Washing machine breaks every 1-3 years

vic_sf49

andre_xs said:

Ok, thanks a lot for your replies. Yes, maybe we have been a bit spoiled with our views, because we also are used to machines lasting much longer, but if newer low-/mid-range machines are not lasting that long anymore, we may indeed just run into the end of their life cycle.

We always bought from private so far, not from commercial dealers selling white goods. Of course we don't know for sure, but it's a bit unlikely they've been run more than once a day every day or so.

So, if you had the choice between a used one between £70 and £100, and a new Indesit or HighSense for £220 - £260 from Amazon, what would be your choice?

Thanks a lot! 

I'd go for new, but which one would depend on drum size, spin speed (1400 rpm minimum), it has to have a quick wash (15 mins or close to it), and for most programmes to be able to run quickly (1 hr or less), and warranty length. 

QrizB

vic_sf49 said:

I'd go for new, but which one would depend on drum size, spin speed (1400 rpm minimum), it has to have a quick wash (15 mins or close to it), and for most programmes to be able to run quickly (1 hr or less), and warranty length. 

... whereas I don't really care about any of those things, but want a nice cheap ECO 40-60 wash cycle.

My Beko takes almost three hours to run that cycle but that suits me fine 

Newbie_John

Get a new Ebac washing machine, 7 years warranty as standard. 

subjecttocontract

Our Bosch washing machine is over 20 years old, so they can last quite a while.
* Are you sure you are not overloading the machine ?
* Washing machines don't usually like being moved and transported unless the drum clamps are fitted to stop any undue movement. These clamps are fitted when new and are removed when installed. So, perhaps not enough care has been taken when transporting your 2nd hand machines.

twopenny

Overloading was my first thought. Too easy to do.

And if you're washing every other day and high spin speed that's going to cause a lot of wear.

Bigphil1474

Our old house had a suspended wooden floor and we had a lot of trouble with vibrating machines, particularly an LG model we got that took a higher load. I was all for filling the cellar underneath with concrete tbh. Anyway, we found a reasonable solution was to fit anti-slip matting under the feet and do halfish loads - maybe 60%. If we tried filling it up the vibrating was too much. We also never got to spin above 1200. We've now moved to a house with a concrete floor in the kitchen, so no more crazy vibrating washing machine. 

Northern_Wanderer

Vibrating machine is going to place wear on moving parts, but unlikley to affect electronics. Do you make sure to "balance" your load? Do you do a "service" wash every so often to clean out the machine? That is, a high temp wash (90C) with some sort of cleaner like soda crystals.

Personally I like to buy a machine that it's possible to repair and I will spend more on it for that.

Section62

Northern_Wanderer said:

Vibrating machine is going to place wear on moving parts, but unlikley to affect electronics. Do you make sure to "balance" your load? Do you do a "service" wash every so often to clean out the machine? That is, a high temp wash (90C) with some sort of cleaner like soda crystals.

Electronic components aren't immune to failure due to vibration (especially the cheap ones) but there are also the solder connections, physical connections and wires which are susceptible to failure due to vibration, and failure of any of those could throw up an 'electronics' fault code.  The more the machine vibrates then potentially the earlier in the machine's life the fault might happen.

Northern_Wanderer said:

Personally I like to buy a machine that it's possible to repair and I will spend more on it for that.

Unfortunately original purchase price isn't always a good indicator of whether repairs are possible or economically viable.... for example replacing the bearings requires the outer drum/tub to be split and there doesn't appear to be any correlation between purchase price/brand and whether a particular model has a one-piece outer drum/tub or not.

There's also something to be said for cheaper/more popular models where it might be possible to pick up a cheap/free machine to use as a parts donor more easily than some of the more upmarket/less-common models, for which you might be reliant on the manufacturer's spares service (and costs).

juliedee4663

Have you asked yourself why people are selling relatively "young" machines, maybe it is because they are not happy with the performance of them or know there is a problem. In my opinion it is false economy paying less for a 2nd hand machine that you don't know the history of than buying  a new machine with a manufacturer's warranty.