Comment by tadfisher
1 day ago
Miele, Bosch, and Speed Queen do the old-school engineering based on failure analysis and have basically the same reliability as the super-simple machines from the 70s and 80s, so 20 years is a common lifespan with outliers in the 30- and 40-year range. If you adjust for inflation, you find that the super-simple machines from the 70s and 80s cost basically the same as machines from these more expensive brands, so if you care about filling landfills with broken appliances, you should probably consider purchasing them and supporting the business model.
No one would make cost-engineered stuff that fails just outside the warranty if people didn't buy it.
Bosch has been making washing machines where replacing the drum bearings is not supported (the bearings are sealed in a plastic housing) for a while now, not sure if this is the case in all of the models or the cheaper ones only.
Speed Queen is the ONLY washer dryer brand I would consider. I currently have a Kenmore set from 2001. Works great.
Alliance Laundry which makes Speed Queen recently IPOed:
https://ir.alliancelaundry.com/news-events/press-releases/de...
Once a company goes public they tend to focus more on earnings per quarter, causing decision making to be more short-term.
Not great when, as a consumer, you hope to get a product that will last 20+ years.
Oh no... better buy one now if you have the chance.
Pass. I replaced an early 00s Whirlpool/Maytag/Kenmore top loader a few years ago and had SQ front loaders at a previous place. The top loader needed a tub that was difficult to find and expensive ($400+).
The SQs were very noisy, not super reliable, and didn't seem to clean that well. The SQs that built their reputation were the old top loaders with minimal electronics. Plenty of really obnoxious problems with the current TR series, dunno if the current TCs are as good as the old ones… and I still couldn't imagine living with one of those in my home.
The Electrolux front loader that I've got now has all the benefits of a front loader and does a good job cleaning. If I hadn't been burned by LG I'd probably consider one of their front loaders that everyone seems to fawn over.