Washing Machines - which makes are generally thought of as the best these days?

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Rollerball

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My washing machine (Hotpoint WML540) is starting to sound pretty rough when on the spin cycle (and only on that cycle) and I guess the bearings are on the way out. From doing some reading it seems that the drum is glued shut so pretty it's impossible to replace the bearings.

So, I may need a new machine soon.

Which makes are currently accepted to be the most reliable, relatively cheap and easy to repair and also with good customer service?

It needs to be free standing and go under the counter.

Thanks
 
Always been happy with Bosch.

Free standing my preference, it is easy and cheap to wheel in and out, or replace if and when necessary.

The less complicated the better.

If Bosch appliances ever go wrong, they may offer you a fixed price repair, or a service contract for not much more, which is good value as long as you remember to cancel it before if renews the next year. Bosch have good online parts ordering if you are handy. IME they are so reliable that extended warranties are a waste of money.

If you can afford a Miele, their owners are even more happy with them. Repairs rare, but expensive. Both brands also score highly on "which" owner surveys.

When installing it, loop the waste hose up to worktop level before sloping down to the drain, to prevent dirty water siphoning in. Clean the filter occasionally, clean the cap each time and wipe with the merest trace of silicone grease so it won't seize

Don't use excessive powder or fabsoft as this builds up sludge. Do an occasional hot hot hot wash with no powder, no fabsoft, and a cup of Washing soda crystals to clean the drum. Put your white cotton towels in, as you have no worries about fading or shrinking, they will come out whiter and softer than ever, and you will be amazed how much the water foams up as it dissolves soap residues.
 
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Incidentally, in the "Which" survey of thousands of users,

Hotpoint scored almost exactly twice as many as Bosch in both the "broke down in first 7 years" and "repaired or replaced after a fault" percentages.

Edit
Whirlpool even worse.
 
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Our Zanussi's have always been good but they are made by Electrolux who, like other manufacturers, make several brands. Beko used to appear on here regularly with problems but I haven't seen a post for a while now so perhaps their products are improving.
 
I had a Miele washing machine that I purchased about 15 yrs ago I paid about £700. I purchased it because I had to build the cupboard around it. I wanted a machine that would last for years.

I was disappointed that the PCB failed after less than 2 years. I rang up their customer services. The guy was pretty dismissive given that our machine was over 12 months old. I spent 30+ minutes on the phone, explaining that if had purchased a cheap washing machine ever 2 years, I would have been better off. I think that I wore him down.

He plucked a number out of the air and said that if I could prove that the washing machine was less than 19 months, then the engineer would fix the washing machine for free.

I could not find the original email invoice. I registered a domain name. Created a fake invoice from a non existent company. Left a holding page saying that the retailer had gone out of business

The engineer turned up, looked at the fake invoice and replaced the PCB.

I am not proud of the fact that I lied, however, it was cheaper than forcing them to go down the small claims path.

In spite of the above, I still recommend Miele... The build quality is admirable.
 
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Our Hoover heat pump condenser tumble drier (made in Turkey) was faulty when delivered. The replacement stopped working after about 2 years. I had to replace the drive capacitor.
 
Bought our Miele with a 10 year guarantee about 9 1/2 years ago. Only called them out once and it turned out to be a gunged up vacuum pipe. They cleaned it out no charge.
 
A lot of appliances seem crap these days as We’ve had several, but some were faulty after x months. We had a Samsung eco bubble which was a good machine, but the rubber wore down very quickly. Zanussi iirc the drum came off after a short period, a Hoover one that something else happened to (can’t remember). Wife wouldn’t have Hotpoint, Beko, whirlpool as they’re all part of the same group. A lot are just made by 3rd party companies anyway. Our current one is a Bosch which is good. What seems to happen though is it adds time onto the program, however this may be due to a heavier load.
 
Mottie said:
Bought our Miele with a 10 year guarantee about 9 1/2 years ago. Only called them out once and it turned out to be a gunged up vacuum pipe. They cleaned it out no charge.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, when we purchased ours, it was only a one year warranty. Great machines though. I love the fact that they use Torq screws and polish the metal edges.
 
opps said:
Unfortunately, when we purchased ours, it was only a one year warranty. Great machines though. I love the fact that they use Torq screws and polish the metal edges.
Click to expand...
It was on a promotion at the time. 10 year guarantee and £200 cashback! I think we paid £1200 for it though but we were getting through Hotpoints at an alarming rate.
 
I would not purchase any washing machine that uses a block of concrete to weigh down the drum.
 
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