Reliable washers.

[ed731pdh]

The best Hotpoint motors were/are the ones fitted with brushes, denoted by the six pin multi plug and separate earthing point. Two pins go to the comms, two to the field windings and the last two to a magnet operated hall effect coil on the end of the drive shaft. Brush replacements are ten a penny and the motor is easy to strip down for a comm clean up every third set of brushes. The only downside is the electronics box for some reason was fitted right at the bottom of the machine, right under the point where if you were going to get a leak you'd know about it.

Sadly, Hotpoint are now part of the Servis group, and the quality drop shows.

[Yorkie]

The Servis brand was re-launched In 2012  in the UK under the brand's new owners, Vestel of Turkey, with four new washing machine models. The range has since been expanded to nine.  

http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/appliance-...he-uk.html

Hotpoint was one of many brands owned by the Italian firm of Merrloni, who also owned  Ariston, Indesit, New World, Philco, Creda, Cannon, GDA, English Electric,Thorn (and many others), but in July 2014 Merloni was bought by Whirlpool, and was seen by many as another sign of the end of Italian manufacturing.  Indesit/Hotpoint-Ariston/Scholtes  = one and the same.

Indesit  appliances are made in Italy, Poland, the UK, Russia and Turkey - all low wage economies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indesit_Company

Electrolux: own well over 50 brand names (though not all of them washing machines). Among the more well known ones are AEG, Tricity Bendix, Zanussi. Currently, The Electrolux group also make the John Lewis brand washing machines.

Candy: own Hoover, Zerowatt and Kelvinator among others.

Siemens, Neff, Boasch and Gaggenau are brands owned by BSH, which operates 40 factories in 13 countries in Europe, the US, Latin America and Asia. The BSH group is made up of about 70 companies in 50 countries, with a total workforce of about 50,000 people.

All of these companies seek to differentiate broadly similar products by creating brand 'images' to seduce customers that they're buying a quality brand with a long tradition and heritage. Customers have no means of  determining whether there are any significant benefits in terms of reliability and durability of one machine over another. Just consider the blurb from BSH which seeks to differentiate Neff, Bosch Siemens by citing founders of the companies who have been dead for over a century:

Quote:

Bosch stands for reliability, sustainability and well-engineered technologies. Robert Bosch once said, “I have always acted according to the principle that I would rather lose money than trust. The integrity of my promises, the belief in the value of my products and of my word of honour have always had a higher priority to me than transitory profits.”

Siemens:
Siemens stands for a pioneering spirit, intelligent innovations, and progress in the service of humanity. At the age of just 17, Werner von Siemens dreamed of “an enterprise that, through its own inventions and its entrepreneurial vision contributes to enhancing the knowledge and well-being of humanity.”  Today, more than 170 years later, that vision has become a reality. We work actively to shape our future. Our innovations improve the quality of life for many. Siemens brings the future home.

Neff:
Neff stands for inspiration, enjoyment, and a sensuous joy in cooking.  When Carl Andreas Neff founded his company in 1877, he revolutionized the way people thought about kitchens. The focal point for him wasn’t the stove, but the cook: “My cooker should be designed to serve people, and not the other way round.”  With that approach, Neff introduced one of the most important ingredients into the world of cooking – enthusiasm, which makes preparing food a pleasure.

Gaggenau:
Gaggenau stands for a cultivated lifestyle, extraordinary performance, and an exclusive understanding of cooking culture. Founded as a hammer and nail smithy in the small town of Gaggenau on the edge of the Black Forest in 1683, Gaggenau’s style-forming built-in appliances have been meeting the professional expectations of real connoisseurs since 1879.  The best materials, custom-tailored crafting and a love of detail yield unmistakable originals that set the standards for ambitious home kitchens.

End quote.

Consider how superficial this stuff is:  

"Bosch stands for reliability, sustainability and well-engineered technologies". Are we to assume therefore, that the other three brands in the portfolio don't embody those principles?

This plethora of brands, only creates confusion and makes it impossible for customers to make informed choices are to reliability and longevity. My guess is that a lot of the price of higher priced machines isn't in the  machine itself, but the 'brand image'.

[colly0410]

Hmm, interesting replies. Seems the washer repair bloke was sort of right, paying a lot of dosh for a washer is no guarantee that it's high quality, may as well get a cheapo & when it conks buy another cheapo, at least you haven't lost a lot. No ordinary person knows which company makes stuff for which. Reminds me of when you could buy an Austin, Morris, Riley & Wolseley & they were all basically an Austin A60 with a different bonnet shape..

[ed731pdh]

Still the same today with Toyota, Citroen and Peugeot noddy mobile offerings.

[colly0410]

Been yabbering to an Australian friend & she says just about everyone over there washes in cold water. I can remember when I was in America you could buy cold water washing powder, also noticed every washer I saw was a top loader, haven't seen one here for years. My Mother had a top loader till it leaked & flooded the kitchen so was dumped & replaced with a Creda front loader, she loved her top loader but couldn't find another one at a reasonable price...

[Craig]

Consider how superficial this stuff is:  

"Bosch stands for reliability, sustainability and well-engineered technologies". Are we to assume therefore, that the other three brands in the portfolio don't embody those principles?

Good friends of ours had a Bosch dishwasher that all but burnt their house down. Luckily they were at home and awake. They lived in a hotel for 6 months while the house was repaired/rebuilt.

The whole problem with modern brands is that they are massively cost engineered; they hide behind the fiction that low price is demanded by the consumer. The consequence is potentially lethal products - dishwashers and tumble driers are the main culprits (see Which reports), or ones that are not really repairable when they go wrong (e.g. replacing washing machine drum seals is a thing of the past).

[ppppenguin]

There are a few top loaders around in the UK.
http://www.best-washing-machine.co.uk/to...-machines/
http://www.whitegoodshelp.co.uk/top-load...nt-loader/

IMHO only useful if you have a separate laundry room with the space to allow them stand alone. The ones with a central agitator can be harder on clothes as they can tangle round it. Can't happen in a simple drum. I think they also need more water than a front loader to rinse.

[boater sam]

Thinking globally, Fisher & Paykel from New Zealand would be high on my list. They do have limited sales in the UK, we were service agents and rarely saw one to fix!

[colly0410]

Well over 4 years ago since I started this thread & our now old Beko washer is still going strong. Only problem (not washers fault though) was when I put the recommended amount (40 ml's or so) of wash liquid in a ball thing & put it in the drum, & wife who didn't know I'd used the ball thing & put about 40 ml's more in the drawer = the drum was full of foam & it was coming out of the drawer. We had to do many extra rinses to get rid of the foam. Of course I was blamed...

[Murphyv310]

Sounds like you used Fairy liquid by mistake. I was told liguid washing soap was low foam.

RE machines I bought a Bosch in 2004 after years of Indesit, Beko, and a Hotpoint that would last two or three years. The Bosch was £120 more than a Beko and lasted till 2018 with just one set of brushes. What did I buy in 2018? A Bosch again for not that much more than a Beko that was made in China!!