OK, plumber reckons washing machine is about to die. Help me choose a new one.

[ceolas]

less than £400 if possible, £300 would be better. We are thinking about this one. Any opinions?

Bosch, Bosch or Bosch I would say! Best in the business.

yep bosch is the way to go

And is that one an OK one?

I have never bought a washing machine before. Got the present one as a wedding gift over 8 years ago!

Bosch.

got mine from kitchenscience.co.uk and can recommend

ceolas - I think just going with that make would be a good thing.

All machines do their own fancy thing but with a good brand you can rely on things like the internal workings not breaking down on you within the year and the door catch not breaking off - things like that.

Bosch Bosch Bosch.

Get one with a time display if there's one within your budget, they are so useful.

£352

I've got that one WendyWeber - love it

15 minute quick wash!!!

Has to be!

Yep - lucky you with machine lasting 8 years. Don't go fancy - never use the full range of washes I use 2. Hot for white (sometimes) and ordinary for everything else - just sort the coloureds!!!!

Good luck X

The very best ones are Miele, but they're more expensive than Bosch, which is a good compromise.

I have a Bosch dishwasher and a Philips washing machine - theyve both been fine for a few years. I had a Hotpoint washing machine before - that lasted 8 years.

The last dishwasher was an Indesit and it was RUBBISH - I got so fed up with it I chucked it out when it broke down the 4th time at 2 years old.

OK, the cheaper Bosch (my link) DH can collect and fit tomorrow. I have to wait til Wednesday for delivery of the more expensive one (Wendy's link).

Which do I go for?

With 3 children, the washing is mounting up!!!

As well as the timer display it takes a bigger load so you'd need to do fewer when it did arrive...

And you can forget the laundry for today and sit in the sun (if you have any)

Timer display is great for telling you beforehand exactly how long your options will take (eg mine does extra wash, which adds an hour, and extra rinse, which adds about 10 mins) and also for letting you know if you have time to do something before it's finshed or if you have time to hang around for it. It is v useful

All I can say is don't get a Zanussi washer-dryer. It takes ages (over 2 hours per wash) and the tumble dryer function gave up the ghost only a year after purchase.

Bosch always gets a good press from people who have got one. Next time I will get either one of those or a Miele.

And think how fantastic a 15 minute quick wash would be!

But how much washing will I have by Wednesday?

Have printed off product details for both and am off out for coffee with my mum!

We have the cheaper Bosch - have had it for a couple of months and find it very good The short "freshen-up" washes (about 30mins I think) are very handy.

A 15 min quick wash would be a wonderful option to have.

Go and look at them in shops. Look inside the drum. If it has plastic 'fin' things, walk away. My hotpoint washer has plastic fins and one always breaks about every 3 months after a heavy towel wash. They cost a tenner to replace each time. I reckon I've replace at least 8 in the four years I've had the machine.

The bosch I looked at in Comet was the only one with integrated moulded into the frame metal fins.... unsnappable.

I looked at them both. Biggest difference is the LED/timer.

Is that a big deal?

I have the cheaper one without a timer. If it finishes it does if it doesn't I go out and leave it running. Personally I couldn't see what use it would be... Unless you need to know exactly when it will al finish. But then I don't wear a watch or often know what the time is anyway, so maybe a bit too lax in that aspect of my life.

I think timers are wonderful.... all my laundry and dishwasher etc are set to come on at 4am - cheap electric time.

It's not that sort of timer - it just tells you how long each wash has to go before it finishes and I do find it v useful - eg today I had to go out to work at 11.30, I put a load in just before 10 because I knew it would def finish before I went out so I would have time to put it on the line before work (have only just got back so would have had to leave it till tomorrow otherwise).

It has a 7kg load as well, the other is only 6 (mind you mine is 6 and my old one was 5, 6 still seems pretty big to me )

DO you have that one, wendy?

Am saturated and driven mad by this

I don't have that one ceolas, mine was discontinued (you know how they do ) I think this one is the upgraded improved singing snd dancing version of mine - mine is 12oo spin, 6kg, no quick wash, and the display just shows time (although there are little lights to show what stage it's at)

It is v v good though - practically silent, and the washing fins are asymmetrical so the washing gets trundled around constantly insetad of going round in a lump.

OK, am ordering from the CoOp