Or should a washing machine last more than 4 years?

[QueenRefusenik]

Don't know if I'm just old-fashioned or what, but shouldn't a decent washing machine - not top of the range but not bottom either, LG - last more than four years? DP reckons we bought it in 2014 and now apparently the bearings are gone and it's not worth repairing. Out of warranty, obviously. Admittedly we've used it pretty much every day and sometimes 2x a day since DS came along nearly 3 yrs ago but still...!

Also, any recommendations for something that might last a bit longer next time?!

I thought at least 5 years was standard on a decent machine - often longer.

We are lucky in that we are still using a machine that was bought in 2007. Just by chance some will wear out earlier. I do think warranty periods should be for a minimum of five years though.

They don't seem to last much longer than that. I had to replace my beko one after about 4 years. My sister has the same one that's lasted longer but it's just her and her husband so doesn't get as much use as mine with 2 kids.

YANBU. We've had 2 washing machines in 24 years.

The first one was left in the old house when we moved because I wanted a bigger drum and a hand wash programme and thought, perhaps wrongly that moving an 11 YO washing machine would finish it off, so I thought 'fuck it, just get a new one delivered to the new house' and that washing machine is still working well 13 years later.

But it probably only runs 3-4 times per week and we have very soft water, so they've had an easier life than most.

Brands were Bendix (I think) and Hotpoint, so middle of the road.

We do have quite hard water here which probably doesn't help, though I do use a softener

Mine usually die a few weeks after the warranty has run out 😢 but there is 6 of us in our house and it can be used up to 4 times a day.

I have an AEG bought 2009 previous AEG lasted 10 years and 1st washing machine an Electrolux Bendix lasted 14 years which cost £400 which was a lot of money then. Maybe I have been lucky but not sure what to buy next time. My last dishwasher was a Siemens which lasted 19 years at least. Left it behind when I moved house. The thing is companies keep changing as not sure if AEG is now owned by someone else. Have seen the name AEG Electrolux somewhere. Would love a Miele but they are very
expensive but then again would maybe work out cheaper in the long run if you can afford to buy one.

I would have thought a brand as big as LG would have lasted longer but I supppse there is no money to be made if white goods last for years.

Get a Bosch - or, if you can run to it, a Miele. Bosch ones do cost a bit more, but are very reliable and, unlike a lot of brands, don't dance across the floor or sound like T1 at Heathrow.

I'd expect one to last at least 8-10 years, even with daily use.

The Bosch recommendation is from personal experience over many years; however, just a warning: should you be tempted by a Samsung as a big, reliable name, I've seen so many dreadful reviews of them. Just because they're so trusted with phones and TVs etc, it sounds like their white goods leave a lot to be desired. of course, there may well be a flurry of MNers vehemently defending theirs! If so, that's great - I'm only going on what I've widely read.

My washing machine repair guy says 6 years is the expected lifetime of a washing machine before it needs repaired. (Which is in line with the sale of goods act which says that expensive goods should last 6 years really though you would struggle to get anything from the manufacturer after one or two)
He said almost every appliance he repairs has hit the 6 year mark unless it's a crappy machine and even then it's a repair rather than binning and replacing.

We've had a Hotpoint, a Hoover and a Beko WM and I have to say he's right. We've done 6 years from new and BOOM. Dead. Odd. Like a timer has run out.

I have a 13 year old meile washing machine. My in laws have one that is 25 years old. They recently replaced the door latch. That is the only thing hat has ever gone wrong. They’re certainly built to last.

• Miele

Only Miele are built to last these days. Bosch aren't that good any more. I get Bekos & expect to change but I like them as they're simple to operate, well, the cheap ones are.

I've got the engineer booked for my washing machine on Friday. The 1 year warranty ran out on the 28th of August. It packed in on the 2nd of September. 1 year and 6 days. Glad I've taken an extended warranty, but practically a year to the day is incredibly poor.

My mum and I both have 7 yo AEGs here previous one was 17 when she replaced it.

It all depends how much the machine is used and how well it is looked after. In theory, yes, it should last longer than four years but repairing is often more expensive than buying a new one nowadays. It's good if you have some sort of insurance to cover repair or replace. My last one came with one year of free insurance and very reasonable cover thereafter (I bought W/M, tumble drier and D/W at the same time from same place).

If the machine is used every day, not cleaned and no soda put in with the wash, it won't last as long as a well maintained machine.

Can it not be repaired? Ours is a 12 year old Miele. It’s had brushes and seal replaced a few times but still works fine.

We keep hoping it will be condemned but the insurers keep arranging for it to be mended. If it’s not a lot be mended, we’d get a lovely shiny new one but no...it keeps on going.

Definitely more than 4 years. I had mine for 10 or longer.

I have a washer dryer (Servis) that I brought in 2002. It has only had a belt changed and is still going strong. Even though I live in a hard water area.

To a certain extent I agree with your OH - if you are going to have to pay someone to come and repair it, then depending upon how much it’s going g to cost it might be more sensible just to buy a new one.
That said I have an 8 year old cheapish Hoover washing machine that is used at least once every day. It had several problems in the first few years, but as I was paying for an annual insurance which meant repairs were free this didn’t bother me much other than it was inconvenient. 3 years ago I decided to ditch the insurance thinking that if it went wrong again I’d buy a new machine but as of yet (and hoping I’m not tempting fate here) it’s still working fine.
Despite its early issues I think I’ve now been quite lucky with this machine considering the heavy use its had. I wouldn’t have felt shortchanged had I had to buy another after 4 or 5 years

Mine tend to last ten years, but we do only two or three quick washes a week.

I did a couple of repairs on my Hoover, towards the end of it's ten years. The break that really surprised me is when the door hinge broke. A chunk of metal almost as thick as my little finger broken in half. Although it did last ten years, there's no way that metal that's under hardly any stress should ever break like that. I bet that hinge was made in a Chinese factory, to Chinese standards. (I'm told that some Chinese manufacturers make stuff to two standards, export standard for things that are supposed to last, and Chinese standard for things that aren't. Apparently Chinese consumers would rather buy cheap things that break soon, whereas western consumers expect things to last longer and are willing to pay more.)

Ours is 6 and a half years and is starting to make funny noises...think it's the bearings. It's used daily. Sometimes twice a day possibly 2-3 times a weeks. It's not an expensive one...was cheapest we could pick up same day from the shop....so we'd just replace if it breaks.

The new Neff microwave I bought last year had a faulty construction, from new. You had to hit the button fairly hard to get it to open, and after a few months the button broke. Four engineer visits failed to achieve a working button, and eventually they replaced the whole microwave. Still don't know what was wrong with the old one, but I think the whole door was misaligned, so no amount or replacing the catch, button, and face panels was able to sort it out.

Neff may be a german brand, but the microwave was made in China. I just hope the replacement lasts, as it's a built-in microwave that matches an oven bought at the same time. I need it to last 20 years, like its predecessor.

Don’t know if they even do household whitegoods in Europe but my Oh asked me not to buy anything from Philips having seen how much they cut corners in a project they worked on.

Depends on the brand but I would expect longer than four years. My last Hotpoint was six years old and still going strong, not a single repair requires in that time. I only got rid because I was moving house and it already had one. My current Hotpoint is almost four years old and the only issue we've had with it was when ds brought a shell back from the beach and I hadn't found it during my usual pocket check. It was a two minute job to fix though and cost us nothing.
Some brands I wouldn't expect to last as long, LG being one of them and Beko (owned two of their fridge freezers in the past and neither made in beyond two years).