'Cheaper' washing machine up to £350

[Wizzywoo18]

Advice please on a cheaper washing machine.

My 96 year old Mum's miele has finally given up the ghost after 24 years. At this stage of her life I don't think it's worth paying a lot for a replacement so I'd like to buy a more affordable machine.

Any recommendations for brands that are reliable at this price point please? She wouldn't need a large capacity machine and needs to do a few washes a week.

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MNHQ

If you can get a Which trial for £1, that might be worth doing. There are quite a few Best Buy models around that price point when I just looked.

For a cheaper brand we've always found beko pretty reliable, but maybe we've just been lucky

Here are a few of the model names/prices that are Which Best Buys:

Hotpoint NSWM963CBSUK/NSWM963CWUK/ £339
Hotpoint NSWR963CWKUK £299
Bosch WAJ28008GB £359
Zanussi ZWF843A2DG £349

And yes, we have a Beko tumble drier and it's great. I was dubious about it was it was cheap, but it's been heavily used for four years and still going strong. No bells and whistles, just dries clothes!

Our beko is great. 4 years old, used daily, no issues. Very economical too.

I had a beko washing machine for 15 years. I have a hoover one now that’s pretty easy to use and the clothes come out warm after the wash.

Beko or Haier, both lasted about 5 years which is the same as my Bosch lasted.

I had a Miele only lasted 3,years.
I brought an indesit for Argos £330. I love it so much better and quick washes are a lot quicker. It's actually just gone up to £350. But worth the money.

Another Beko fan here- cheap and cheerful!

If you can stretch to £359 you can get the bottom of the range Bosch, which is what we always have. First one lasted about 15 years, onto our second 4 years ago and it's fresh as a daisy.

www.currys.co.uk/products/hoover-hwash-300-h3ws68tamce-nfc-8-kg-1600-spin-washing-machine-white-10211991.html

@Hugasauras

Could I please ask you which machines are similarly listed as BestBuy for Integrated Washer Driers please?

Mine is on last legs.

Thanks

There aren't any Best Buys for integrated ones, the best they've tested is Zanussi Z716WT83BI at 63%. They don't seem to have tested many at all though, only six!

This machine excels at cleaning and is great at drying, but it definitely isn't the most efficient machine to wash your clothes with. Its slow synthetics drying let it down, too.
Pros
Fantastic washing and drying
Great rinse
Excellent spin dry
Good drying
Cons
Slow to dry synthetics
Small drying capacity
Inefficient

Just an observation about current washing machines: due to eco credentials taking paramount importance, washing machines nowadays seem to have ridiculously long standard washing cycles (eg 3 hours). You can select a shorter cycle (eg 1 hour) but your mother will need to learn how to do that on the particular machine - it's no longer as simple as turn the dial to your usual wash and press the "on" button.

Don't buy a Bosch! We got through 4 in 2 years - Bosch replaced each time but it was a faff.

I thoroughly agree with @Plexie about the washing cycle times. Your mum will be very frustrated if each wash is going to take 2+ hours.

I have a Bosch (which I love) and always use the "quick" wash which means maximum one hour wash. I think some of the less expensive machines don't have this...so check. My Bosch was £400 something. I see John Lewis have several machines under £300. They would be able to give you advice.

@mummywithtwokidsplusdog

Another Beko fan here- cheap and cheerful!

Yep, we bought one second hand for £40 and it did us 10 years!

I have a beko, it's fine

@Hugasauras

There aren't any Best Buys for integrated ones, the best they've tested is Zanussi Z716WT83BI at 63%. They don't seem to have tested many at all though, only six!

This machine excels at cleaning and is great at drying, but it definitely isn't the most efficient machine to wash your clothes with. Its slow synthetics drying let it down, too.
Pros
Fantastic washing and drying
Great rinse
Excellent spin dry
Good drying
Cons
Slow to dry synthetics
Small drying capacity
Inefficient

Thank you for looking

Brilliant advice from you all - thank you!

The new eco ratings are a bind but I figure any reasonably up-to-date model has to be better than her last machine from the late 90's. Mum's Miele had a quick wash which was about 20 minutes so that's important. I think the wash cycles are far too long these days and frankly my clothing can't take that much of a battering!

I'm looking at all the suggested brands and models. Cheers!

I've had my indesit innex for 8 years and it's brilliant. Was around £320 x

Zannusi mines still going after 10 years,

Hello OP

We just got this Bosch for my DM which is £359 at AO and she is thrilled with it.

Bosch WAN28081GB 7kg 1400 Spin Washing Machine - White

It has a 15 min and a 30 min prog. Super easy to use. No tiny fiddly buttons for arthritic fingers. Nice big dial to turn. I know another poster had a nightmare with bosch but all our kitchen stuff is bosch and they are brilliant so who knows?!

We have had a hotpoint, for about 12 years it is really simple to use and washes well.

Personally I don't understand why washing being in the machine for two hours is a problem, it is no extra work.