Actually, Whirlpool purchased Maytag recently, and closed the factory in Newton, IA and laid off the entire work force.

I have no idea where Whirlpool makes the Maytag brand washing machines, and have no idea how this is affecting quality.

I purchased a Whirlpool washer and dryer when my wife and I relocated to the U.S. in 1992, and they have been flawless.

Our close friends recently moved to Virginia, and sold us their newly purchased Maytag dryer. Within a few months, the digital keypad ceased functioning. I kick myself for selling our perfect condition Whirlpool dryer to our friends for $25.00. Now they are happy.

I'm a big fan of Kenmore appliances. When our GE dishwasher broke, I did some research, and decided on the exact features I wanted my next dishwasher to have. Kenmore is the only brand that packaged the options I was looking for into one unit. Other brands, like GE and Whirlpool, packaged my sought after features with other options, for a higher price. I was told by the Sears salesperson that Whirlpool manufactures my Kenmore dishwasher.

After my exhaustive dishwasher purchase, and having wasted my valuable time on this earth talking to clueless, uninformed sales people at the likes of Best Buy, Circuit City, etc., I will in the future do all of my appliance purchases at Sears.

I was completely and thoroughly impressed with Sears' selection and sales presentation. There were always sales people available to help, and they were unbelievably informative. They were able to explain the features / functions / pros / cons of every make and model.

I also like how the people who develop the Kenmore appliances package them with options that other brands miss. As the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for a consumer products company, I can tell that the marketing department at Sears has done their job.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

The one thing that infuriated me about appliance shopping was that each retailer had a different model that was just a smidge different from what the other guys were selling. Keep in mind that this was 8-9 years ago, but I wanted Whirlpool, and went to multiple stores, and it was impossible to directly shop price, because it was apples and oranges. One store, that has now, mercifully, gone out of business, had an ad that they would price-match other ads, but only on the exact model #...guess what, nobody else had the exact model # they did in that market. I may be dumb but I'm not stupid.

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2002 Ford ZX2
2 x 2013 Honda Civics

Thanks for all the replies! They've definitely been helpful.

After thinking about it some more, we're only going to buy a new washer at this point. I think we're going to go with the Duet Sport. It seems likely to be reliable and the price isn't too bad.

I'm sure the Kitchen Aide washer is fantastic but they cost an awful lot. I tried to look into Siemens but they seem to sell primarily in the UK; it's unclear to me if anyone around here sells them, or how much they would cost. Fisher Paykel doesn't seem to make a front loader, although they seem high quality and the two year warranty would probably offset the reliability issues some claim they have.

I would have thought the Bosch washer would be good but Surf, I'll take your advice on them. The Bosch model I was looking at was pretty pricey anyway.

We'll probably buy it tonight...the dirty clothes are piling up.

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Ralph

1985 300D Turbo, CA model
248,650 miles and counting...

Most certainly not, if it involves roasting a pig then all bets are off.

The one my buddy has used to be in the house, and it was in really nice shape, until he started to use it as a combination "redneck" hot tub and laundry tub. He has plenty of wood to use as fuel because he makes hand hewn split rail fences and hand hewn shingles for a living.

Bought a Neptune set in 99 and not so much as a hiccup!! Oh crap hope I did not jink myself!!

Smokie

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95 E420 BigBlue
500E Sway bars
2001 C Class 16 in. Rims
KYB Struts and shocks
Rear spoiler
American Stitches Wheel
Bigred 99 F250 Powerstroke
JVC EXAD Mp3 player
JVC EXAD GPS

Probably ex-USA. I noticed our machine, pictured above, is mfd in Germany of all places

That's it, you blew it. Quickly erase erase erase. Putting up a post like that, and you're asking for a breakdown!

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

If you want to pull the trigger on a deal right now, look at this:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZairelkin

I can't say anything about the NEWER models, but an older (10 years or so) whirlpool washer/dryer combo is very good, with 1 minor issue with each:

Every 5 years expect to replace the plastic drive assembly on the whirlpool washer (if you do the extra-large load EVERY time like I do). $20 part, 1.5 hours or so to disassemble the washer and do yourself. Very easy.

The whirlpool dryer's timer switch failed on mine. Still works fine but I have to manually shut it off, or it'll run all night.