Help chosing new washer dryer

jennieshrew

Oh no! My washer dryer has just been declared a write off by the washing machine engineer..... I will have to buy a new one and the washing machine man reccommended Bosch. I have read all the advice on here but I can only find couple of washer dryers and they are all about £500. I know you get what you pay for and after discovering my pretty hotpoint was actually an awful awful machine built to last three years max I dont want to repeat the mistake but we havent got a nice rainy day fund to buy a replacement.

We use the washing machine at least once a day as we have a toddler and use washable nappies. I also use the dryer quite a lot for emergency work shirt wash/dry for husband and for emergency overnight nappy drying so I would really prefer to have another one if I can.

Budget is zero so we will have to put it on credit, nightmare.

Please help if you can by posting suggestions with links to actual machines if possible. Normally I would spend hours doing my own research on price comparison websites but i'm 5 months pregnant and my confidence levels in chosing a new machine are now zero after realising that every appliance in my kitchen says Hotpoint.

WestonDave

As you've discovered you get what you pay for and given that any sort of washer dryer is starting at around £350, getting a longer lasting better quality one for under £500 is going to be tricky.

This one is £450 plus £30 delivery which is probably as good as you will get unless you can find a scratched one somewhere that you can have cheaper for cosmetic damage. However it is a smaller load size which may not be suitable as your family is growing. I don't have a washer dryer myself but we do have one in work which is probably this one which has been fine.

http://www.appliancesonline.co.uk/product_information.aspx?ProductID=7717&ProductCode=WVD24520GB_WH&ProdColourID=11852&specification=false

That said we got the work one from a local shop that somehow manages to beat most of the online prices - if you are anywhere west wiltshire then they might be worth a look.

jennieshrew

Thank you Dave, that is the one I first looked at but I just cant bring myself to put £480 on the credit card, maybe i'll pluck up the courage tonight. Bosch only seem to make two washer dryers and this is the cheapest so if I go for a Bosch this will be it. (I'm ignoring the temptation to buy the beautiful looking black version of this........or trying to....)

Top Cash Back do 3% cash back on appliancesonline so thats a bit of money back.

How much extra am I paying for the privilage of having a dryer built in? Would I save loads and loads by just having a washing machine? I really do love having the dryer facility.

Is there a machine by another make that would cost less but be of the same quality as Bosch?

WestonDave

You'd pay £296 plus delivery for this washer alone http://www.appliancesonline.co.uk/product_information.aspx?ProductID=10244&ProductCode=WAE24164GB_WH&ProdColourID=15991&specification=false

Slightly unfair comparison as its a full 6kg wash so bigger than the washer dryer.

We have a 6+ year old Bosch washing machine which went bang a couple of weeks back - flipped it over, put £15 worth of new motor brushes in it and its going as good as ever.

I can understand where you are coming from not wanting to add to debts when you are paying them off, but sometimes investing in quality is cheaper in the long run than buying something cheap that you have to pay twice. Other machines aren't half the price of Bosch ones.

One other thing is that a lot of people feel washer dryers are more prone to breakdowns than standalone machines - probably on the "all eggs in one basket" premise. However you know your house and your lifestyle. If by being a bit more organised or occasionally using a launderette dryer you think you can get by without a dryer (maybe with a view to getting a standalone one later if you have space) then it might be worth thinking about. However by the sounds of it you are going to be drying nappies for a while so don't make your life totally miserable.

macman

Much better to have a separate washing m/c and dryer, that ways if one unit fails at least you still have the other.
And washer/dryers usually only have the capacity to dry half of a full wash load, so more expensive to run.

jennieshrew

Thank you both.

I would love to have a seperate dryer as they are better at drying anyway but there isnt a space for one in our home. We even have an old dryer at my grandmas which we could have for free if we had space but defo no space.

We have a garage but no power supply and we dont own the land between the house and garage so dont think we can run one out to it. Also I dont think we are allowed to run a dryer in there anyway as it is below a coach house property.

jennieshrew

Have just realised that my fridge, dishwasher and broken washing machine are all Hotpoint so i'm just sitting on a ticking time bomb! Why did I fall for those lovely matching Granite colour appliances without any thought of them falling appart. If only I had realised that Hotpoint are no longer good!!

jennieshrew

This looks like a good deal to me, I think its the same machine as the one linked above its just in black. Its a good price for the black one but i'm aware I would be paying extra for one that looks nicer... Is that silly?

http://www.bootskitchenappliances.com/Product_Information.aspx?BackLink=Product_Listings&ProductID=7717&ProductCode=WVD2452BGB_BK&ProdColourID=16000&specification=false

basmic

http://www.a3.plugonit.co.uk/product/bosch-wvd2452bgb - £477 plus £25 delivery.