We are looking to buy a new washing machine and have checked out the Which?
site. We are after something that costs £400 or less and has 1) delayed
start option 2) good rinsing 3) 6kg drum and
4) handwash cycle.
The AEG-Electrolux L64810 looks like a good option. Has anyone had
experience of this machine?

Any other recommendations? (We have always gone for Bosch before but a
number of models are now mae for the cheaper end of the market and may not
be so reliable).

On 2007-05-28 09:47:06 +0100, "Jo" said:

We are looking to buy a new washing machine and have checked out the Which?
site. We are after something that costs £400 or less and has 1) delayed
start option 2) good rinsing 3) 6kg drum and
4) handwash cycle.
The AEG-Electrolux L64810 looks like a good option. Has anyone had
experience of this machine?

Any other recommendations? (We have always gone for Bosch before but a
number of models are now mae for the cheaper end of the market and may not
be so reliable).

Miele.

Jo wrote:

We are looking to buy a new washing machine and have checked out the
Which?
site. We are after something that costs £400 or less and has 1) delayed
start option 2) good rinsing 3) 6kg drum and
4) handwash cycle.
The AEG-Electrolux L64810 looks like a good option. Has anyone had
experience of this machine?

Top end Bosch (do they still call it the Logixx range??) isn't bad.


Any other recommendations? (We have always gone for Bosch before but a
number of models are now mae for the cheaper end of the market and may not
be so reliable).

It's a bit higher than your price bracket, but this:

http://www.tradingpost-appliances.co...oduct/3302.php

is 450 squid. I've got the earlier model, the Premier 500 and it is
excellent. Bottom end Miele tops top end Bosch by a large margin.

It washes excellently, there is total attention to detail and if you want a
laff, ask the blokes to deliver it upstairs to the bathroom - it was all 2
burley blokes could do to lift it over our doorstep. It is very stable
during the spin cycle.

Two other things that miss your specs are it's a 5kg drum and unfortunately
it does not have the delayed start option. There are models that do (and
some that have 6kg drums), but they cost even more.

I still recommend it though despite that - copes with our family of 4.

Cheers

Tim

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-05-28 09:47:06 +0100, "Jo" said:

We are looking to buy a new washing machine and have checked out the
Which?
site. We are after something that costs £400 or less and has 1) delayed
start option 2) good rinsing 3) 6kg drum and
4) handwash cycle.
The AEG-Electrolux L64810 looks like a good option. Has anyone had
experience of this machine?

Any other recommendations? (We have always gone for Bosch before but a
number of models are now mae for the cheaper end of the market and may
not
be so reliable).

Miele.


I have to say teh same.
Take out a loan.

The interest on the loan will be less than the service charges you will
pay on any other.

Tim S wrote:

is 450 squid. I've got the earlier model, the Premier 500 and it is
excellent. Bottom end Miele tops top end Bosch by a large margin.

It washes excellently, there is total attention to detail and if you want a
laff, ask the blokes to deliver it upstairs to the bathroom - it was all 2
burley blokes could do to lift it over our doorstep. It is very stable
during the spin cycle.

Two other things that miss your specs are it's a 5kg drum and unfortunately
it does not have the delayed start option. There are models that do (and
some that have 6kg drums), but they cost even more.

I still recommend it though despite that - copes with our family of 4.

I will 2nd the Recommendation. Having just gone through the same process
of selection etc.
Delving around the miele site I finally pushed the boat out out and
upped my budget somewhat (by about £400) going for the 1600 spin with
6Kg honeycomb drum. I thought that as my last machine (a
whirlpool)lasted 10 years £80 a year was a small expense in the grand
scale of things.

General opinion is it's always to better to get a lower spec higher
quality machine than the other way round. Especially when machine
failure can be expensive and very inconvienient (more so when it's got
to go up or down a flight of stairs)

:¬)

Pete

--
http://www.gymratz.co.uk
For home or commercial gym equipment.

Jo wrote:
We are looking to buy a new washing machine and have checked out the Which?
site. We are after something that costs £400 or less and has 1) delayed
start option 2) good rinsing 3) 6kg drum and
4) handwash cycle.
The AEG-Electrolux L64810 looks like a good option. Has anyone had
experience of this machine?

Any other recommendations? (We have always gone for Bosch before but a
number of models are now mae for the cheaper end of the market and may not
be so reliable).

This looks a good price for a high spec. Miele
http://www.redhillappliances.co.uk/P...PRODUCTID=3277

I bought ours from Redhill Appliances and they were the best price with
easy delivery (all be it to ground floor only)

I bought a Miele last summer - with a free 10 year parts and labour
warranty. As the others say, find a little more cash and get a product
that lasts.

On 28/05/2007 10:39, Pete @ www.GymRatZ.co.uk wrote:

I bought ours from Redhill Appliances and they were the best price with
easy delivery

another +1 for that company from me.

wrote:


What are they like for spares availability and price? I currently use two
elderly machines. (about 20yrs)

The older, an electrolux, is still cheap for and has readily available
spares. The newer, an AEG was expensive, had expensive spares which
were difficult to obtain, and is now broken (won't spin, I hope it's
just the brushes, but it has been a bit unbalanced recently and the drum
bearings are getting past it (and only available at the price of a new low
end machine)). It may be time to replace.


Miele are *supposed* to be good in this respect.

Tim

On 2007-05-28 13:00:35 +0100, said:


(Miele)


What are they like for spares availability and price? I currently use two
elderly machines. (about 20yrs)

Most Miele machines are sold with a 10 years parts and labour warranty
so spares are a non issue within that period.

Their service organisation is among the best I've encountered. I value
good service very highly as a purchasing criterion and won't accept
poor service. You can call Miele's service department, describe
the fault and book a call initially with a morning or afternoon
appointment. You can opt to get a reminder by email, SMS or phone the
day before, and after 1630 on the day before they have a recorded
system which you can call and it will provide a 2 hour time range for
the appointment. On the day, the engineer calls as he leaves his
last appointment. They are incentivised to fix faults on the first call
and carry a good spares stock to support that. Obviously this saves
them money, but more to the point, it saves the customer's time.

Spares are readily available on request and don't seem particularly
expensive - IIRC a longer dishwasher waste hose was around £10.

With the washing machine I have taken a view of writing it down to zero
over the 10 year warranty period and then setting a limit of £100-150
that I would be willing to spend on spare parts in the event of a
failure. This is roughly what the appliance insurers do.




The older, an electrolux, is still cheap for and has readily available
spares. The newer, an AEG was expensive, had expensive spares which
were difficult to obtain, and is now broken (won't spin, I hope it's
just the brushes, but it has been a bit unbalanced recently and the drum
bearings are getting past it (and only available at the price of a new low
end machine)). It may be time to replace.

On Mon, 28 May 2007 09:47:06 +0100, a particular chimpanzee, "Jo"
randomly hit the keyboard and produced:

We are looking to buy a new washing machine and have checked out the Which?
site. We are after something that costs £400 or less and has 1) delayed
start option 2) good rinsing 3) 6kg drum and
4) handwash cycle.
The AEG-Electrolux L64810 looks like a good option. Has anyone had
experience of this machine?

Any other recommendations? (We have always gone for Bosch before but a
number of models are now mae for the cheaper end of the market and may not
be so reliable).

If you have a John Lewis near you, their 'own brand' appears to be an
AEG for £50 less. I've had mine for about 18 months now and (touch
wood), hasn't given me problems up to now.
--
Hugo Nebula
"If no-one on the internet wants a piece of this,
just how far from the pack have you strayed?"

On Mon, 28 May 2007 16:49:43 +0100, Hugo Nebula wrote:

If you have a John Lewis near you, their 'own brand' appears to be an
AEG for £50 less. I've had mine for about 18 months now and (touch
wood), hasn't given me problems up to now.

18 months is nothing for a washing machine in a domestic situation. This
is an interesting thread for me as we only have one spare machine now.
The last one to fail was about 20 years old an "Electra" (the brand name
for the old electricity company shops...). Now on a similarly aged Zanusi,
the last spare machine (a Hotpoint) is 22 years old.

Miele always get a good report but I sometimes wonder how much of that is
down to defending the price. B-) Though a 10 year parts & labour
guarantee must say something.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

On Mon, 28 May 2007 13:22:22 +0100, Owain
mused:

wrote:
[Miele]
What are they like for spares availability and price?

AFAIK Miele are the only European domestic washing machine manufacturer
that also make commercial laundry equipment, in fact many of the current
domestic range share parts with the commercial range, which suggests
that spares availability will be good.

There are others, not sure how European they are thoguh, but their
machines are completely different between domestic and commercial
ones.

That said, I've never known anyone actually *need* spares :-)

Owain
--
Regards,
Stuart.

On 2007-05-28 18:15:04 +0100, "Dave Liquorice" said:

On Mon, 28 May 2007 16:49:43 +0100, Hugo Nebula wrote:

If you have a John Lewis near you, their 'own brand' appears to be an
AEG for £50 less. I've had mine for about 18 months now and (touch
wood), hasn't given me problems up to now.

18 months is nothing for a washing machine in a domestic situation. Thi
s
is an interesting thread for me as we only have one spare machine now.
The last one to fail was about 20 years old an "Electra" (the brand name

for the old electricity company shops...).

I used to have a fridge of that brand - I think they were made by LEC.
It lasted donkey's years.



Now on a similarly aged Zanus
i,
the last spare machine (a Hotpoint) is 22 years old.

Miele always get a good report but I sometimes wonder how much of that i
s
down to defending the price. B-) Though a 10 year parts & labour
guarantee must say something.

I hate farting about with domestic appliances. The thought of having
to strip down a machine to change the bearings etc. underwhelms me.

I think that one can really adopt one of a few philosophies.

- Buy a cheap thing, hope it lasts three years and chuck it away. I
don't think that the "Electras" exist any more - i.e. low price, long
life.

- Mid range with reasonable spares availability and a willingness to
repair or get it repaired if it breaks. I think that this works for
some people.

- Quality product with long warranty.

For the last case it could be that the price is inflated to cover the
warranty or that it is pay for better materials and design.

However, if one thinks about it, it would be a risky strategy for a
manufacturer to offer a 10 year warranty sandbagged by price on a
mediochre product.

It's expensive to pay for engineer visits. Either they need to be
avoided or a way found that the customer pays.

On Mon, 28 May 2007 18:54:01 UTC, Andy Hall wrote:

The last one to fail was about 20 years old an "Electra" (the brand name

for the old electricity company shops...).

I used to have a fridge of that brand - I think they were made by LEC.
It lasted donkey's years.

They used to chop and change. Electra were rebadged LECs for a while;
Tricity also made a lot of them (my dad used to work for Tricity).

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
http://www.diybanter.com

Andy Hall typed

Miele.

Miele (for the umpteenth time)

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

I think that one can really adopt one of a few philosophies.

- Buy a cheap thing, hope it lasts three years and chuck it away. I
don't think that the "Electras" exist any more - i.e. low price, long life.

- Mid range with reasonable spares availability and a willingness to
repair or get it repaired if it breaks. I think that this works for
some people.

- Quality product with long warranty.

With washing machines I've always adopted philosophy no.1 and they've
lasted more like 13 years than 3. Yeah, I know, I've just been lucky

On 2007-05-28 21:01:57 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:


I think that one can really adopt one of a few philosophies.

- Buy a cheap thing, hope it lasts three years and chuck it away. I
don't think that the "Electras" exist any more - i.e. low price, long
life.

- Mid range with reasonable spares availability and a willingness to
repair or get it repaired if it breaks. I think that this works for
some people.

- Quality product with long warranty.

With washing machines I've always adopted philosophy no.1 and they've
lasted more like 13 years than 3. Yeah, I know, I've just been lucky

What would you have done if it had failed earlier?

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On 2007-05-28 21:01:57 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:


I think that one can really adopt one of a few philosophies.

- Buy a cheap thing, hope it lasts three years and chuck it away. I
don't think that the "Electras" exist any more - i.e. low price, long
life.

- Mid range with reasonable spares availability and a willingness to
repair or get it repaired if it breaks. I think that this works for
some people.

- Quality product with long warranty.

With washing machines I've always adopted philosophy no.1 and they've
lasted more like 13 years than 3. Yeah, I know, I've just been lucky

What would you have done if it had failed earlier?

Reliability has a price. Some people may like to update every so often.
Others may like to take a chance.

Miele owners seem to be a bit like Volvo owners of some years ago.- always
praising their choice without thinking of the total cost of ownership
issues.

I have been happy with my choice of Indesit - 3 in about 32 years. I have
never had a repair man to it - although I have done some DIY fixes.
(Brushes, door seals)

On 2007-05-28 23:11:19 +0100, "John" said:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On 2007-05-28 21:01:57 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:


I think that one can really adopt one of a few philosophies.

- Buy a cheap thing, hope it lasts three years and chuck it away. I
don't think that the "Electras" exist any more - i.e. low price, long
life.

- Mid range with reasonable spares availability and a willingness to
repair or get it repaired if it breaks. I think that this works for
some people.

- Quality product with long warranty.

With washing machines I've always adopted philosophy no.1 and they've
lasted more like 13 years than 3. Yeah, I know, I've just been lucky

What would you have done if it had failed earlier?

Reliability has a price. Some people may like to update every so often.
Others may like to take a chance.

Miele owners seem to be a bit like Volvo owners of some years ago.- always
praising their choice without thinking of the total cost of ownership
issues.

On the contrary, it's precisely for TCO reasons. Apart from the direct
costs of materials and labour over the period of use, down time,
hanging around for repair visits or having to spend time fixing should
be taken into account.





I have been happy with my choice of Indesit - 3 in about 32 years. I have
never had a repair man to it - although I have done some DIY fixes.
(Brushes, door seals)

Exactly my point. There is a cost associated with the time taken to
diagnose the problem, procure the parts and fix the fault. If you
enjoy doing that and have the time, then fair enough. Personally, I
have no interest in fixing cheap domestic appliances when they break
because

a) it's usually a "distress fix" - i.e. drop everything and do it now -
I prefer doing jobs and projects that I can do as and when.

b) I can use my time more profitably - i.e. there are projects and jobs
with much higher ROI.

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Mon, 28 May 2007 16:49:43 +0100, Hugo Nebula wrote:

If you have a John Lewis near you, their 'own brand' appears to be an
AEG for £50 less. I've had mine for about 18 months now and (touch
wood), hasn't given me problems up to now.

18 months is nothing for a washing machine in a domestic situation. This
is an interesting thread for me as we only have one spare machine now.
The last one to fail was about 20 years old an "Electra" (the brand name
for the old electricity company shops...). Now on a similarly aged Zanusi,
the last spare machine (a Hotpoint) is 22 years old.

Miele always get a good report but I sometimes wonder how much of that is
down to defending the price. B-) Though a 10 year parts & labour
guarantee must say something.

The experience of owning one is a radically different experience from
any other machine I have had. It's quiet. Whisper quiet. Its the only
washing machine I have ever seen that has shock absorbers as well as
springs on the drum. The door and hinges are not made out of cast Mezak
or plastic, but lumps of machined steel IIRC..it even has places to put
te transit screws when you remove them so you can lock the drum for
transport again in a few years time..

In short it looks like a washing machine that has been designed by an
engineer, not a marketing department.

The difference in cost - about 300 notes as against a cheapo - is easily
rationalised in terms of NOT having to spend a couple of 150 pound
services on the cheapo before throwing it away.

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-05-28 23:11:19 +0100, "John" said:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On 2007-05-28 21:01:57 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:


I think that one can really adopt one of a few philosophies.

- Buy a cheap thing, hope it lasts three years and chuck it away. I
don't think that the "Electras" exist any more - i.e. low price, long
life.

- Mid range with reasonable spares availability and a willingness to
repair or get it repaired if it breaks. I think that this works for
some people.

- Quality product with long warranty.

With washing machines I've always adopted philosophy no.1 and they've
lasted more like 13 years than 3. Yeah, I know, I've just been lucky

What would you have done if it had failed earlier?

Reliability has a price. Some people may like to update every so often.
Others may like to take a chance.

Miele owners seem to be a bit like Volvo owners of some years ago.-
always
praising their choice without thinking of the total cost of ownership
issues.

On the contrary, it's precisely for TCO reasons. Apart from the direct
costs of materials and labour over the period of use, down time, hanging
around for repair visits or having to spend time fixing should be taken
into account.



hear hear!



I have been happy with my choice of Indesit - 3 in about 32 years. I have
never had a repair man to it - although I have done some DIY fixes.
(Brushes, door seals)

Exactly my point. There is a cost associated with the time taken to
diagnose the problem, procure the parts and fix the fault. If you
enjoy doing that and have the time, then fair enough. Personally, I
have no interest in fixing cheap domestic appliances when they break
because

a) it's usually a "distress fix" - i.e. drop everything and do it now -
I prefer doing jobs and projects that I can do as and when.

b) I can use my time more profitably - i.e. there are projects and jobs
with much higher ROI.


Hear hear hear!

It USED to be that any washing machine would do about 8 years before
needing brushes, then after 15-16 the plastic bits would have all gone
tatty.

No longer. After having had a machine tear its drum to pieces in 3, and
blow the motor completely in 5, I just said '**** it: Miele'

Little things like a 3/4" clearance between drum and housing - just
large enough to take a sock and totally destroy it - on the cheapo..

I think we have almost beaten the 'odd sock demon' since we got the Miele.

In article ,
The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Miele always get a good report but I sometimes wonder how much of that is
down to defending the price. B-) Though a 10 year parts & labour
guarantee must say something.

The experience of owning one is a radically different experience from
any other machine I have had. It's quiet. Whisper quiet. Its the only
washing machine I have ever seen that has shock absorbers as well as
springs on the drum. The door and hinges are not made out of cast Mezak
or plastic, but lumps of machined steel IIRC..it even has places to put
te transit screws when you remove them so you can lock the drum for
transport again in a few years time..

Yeah. I'll add a vote for Miele. I was slightly sceptical but we looked
at it as although the machine was 800 quid it had a 10 year warranty.
80 quid a year to see us through 10 years of two small children (well,
they won't be as small in 10 years obviously ) didn't actually seem
such bad value for money and a couple of years down the road I'm glad
we took that choice.

However, one thing that wasn't so great was that a couple of times the
thing stopped with an error code. I rang Miele and they sent an engineer
but as the machine appeared not to have recorded any error his laptop
couldn't find a fault so they wanted to charge us. A bit of a discussion
followed and the engineer (who was great I admit) made a phone call and
they scrapped the charge as "an act of goodwill". The guy then spend a fair
while pulling the thing apart and fiddling with things and (touch wood) it's
been fine since.

So, machine is lovely, engineer was excellent (I agree with the selecting
am/pm and being able to phone for times was really great) but we did have
a slightly negative dealing with Customer service.

In short it looks like a washing machine that has been designed by an
engineer, not a marketing department.

Exactly. According to SWMBO, they aren't pretty (just looks like a
washing machine to me )

The difference in cost - about 300 notes as against a cheapo - is easily
rationalised in terms of NOT having to spend a couple of 150 pound
services on the cheapo before throwing it away.

Yep. I'd certainly buy miele again (in fact, we have a miele dishwasher
as well and I'm seriously considering smashing the bloody dyson and
buying a miele there as well).

Darren

On 2007-05-29 09:18:59 +0100, (dmc) said:

Yep. I'd certainly buy miele again (in fact, we have a miele dishwasher
as well and I'm seriously considering smashing the bloody dyson and
buying a miele there as well).

Darren

That would be a good purchase as well.

I bought one of their models with variable speed control on the handle
and a "beats as it sweeps as it cleans" powered brush head. It's
useful for the few remaining carpets that we have. The power for the
head and controls run through special compartments in the hose and the
solid tubes so there are no dangling wires to plug in.

After about seven years of use, the hose needed to be replaced
following an accident with it. Either one can buy the spare, which
was (IIRC) about £35, or Miele offer a fixed price service and repair
for about £70.

This includes, collection and return delivery, replacement of any
defective consumables and parts, including tools and hoses, replacement
of all filters and a pack of disposable bags.

The service is booked by phone and a packing box arrives by courier on
the appointed day. Inside there is a sheet of instructions with
illustrations of what to pack where, bar code labels and so on. The
courier takes the machine away and it is returned (again on agreed day)
a few days later - in other words everything worked out to cause
minimum disruption for the customer which is how service should be.

In the event, we received a new hose and complete set of new brushes as
well as the service which I think is a pretty good deal.

Acid test of would I buy one again? Certainly.

It's not often we get such unanimous agreement on uk.d-i-y ;-)

Yup - Miele washers designed by engineers with minimal if any
marketing interference. Internally they look like the engine bay on a
new VW - every single cable routing and clip has been carefuly worked
out, along with designed in service access. Not a single bit you would
look at and say "that's a bit of a cheesy way to do it".

I made a service call on my brand new machine - it worked perfectly -
apart from the "minutes to finish" time display. Service call was as
perfect as everyone here is describing.

I've got an 8 year old Miele vacuum as well - and I wouldn't say the
differentiation is as strong. It certainly well made, but I wouldn't
say it's that much better than other vacuums.

dmc wrote:

Yep. I'd certainly buy miele again (in fact, we have a miele dishwasher
as well and I'm seriously considering smashing the bloody dyson and
buying a miele there as well).

Yep - second that too. The Miele Revolution hoover I have is the
best "cylinder" hoover I have ever seen, mostly because it has a decent
powered head to do all the carpets.

Cheers

Tim

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-05-28 21:01:57 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:


I think that one can really adopt one of a few philosophies.

- Buy a cheap thing, hope it lasts three years and chuck it away. I
don't think that the "Electras" exist any more - i.e. low price, long
life.

- Mid range with reasonable spares availability and a willingness to
repair or get it repaired if it breaks. I think that this works for
some people.

- Quality product with long warranty.

With washing machines I've always adopted philosophy no.1 and they've
lasted more like 13 years than 3. Yeah, I know, I've just been lucky

What would you have done if it had failed earlier?

*They* didn't fail earlier. If any of them had, I would have made a
mistake buying it. I can live with the suspense.

On Tue, 29 May 2007 08:27:28 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Its the only washing machine I have ever seen that has shock absorbers
as well as springs on the drum.

The recently failed 20 year old Electra (aka a Servis) has shock
absorbers...

The door and hinges are not made out of cast Mezak or plastic, but lumps
of machined steel IIRC..

Stainless I hope...

it even has places to put te transit screws when you remove them so you
can lock the drum for transport again in a few years time..

That idea I do like.

The difference in cost - about 300 notes as against a cheapo - is easily
rationalised in terms of NOT having to spend a couple of 150 pound
services on the cheapo before throwing it away.

I'd agree if I'd ever called out a washing machine service engineer but I
haven't, faults that have occured I've fixed myself or the machine is
dumped after 10 years service... We only have one "spare" washing
machine now and that is a 22 year old Hotpoint, admitedly it hasn't done
anything for the last 8 years and the door needs fixing (have the,
plastic, parts not the round tuit).

All the machines I've played with/fixed have been quite old. I don't know
how modern middle of the range machines match up in build.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

"Jo" wrote in message
...
We are looking to buy a new washing machine and have checked out the
Which? site. We are after something that costs £400 or less and has 1)
delayed start option 2) good rinsing 3) 6kg drum and
4) handwash cycle.
The AEG-Electrolux L64810 looks like a good option. Has anyone had
experience of this machine?

Any other recommendations? (We have always gone for Bosch before but a
number of models are now mae for the cheaper end of the market and may not
be so reliable).
I have just got an AEG L86810 from John Lewis, chosen basically due to its
low noise. Has free 5 year parts and labour warranty as well. It is very
very quiet, even when spinning @ 1600rpm which means one can run the washing
machine whilst using the kitchen table without being drowned out. The
incoming water and sloshing waste in stand pipe makes more noise than the
machine running.

Owain wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:
Andy Hall wrote:
With washing machines I've always adopted philosophy no.1 and
they've lasted more like 13 years than 3.
What would you have done if it had failed earlier?
*They* didn't fail earlier. If any of them had, I would have made a
mistake buying it. I can live with the suspense.

But *they* were cheap washing machines you bought 13 years ago.

Cheap washing machines one buys today are probably even more shoddily
manufactured.


The fact is when I bought my first (Hotpoint) machine in 1984 or
thereabouts, it cost 300 quid.

It was a cheap washing machine.

Its still going.

The cheap one I bought 5 years ago for 300 quid (Hotpouint) has been
replaced with the Miele.


Owain

On 2007-05-29 10:43:04 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2007-05-28 21:01:57 +0100, Stuart Noble
said:


I think that one can really adopt one of a few philosophies.

- Buy a cheap thing, hope it lasts three years and chuck it away. I
don't think that the "Electras" exist any more - i.e. low price, long
life.

- Mid range with reasonable spares availability and a willingness to
repair or get it repaired if it breaks. I think that this works for
some people.

- Quality product with long warranty.

With washing machines I've always adopted philosophy no.1 and they've
lasted more like 13 years than 3. Yeah, I know, I've just been lucky

What would you have done if it had failed earlier?

*They* didn't fail earlier.
If any of them had, I would have made a mistake buying it.

Then you were fortunate.


I can live with the suspense.

I can't.

Dealing with 600mm footprint white appliances when one is regularly
several days away from home can only be done by having something that
can be reasonably counted upon to be reliable in the first place and
which can be fixed with virtually zero hassle by a phone call.

I am quite happy to take risks but the return potential has to be high
enough to make it interesting. In other cases, a reasonable degree of
certainty and someone who will take responsibility for fixing problems
quickly and efficiently is far more useful to me.

On 2007-05-29 11:58:18 +0100, "Dave Liquorice" said:

I'd agree if I'd ever called out a washing machine service engineer but I
haven't, faults that have occured I've fixed myself or the machine is
dumped after 10 years service... We only have one "spare" washing
machine now and that is a 22 year old Hotpoint, admitedly it hasn't done
anything for the last 8 years and the door needs fixing (have the,
plastic, parts not the round tuit).

All the machines I've played with/fixed have been quite old. I don't know
how modern middle of the range machines match up in build.

I think you would be in for a nasty surprise in terms of how much
"value engineering" goes into them.

"Ian_m" wrote in message
...
"Jo" wrote in message
...
We are looking to buy a new washing machine and have checked out the
Which? site. We are after something that costs £400 or less and has 1)
delayed start option 2) good rinsing 3) 6kg drum and
4) handwash cycle.
The AEG-Electrolux L64810 looks like a good option. Has anyone had
experience of this machine?

Any other recommendations? (We have always gone for Bosch before but a
number of models are now mae for the cheaper end of the market and may
not be so reliable).
I have just got an AEG L86810 from John Lewis, chosen basically due to its
low noise. Has free 5 year parts and labour warranty as well. It is very
very quiet, even when spinning @ 1600rpm which means one can run the
washing machine whilst using the kitchen table without being drowned out.
The incoming water and sloshing waste in stand pipe makes more noise than
the machine running.


Thanks all,
we bought a Siemens machine with a 10-year warranty. It's being delivered
tomorrow.....can't wait!

In article , Jo
writes

"Ian_m" wrote in message
.. .
"Jo" wrote in message
...
We are looking to buy a new washing machine and have checked out the
Which? site. We are after something that costs £400 or less and has 1)
delayed start option 2) good rinsing 3) 6kg drum and
4) handwash cycle.
The AEG-Electrolux L64810 looks like a good option. Has anyone had
experience of this machine?

Any other recommendations? (We have always gone for Bosch before but a
number of models are now mae for the cheaper end of the market and may
not be so reliable).
I have just got an AEG L86810 from John Lewis, chosen basically due to its
low noise. Has free 5 year parts and labour warranty as well. It is very
very quiet, even when spinning @ 1600rpm which means one can run the
washing machine whilst using the kitchen table without being drowned out.
The incoming water and sloshing waste in stand pipe makes more noise than
the machine running.


Thanks all,
we bought a Siemens machine with a 10-year warranty. It's being delivered
tomorrow.....can't wait!



Siemens, Meile can't go wrong
--
Tony Sayer

Unless you're maintaining these machines yourself, is all this really
relevant to d-i-y? Even if 'reccommendations' isn't a correct
spelling...

:-)

--
Frank Erskine

On 2007-06-02 00:02:32 +0100, Frank Erskine
said:

Unless you're maintaining these machines yourself, is all this really
relevant to d-i-y?

Definitely. With selection of a good product having a long warranty,
the DIYer will be freed up to do much more interesting and profitable
things than poking around inside white, wet boxes.




Even if 'reccommendations' isn't a correct
spelling...

:-)

On Sat, 2 Jun 2007 00:19:43 +0100, Andy Hall
wrote:

On 2007-06-02 00:02:32 +0100, Frank Erskine
said:

Unless you're maintaining these machines yourself, is all this really
relevant to d-i-y?

Definitely. With selection of a good product having a long warranty,
the DIYer will be freed up to do much more interesting and profitable
things than poking around inside white, wet boxes.

I think, as a d-i-yer, that I have more interesting things to mess
about with than 'white goods'.

YMMV -

--
Frank Erskine

On 2007-06-02 00:37:04 +0100, Frank Erskine
said:

On Sat, 2 Jun 2007 00:19:43 +0100, Andy Hall
wrote:

On 2007-06-02 00:02:32 +0100, Frank Erskine
said:

Unless you're maintaining these machines yourself, is all this really
relevant to d-i-y?

Definitely. With selection of a good product having a long warranty,
the DIYer will be freed up to do much more interesting and profitable
things than poking around inside white, wet boxes.

I think, as a d-i-yer, that I have more interesting things to mess
about with than 'white goods'.

YMMV -

Exactly, which is why it is important to highlight through the medium
of a DIY group that there is DIY that makes sense, DIY which is
pointless and different types of DIY having different returned on
investment of time.