Buying a washing machine ?

Esqui

alterego wrote: »

Thanks, Esqui. Brand names are a thorny issue, aren't they? Even trusty old Hoover are now owned by Candy, famous for their exploding machines..

http://www.which.co.uk/news/2011/03/more-exploding-candy-washing-machines-248906/

Argos now do a brand called 'ProAction' which sounds like pure marketing hype - I think the same models were badged 'Bush' last week!

Yeah, we had a similar thing when Matsui things were rebadged as Currys Essentials. You'd have identical machines, aside from the name, side by side with £20 between them!

hard_slog

I must have the only Indesit that's worth having. Been going strong since my husband (now ex) bought it in 1997 & it's outlasted our marriage and I got custody of it :jonly recently starting to fail (had new brushes) and sounds like the bearing will be going sooner rather than later

k.o.d

We replaced our Hoover washer last year (because it used more PCB's than washes) with a Beko, our assumtion was that if it lasted 2 years then we were evens, the mechanics of the thing have been pretty good and it washes well, only fault has been a torn seal, but I think that was more to do with user error (me) rather than poor quality.

ostrich_lady

I have just had an engineer out to my Beko machine and apparently the motor has gone. He said it would cost between £150 - £250 to have it replaced - not very exact but obviously not worth considering.
This machine has been a joy to own. It washed much better than the old Bosch that preceded it but I'm devastated because it was new from January last year!
In 25 years of marriage I have never had a washing machine blow up after just 18 months. I should have paid the £75 for an extended 3 year warranty but we live and learn.
I don't know what to go for now but I'll have to decide quick as we are a family of 5 (and that includes 2 enormous adult children, not to mention a pre-teen nearly as tall as me).
Hey-ho. I will be spending the evening surfing review sites and comparing prices, cashback etc.

alterego_2

Sorry to hear that, Ostrich Lady. I was interested in a Beko WME8227, as it seems to be well regarded and was a very favourable price for a large capacity machine, especially at Argos. Their catalogue change-over messed up their website for a day or two, and the stock situation seems impossible to resolve, so we ended up buying a s/h AEG locally, but I would have had the Beko, even though I realise they're built to a price.

Not sure what to advise - I had a quick search for Beko parts, and the motors seem to be around £80, although I realise the labour can double it, and whole new machines can be had for under £200. I'd still rate Beko above Bush/Haus/Haier, but there is always an element of luck...

BTW, if you have (or get) an Argos card, you can have 12 months to pay with no interest, as long as you pay it all in the time allowed. You get clobbered if you don't, though!

alterego_2

"I will be spending the evening surfing review sites and comparing prices, cashback etc."

If you can pay outright, Jual Domestics are hard to beat, although they don't have everything in stock...

http://www.jualdomestics.com/

ostrich_lady

Hello again ~ Having spent a bit of time surfing around I haven't come to a definite decision yet but am leaning towards a moment of madness and considering going for the ISE 1607W. It sounds fantastic but is an awful lot of cash to part with in one go!

However the long term view is very persuasive. It costs £950 after delivery/installation but carries a 10 year parts and labour warranty and seems to have a history of living for 20 or so years in all with few or no problems. So at worst it will effectively cost me £95 a year and quite possibly half that.

The Beko that has just gone kaput cost £230 and lasted 18 months so effectively cost me £153 (ish) a year.

My only hesitation at this early point of consideration is about getting someone out to look at it, should it be needed. The ISE website lets you put in a postcode to find the nearest dealer/service engineer and the closest to me is about 25 miles away. I had a look on their website and it lists the areas they serve - where I live is not mentioned. I am not clear on whether they would have to come out regardless or not - so tomorrow I will let my fingers do the walking and perhaps try speaking to someone to clarify.

Perhaps I will also look at Martin's credit card section to spread the cost interest-free for a few months then it may not seem such a horrifying spend!;)

alterego_2

One of the features of the ISE machines is that their spares are not heavily marked-up, so even after ten years, it should be economical to fix (Miele spares, for instance, are very expensive). I don't know about their service arrangement, but they must be able to honour the warranty somehow.

A middle path might be John Lewis, who give a 3-year warranty for their own machines (made by Electrolux/Zanussi)...

We have a local dealer that supplies Blomberg machines under a similar deal, and he reports that they have given very little trouble.

hollydays

alterego wrote: »

"I will be spending the evening surfing review sites and comparing prices, cashback etc."

If you can pay outright, Jual Domestics are hard to beat, although they don't have everything in stock...

http://www.jualdomestics.com/

..if you can pay outright..
search the name jual on this site for appalling reviews.They have now gone into administration.

fwor

hollydays wrote: »

..if you can pay outright..
search the name jual on this site for appalling reviews.They have now gone into administration.

Thanks for the warning - I was just about to buy something from them!

My own experience is with Ariston (very poor, wore out drive belts quickly, hard to balance, bearings failed after 4 years), AEG (excellent and worked flawlessly for 8 years, and then failed spectacularly when something came loose between outer and inner drum while on high speed spin) and another AEG which is even better, as it has a computer based controller rather than mechanical.

BTW, Beko may be fairly cheap, but some of their appliances (e.g. fridges) are very well rated by Which? (except I guess for the ones that catch fire!).