Was going to try fixing my 20year old zanusi but on inspection it appears more than just bearings, rusting etc...so decided to replace... seems if you're happy with normal spin speeds ... some news ones are really cheap ... (1000 rpm etc and my wife uses 1 or 2 programs at most) eg ... BEKO WMB10W £160 delivered from comet
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Servis M6011W £170 delivered from index... I know they aren't built to last anymore ... but are models like this just trouble... should I pay another £100+ for a basic bosch... or are they pretty much all the same these days and buy the cheapest with a view to replacing every 5 years? Andrew
Well Servis are most likely to break down and not economical to repair due to expensive spares, Beko on the other hand have much cheaper spares but harder to find.
I would be careful when choosing a washing machine, I have an AEG 1400 max spin speed I had to reinforce the floor as it vibrates violently at intermittent speeds what ever wash the load.
It is maintained under contract and I have had the engineers several times and they say there is nothing they can do adding they are meant for being used on a concrete pad. How do people manage in a flat?!! I asked the engineer he didn't reply.
This machine cost £450 I'm sure a lower spin seed would be just as good. Our previous machine a Hoover lasted 14 years and we had twins it did all their nappies in that time it owed me nothing I cant say it is justified to get a high end washing machine that has all the bells and whistles, because as you say you only use one or two programs. Say hot wash for whites and drip dry for everything else.My AEG is 2,8 time more expensive than the BEKO Is the AEG 2.8 times better or you could throw the Beco away every two years get a new one and still be in pocket when comparing with the AEG. MikeS
We bought the cheapest Candy available a few years ago (our Sack-Of-Shit (TM) Hoover - top of the range - broke down for the final time in its very short and regularly inoperable life (3 years at most I think it lasted))
The motor controller PCB failed about 2 weeks before the warranty was due up and was replaced without incident, and its worked perfectly since.
I think its 5 years old now, cost about the same as the Beko you mentioned IIRC.
Cheap washing machines are great - very reliable. Mainly because they just have less in them. And when they do finally go wrong, you can _afford_ a simple bearing or seal, rather than a mutli-speed motor or a controller that gets BBC7.
The ones to avoid are the mid-range ones. Lots of extra features glopped on there, particularly complicated controllers. They're also in the most competitive and price-squeezed part of the marketplace. You get a lot of bits for your money, but you don't get reliability.
If you're a single bloke, get a cheap simple one. If you've got freshly hatched sprogs, get an AEG Lavamat. One machine will get little use and die of old calendar age, the other will be run into the ground and actually _worn_ out..
_Why_ a washing machine (or CH boiler) controller PCB has less complexity than a Tamagotchi, yet requires more maintenance overhead than a space shuttle, is still beyond me.
IMO this is because they are not designed for the US market, where when it breaks too readily, the lawyers file a class action and the resulting publicity kills the company. IME US cheaper, white goods, products are relatively reliable and very cheaply repairable, compared to their European counterparts, performance can be another matter. I suspect (based on experience of designing mass production items for a couple of US companies) that they also do more product abusive life testing. The US also employs older design engineers, who have already made a lot of their mistakes and learned from them. The European ideal is to make older engineers redundant as they are too expensive and then to subcontract out the design and manufacturing to the cheapest source with no back up in the form of tough product testing. Some European products, I now note, have longer warranties, so we will see if the product life actually improves.
This almost sounds like the moans about electronics in European cars!
I agree Andy its the same all over when you compare how much computer peripherals against most consumer electronics we must be barking mad to put up with it. A case of TamIgocher!
washing machine, and the drum was tiny! Had an OK load rating in weight, but you would struggle to get three pairs of jeans in it, so far too small IMO for doing a family wash.
This was also true for the next 3 or 4 cheapest machines that currys had in stock so then you start to get to the £270 mark.
When I retirned to this contry in 1983, I bought a hotpoint. Its still working after two new door seals overteh years.
In 1995 I got another cheapo hotpoint. Thepump went under warranty, the concrete blocks smashed off its drm after a few years (now glued on with car body filler) and the motor went short-to-earth a month or two back.
Its still going but I can't say I am pleased. The drum to frame gap is adequate to ingest socks with alarming frequency.
Frankly, I'd got for a second hand machine thats battered to hell, but still works.
My ma in law was praisong her orginla 1955 fridge 'it lasted for 14 years: I wish we still had it" I asked her what the cost price was 'around £200'
We had a whole garage built for £200 in 1955. Today that would cost what? £5000? £20,000?
Most people today buy a machine with extended warranty, and throw it aay and replace as soon as the warranty runs out and it goes wrong, because frankly, with all out plus parts exceeding £150, the cost benefit of fixing unless DIY is crap.
hmm, but what about the affect on Mercedes of being merge / bought out / ? with Chrysler. Now Mercedes cars are near the bottom of the reliability stakes, because of the use of American design models!
Having said that, America does generally have a good reputation for engineering.
Hadn't thought of this ... I assumed that all 5kg loads would be about the same size... my local comet didn't have one in ... they said it was internet only(?) - I presume it was t the drum and not the just the door which was so small?
Mercedes has had a ball of fun in the US. They started by telling their German engineers to design an SUV like the US, with US parts and then to make it in a part of the US with no engineering background or experience of mass production. Hence the ML320. The US dealers refused to sell the product for about a year AIUI because of the quality problems. If you feel like real laugh, try a ride in the back set of one or if really brave, try driving one, you'll soon realise why it became the ML430. They then decided to become a world leader in high volume cars, and arranged to take over Chrysler, change the management who understood the US customer and fired all the experienced US engineers. I believe they also managed to obtain access to a Chrysler cash mountain at the time, not quite sure on this. The PT cruiser was already finished as a rebody/redesign of the Neon and has sold well. However Mercedes decided to replace the somewhat dubious mechanics of the Intrepid,for which spares were always necessary (auto box 60K miles, water pump 55K (total parts and labour cost to replace pump in 3 hours one day $130, including fetching the replacement from 20 miles away), oxygen sensors 75K) but readily and cheaply available, with more of those from Mitsubishi, some of which are as available as hens teeth. Pity they never sold the Intrepid in Europe as it was the most comfortable long distance 6 seater car I've ever driven. However sales have been declining for some years. The Chrysler engineering was quite good, however the build quality seems always rather variable. The new 300 series etc AIUI is now rear wheel drive, the ones I've seen have IMO the charisma of a brick. I'm waiting to see if they can compete with Honda and Toyota, I doubt it even with a Merc engine, as I understand that the workforce are not at all happy with German management styles. Mercedes haven't got at the Caravan yet AIUI, so sales there are holding up a bit better. In Europe I read that Smart are up for sale, having lost money from day 1 and IMO they make a
57 Mini look as safe as a tank when in a collision. The German management appears to be hell bent on cost reduction in Europe and moving sourcing and production round to cheaper and cheaper locations. The resulting products seem IMO to be getting to resemble those of BL at it's worst. They also have lost a lot of their best dealers by deciding to deal with the public direct in the UK. One UK Mercedes dealer internally,just over a year ago, described the A series as less reliable than a Corsa and not even in the same league for build quality IIRC! Anyway, as you can see Mercedes quality is now German? engineering driven with virtually zero US influence. Their mistakes are their own!!
No not just the door, the drum was very small - approx 9" deep, not sure about the diameter, but was small enough for the person doing to buying to instantly discount getting one, and she only has 2 people in her household.
Like you, I looked around on various websites and assumed that 5Kg load machines would have similar sized drums - although my ignorance was compounded by the fact that the two machines that I have owned in the last 15 years both had enough room to bung a king sized duvet in.
However strolling around Currys to find a suitable machine showed quite a significant difference in drum sizes, if not weight capacity. This may or may not be an issue for you.
but with such silly callout and repair charges, diy washer repair is coming into its own now. Why pay someone else 150 when you can do it yourself in 2-3 hours for 25?
I had to mail as I have also just said goodbye to my 22 year old Zanussi Washer Drier - WD2249. During the time I had it (rom new when I first left home to set up mine), I never had any probs that needed a call-out. I only had to replace the spring clip on the door catch about 6 years back at a wopping £8.50 ! But sadly my bearings also expired and although I tried to get the large 'spider' assembly off the back to draw the bearing/shaft out, a solid nut got rounded ansd I had to concede defeat and replace the machine.
I opted for a Candy CNW136 Washer Dryer from Tesco.com and with a current electrical discount deal only paid £286 delivered and old machine removed. Got my full Clubcard points too, so was really £283. Currently, a 10% discount coupon n the Christmas magazine will get you it for £268, so go for that! 1300 spin, 5years parts/1 year labour warranty.
Good luck
Mark
**REMOVE** 'myhat' from my return email address before sending!!
Realise thats a 1 year warranty, not 5. Heres' how it works with hotpoint, I would expect other mfrs are the same.
With 5 yr parts warranties you get the parts free as long as you use their service org and pay inflated prices for the labour. In other words after 1 year its worthless in 99% of cases.
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