"Stephen Gallagher"wrote
... need a new washer ... consider a front loader, their
neighbor who is an appliance repairman said not to
get one, as he gets too many repair calls on them. ...
What do most people think? Do they, generally,
fail more often than top loaders?

Here, in the UK, the majority of washers are front loaders and do not appear
to cause any additional problems over the less common top loaders. Ask the
repairman you have spoke with about the particular probs encountered (they
may just have been from low cost models).

I would say go ahead, but make sure you purchase a well known brand name,
because if the door seals eventually need replaced it will usually be easier
to get a replacement. I personally have never had to replace a door seal
in 30 years of having front loaders.

Ah ... less water & energy use ... another example of how we in the UK are
more environmentally conscious (but that's another thread for another
newsgroup!!).

Haggis_n_Neeps