Doc wrote:

A local appliance shop has a number of refurb'd top loader washers of
various brands - Roper, Maytag, Kenmore, Kitchenaide, Whirlpool, RCA, GE.
The ones they had on display ranged from decent in appearance to virtually
new looking. Supposedly they've all been gone through. Probably ranging from
5 - 20 years old. Those that had model names visible were Kitchenaide Quiet
Care, Superba. Kenmore Quiet Pak Plus. Whirlpool Ultimate Care Heavy Duty.

What's a good older brand or line within a brand that's known for tough,
dependable construction and also being repair friendly? Any to definitely
avoid? Any features that I should look for? I tend to go for simple, on the
theory that there's less to go wrong.

I checked the forums at two appliance websites, www.fixitnow.com and
www.applianceaid.com (tons of repair information at both), and they
seem to speak well of the top-loading Whirlpools with conventional
agitators (both belt and direct drive versions) and no electronic
controls. Whirlpool has been sold under several brands, including
Roper, Kitchenaid, Estate, Kenmore (Sears, but not all Kenmores are
Whirlpools), and Kirkland (Costco). The direct-drive models seem to be
easier to work on because the whole cabinet comes off sort of easily..