Are cheap washing machines ok?

OpenToSuggestions

OpenToSuggestions

OpenToSuggestions

Soldato
Joined
5 Aug 2006
Posts
11,374
Location
Derbyshire
Hey all.
In May I bought my first home.
It came with a washing machine, which is an unknown brand and doesn't unlock once complete. It unlocks most of the time after I set it on a spin cycle, but as it sometimes doesn't unlock the handle has broken too. Often I have two inches of water left in the bottom too where it hasn't drained properly.

I need a new one. I live on my own so use it 3 times per week on average so no need for a heavy duty one. I've seen many good brands for under £300, some even under £200, but have no idea whether a cheaper one is false economy.
Thanks in advance.
 
Live alone, yet use it 3 times a week!? Sheesh. I use my Hotpoint twice a week at the very most, and that includes the girlfriend staying a few times a week. Washing machines need to be properly filled otherwise they will break (and likewise if they are overfilled it harms them).

My hotpoint has been going fine for 4 years.

Prepare for lots of replies saying "BUY BOSCH OR YOUR HOUSE WILL BURN DOWN!".
 
My last cheap £160 Beko jobbie lasted 5 years before it broke down. My current machine is a Samsung and it cost me all of £45 off Gumtree. Still working a year on.

I only wash about twice a week.
 
3 year guarantee is worthless. Unlikely to break down in that time. 5 year would be more worth while.
 
OldCoals said:
Buy cheap, buy twice.
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This. I went for an LG direct drive 7KG for £400 about 5 years ago. Still going strong, but is out of warranty now so fingers crossed.

Ahleckz said:
Live alone, yet use it 3 times a week!? Sheesh.
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That's what I thought too. I do 1 whites + 1 colours per week, single person here too. Whites = some of my shirts and bedding. Colours = tea towels and everything else.
 
If you buy a large number of cheap ones and a large number of expensive ones, the average reliability and durability of the expensive ones will be higher. It might well be so much higher than the expensive ones are actually cheaper in the long run (e.g. a £400 washer that lasts 10 years is cheaper than 3 £150 washers that last about 3 years each).

But since you're buying just one, it's luck of the draw. I paid ~£70 for a reconditioned nth hand Indesit and I've used it so much that the brushes on the motor completely wore away and I had to replace them. With new brushes, it's still going strong. I do quite a lot of washing, 3 or 4 loads most weeks, and I've been using that washing machine for about 10 years (and it wasn't new when I bought it). I run a machine-cleaning wash every now and again (very hot wash, no clothes, lots of washing soda) and that's it for maintainance.

Are cheap washing machines OK? Maybe. Maybe not. They'll do the washing just as well, but probably not for as long before breaking down.
 
Ahleckz said:
Live alone, yet use it 3 times a week!? Sheesh.
[..]
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I shower twice a day, so that's two complete sets of clothing per day. Towels. Sheets. Duvet covers. Pillow cases. Pillows too, sometimes. It adds up.

3 loads per week isn't ridiculously high, especially with the slightly smaller capacity washing machines.
 
Doing pillows and duvets too? The bed covers I do weekly, but doing the actual pillows and duvets are a once-a-year job for me.

2 showers a day for me would just mean 2 changes of underwear for me. Not outright change of clothes, unless I've been to the gym.
 
Overclockers will tell you that you need a Bosch or Meile, in reality washing machines are increadibly reliable so you can get away with spending a lot less, we have a hotpoint that cost us £100 that has never missed a beat and before that we had a £300 Ariston that we gave to my brother and now at 10 years old that is going strong. Buy the best you can afford but don't over extend yourself for a brand name it's pointless.
 
Tefal said:
bit ocd angillion?
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Yes, but to an extent I can live with. I can get a bit stuck on checking that my external doors are locked and bolted correctly, especially if I am tired, but my bit of OCD isn't an issue for me. It probably would be an issue for anyone I lived with, but fortunately I live alone.

Coincidentally, I heard an OCD joke today.

"I've got CDO"

"CDO?"

"It's like OCD, but the letters are in the correct order"
 
a1ex2001 said:
Overclockers will tell you that you need a Bosch or Meile, in reality washing machines are increadibly reliable so you can get away with spending a lot less, we have a hotpoint that cost us £100 that has never missed a beat and before that we had a £300 Ariston that we gave to my brother and now at 10 years old that is going strong. Buy the best you can afford but don't over extend yourself for a brand name it's pointless.
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What are you basing that on?
 
Buy cheap, throw away when they go wrong, not my normal recommendation re appliances but with washing machine it works for me
 
Our cheapo indesit is going strong (3 years)

I think we paid £200 which was very much bottom dollar, but if it broke I'd buy another. It gets hammered with about 12 washes a week I'd say.
 
Buy from a decent retailer and keep safe your proof of purchase. Ignore any extended warranty crud and if it fails within a 5 year period contact the retailer and state you would like to claim under the Sale of goods act for a repair.

I have just done this and my machine was just under five years old. It took a little effort but now my machine has a new drum and bearing set fitted for nothing.
 
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