A good word for Servis?

Niklos

After 12 years of faithful service my Creda lost its marbles (or ball bearings) and started making a horrible noise. It struggled on for another two years but when the clothes started to smell of axel grease I decided the time had come to part. I looked in the Argos catalogue. Being a man of modest means and modest needs (when it comes to dirty laundry) I decided to purchase a Servis Ecocare 1000.

Everything was fine. I didn't overstretch the machine's capabilities, doing at most one load a week. For two and a half years I had no trouble but then suddenly the machine started behaving irrationally: it no longer obeyed the programs but developed its own agenda, having violent fits, starting to fill and then going off into dramatic spins.

I called out the engineer. Yes, the programmer had broken but the whole drum would need replacing at a cost of £150. It was the way it was made; only Servis make them this way, I was told. I thought about it and said, well I might as well buy a new machine - what do you recommend? "Well," said the guy, looking at my delinquent washer: "not Servis, that's for sure. In fact, we won't even sell them."

So. Creda: 14 years; Servis: 2.5. What should I conclude? Do Servis no longer make them like they used to or did Servis never make 'em like they used to? Was mine just a rogue machine? Was I wrong to buy Servis?

I wrote to Servis to ask these questions. They wrote back telling me at great length that if a fault develops within the first 6 months it is probably a manufacturing defect but it it develops after 12 months it is the result of "fair wear and tear". They didn't address any of my questions.

I wrote again to point this out and to emphasise that I had not suggested that it was a manufacturing defect but possibly a design flaw and asked them to clarify whether their deisgn was different. They might, I thought, want to defend their company's reputation. I also asked whether they had any statistics to compare reliability with other brands. I told them that I could understand *unfair* wear and tear causing a fault but surely they weren't saying that Servis machines are so flimsy that "fair wear and tear" is all it takes to cause one to break down after a year?

Their reply this time was an even blander statement of company policy, although pointing out that I had had the option to extend the warranty. None of my questions were addressed.

So, does anyone have a good word for Servis? I do but I am too polite to use it...

mentaljessie

I can't speak for all Servis washing machines but mine has been a trusty friend now for 8 years although, I have heard bad things about Servis.

RedOnRed

Servis's unbeatable prices come at a short lifespan premium.

Paying the extra gets you a better machine and less hassle in the long run.

chalky_bertie

Current washer and last one have both been Servis's (or should that be Servi) and they have both been OK (touch wood).

m00nie

our servis machine died yesterday.. it wont spin only about 2 years old