo Zanussi dryer just completely died - I could not trace the fault at all so we replaced. Such a waste.
Swervin_Mervin said:
It was originally a >£400 machine. I'd rather pay £100 for a fix than replace with something cr4p that might need replacing again in a few years. I'm not in the habit of just chucking stuff out as soon as it breaks anyway - I'd much rather fix unless it's not cost-effective to do so.
Cant fault that, more of this attitude is required.My parents first washing machine, a late 80's Hoover, did about 20 years including three kids in terry towelling nappies and a change of drum bearings, couple of socks pulled out of the pump, and bit of hammerite when the lip on the front casing tried to rot away behind the seal.
They are coming up to 40 years of marriage, as there eldest I am due to be 33 shortly, only on their second washing machine.
Still have the original Hoover dryer if in part due to light usage I am sure. Dishwasher, second hand when they moved in in 1989 did over 25 years and was only replace when they were having a new kitchen, their second, and decided to go to a slimline as its just the two of them.
Daniel
Would be interesting to pull one apart. I've just had to repair my Hotpoint tumble dryer, it's an absolute piece of crap. The casing for the heating element is literally made out of cardboard flimsier than the stuff my coco pops come in and even when it is working it does a s
t job.
It has made in Britain plastered on the front of it like some sort of badge of honour.
t job. It has made in Britain plastered on the front of it like some sort of badge of honour.
Swervin_Mervin said:
It was originally a >£400 machine. I'd rather pay £100 for a fix...
I'm gobsmacked you got a new drum and someone to fit it for £100. Did you see it being done? On the one we had the drum assembly is £185. It's a pretty significant job to fit them - I've done motor brushes and drum shockers but I wouldn't fancy changing the drum and getting it all back without something leaking.
Sheepshanks said:
Swervin_Mervin said:
It was originally a >£400 machine. I'd rather pay £100 for a fix...
I'm gobsmacked you got a new drum and someone to fit it for £100. Did you see it being done? On the one we had the drum assembly is £185. It's a pretty significant job to fit them - I've done motor brushes and drum shockers but I wouldn't fancy changing the drum and getting it all back without something leaking.
We ran a few care homes many years ago and used Mielle in all of the laundries. They were expensive but great build quality and very reliable and they had great customer service if things did go wrong.
With this in mind, a few years ago we looked at them for a personal machine. I don't know if they still do this, but back then they sold one machine at around £300, one year warranty, one at £500, 5 year warranty, and one at £1000, 10 year warranty. All the machines were identical except for the warranties and pretty much the same build quality as everything else on the market.They were really just selling an expensive warranty.
We bought a Beko instead and it's approaching 10 years old now, no problems at a fraction of the price.
With this in mind, a few years ago we looked at them for a personal machine. I don't know if they still do this, but back then they sold one machine at around £300, one year warranty, one at £500, 5 year warranty, and one at £1000, 10 year warranty. All the machines were identical except for the warranties and pretty much the same build quality as everything else on the market.They were really just selling an expensive warranty.
We bought a Beko instead and it's approaching 10 years old now, no problems at a fraction of the price.
First mention on here for Samsung. Bought because the motor has a 10year warranty. Has a (from memory) 1,600 rpm spin so the clothes are only slightly damp at the end of the cycle and it genuinely is ultra quiet in operation. Previous Bosch which was 10+ years old by comparison was noisy and gave the impression that it was trying to vibrate its way out of the utility area! And it plays a little jingle when the cycle is finished :-)
We've a Siemens, No issues in 5 years. I do wonder about top dollar products, we bought a miele hoover at the same time and while it's fine it's totally eclipsed by the Dyson v8 we bought over Christmas, you can hoover the same spot you've just done with the miele and the dyson sucks up so much more.
My parents had a Miele Dishwasher, was fine, lasted ages, cost a fortune. I've had a variety of dishwashers in different houses none of them ever failed so I'm not sure if it was worth paying more. Built quality has improved much over the past few years, however engineers prices have gone up too so for me I'd get something that does the job well and either has a bullet proof warranty or get something cheap enough you can fiddle with it when it breaks and replace it if that fails. From experience you can buy and fit most parts yourself so your just paying an engineer to do a diagnostic and fit parts, well youtube can do both of those for you fairly well if your a handy person with some common sense.
My parents had a Miele Dishwasher, was fine, lasted ages, cost a fortune. I've had a variety of dishwashers in different houses none of them ever failed so I'm not sure if it was worth paying more. Built quality has improved much over the past few years, however engineers prices have gone up too so for me I'd get something that does the job well and either has a bullet proof warranty or get something cheap enough you can fiddle with it when it breaks and replace it if that fails. From experience you can buy and fit most parts yourself so your just paying an engineer to do a diagnostic and fit parts, well youtube can do both of those for you fairly well if your a handy person with some common sense.
I won't be getting any more Miele stuff.
Not a washing machine, but we have some integrated Miele fridge/freezers in the kitchen. One failed a while ago, I diagnosed a failed compressor. Standard repair companies will replace the compressor and re-gas for about £150...except not for a Miele. It's one of the few brands that generic repair companies can't support. Miele will come and replace the compressor...for £1000. A direct like for like replacement new fridge/freezer from Miele is £2500.
The fridge keeps cold things cold...it doesn't do anything that another brand couldn't do just as well for less than half the money. Incidentally, the Miele was specified by the posh kitchen company, presumably because of the extra margin they make on the retail. Not as bad though as the posh kitchen that we inherited from previous owners of another house...they specified a SubZero fridge/freezer that cost FOURTEEN THOUSAND pounds.
Not a washing machine, but we have some integrated Miele fridge/freezers in the kitchen. One failed a while ago, I diagnosed a failed compressor. Standard repair companies will replace the compressor and re-gas for about £150...except not for a Miele. It's one of the few brands that generic repair companies can't support. Miele will come and replace the compressor...for £1000. A direct like for like replacement new fridge/freezer from Miele is £2500.
The fridge keeps cold things cold...it doesn't do anything that another brand couldn't do just as well for less than half the money. Incidentally, the Miele was specified by the posh kitchen company, presumably because of the extra margin they make on the retail. Not as bad though as the posh kitchen that we inherited from previous owners of another house...they specified a SubZero fridge/freezer that cost FOURTEEN THOUSAND pounds.
I've had a Miele dishwasher for the last 5 years. Nowhere enough time to comment its longevity, but compared to other brands which I've had over the years, this one felt the most well screwed together and moreso effective at its job.
I did have one issue about a month into owning it, where grey water was seeping back into the bottom half - that ended up being down to a piece of plastic from something which had stopped a valve closing fully. About 20 seconds to fix. What I found impressive with Miele was the service - the engineer wasn't just some outsourced random covering 20 brands, he came out in a Miele branded van with specific tools and diagnostics, which is quite a rarity thesedays.
I did have one issue about a month into owning it, where grey water was seeping back into the bottom half - that ended up being down to a piece of plastic from something which had stopped a valve closing fully. About 20 seconds to fix. What I found impressive with Miele was the service - the engineer wasn't just some outsourced random covering 20 brands, he came out in a Miele branded van with specific tools and diagnostics, which is quite a rarity thesedays.
devnull said:
What I found impressive with Miele was the service - the engineer wasn't just some outsourced random covering 20 brands, he came out in a Miele branded van with specific tools and diagnostics, which is quite a rarity these days.
They are very good (though expensive) call outs... Our local Miele engineer (covers a large patch) is ex Bosch and he commented that the training they give is excellent - and how the build quality (even with newer stuff) is still far better than the competition.Worth noting that if something fails beyond economic repair (even if it is a bit older), Miele will often give a substantial discount on a new purchase.
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