So my fiance and I are looking for a washer and dryer on the lower end of the market. We were looking at an Amana washer and dryer for $300 each and a Haier washer and dryer for $574 for the pair. I like that the Amana is American made and seems to be related to Whirlpool. Has anyone had experience with either of those? Also please no suggest some expensive front loader. I can't afford it and I don't want one anyway.
Check your local Goodwill, actually. When we first moved in, they sold discounted new and also lightly used appliances. Some of the used stuff looked perfectly good. We bought a dishwasher for $50 that lasted for a long time.
Craigslist. You'll find rich folks looking to unload their 5 year old stuff for cheap because it isn't the nicest out there, or people who moved into a new house and kept the old appliances and are looking to get rid of the ones that came with the house, etc.
Count me in with the used appliance crowd. My last Whirlpool washer and dryer were 25 years old when I gave them away still in great condition. I only got rid of them because SWMBO and I consolidated furniture/appliances when we moved in together. The Kenmore washer & dryer we're using now are at least 15 years old and work great.
I never did anything to the old Whirlpool set but a couple belts on the dryer.
The Kenmore dryer has had 1 heating element, a new timer, & 2 thermal cut-off safeties in the 5 years or so we've been together, but it was used when she go them, and the thermal cut-offs were due to excessive lint build up in the vent.
I think the older stuff is built better, and have less electronic do-dads to go wrong, making GRMesque repairs at home much easier.
I have a haier washer. They look and feel cheap, but seem to hold up pretty well. Got mine off of CL for a cool $100
OK, the GF and I are in the same position as 93EX, I've read similar threads in the past and already planned to look for a used set, we're in a decent-sized city, so I'm going to try and be picky and get a Speed Queen set.
So, here's my question, maybe OP's next question as well, how do I tell a used washer or dryer is still good? What am I looking for? Is there a service panel I need to pop off and take a look at? Is it weird if I ask to have it plugged in to make sure it works?
Don't forget to check with your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. We got a fridge from them earlier this year and it was nice to get a better fridge and help out a good cause at the same time.
I definitely ask to plug it in and check it.
In 2000 I bought a used Kenmore washer, probably a mid 90s model, for $100 at a used appliance store that was a shack. I still put 5-8 loads a week through it and it's never missed a beat. The only reason I bought it was that I broke the 1968 Kenmore washer I had while moving it and the parts were discontinued. The little plastic hose I needed was available - for $80+. I just bought a used one.
I'm less comfortable with used dryers, though, given the massive energy draw and burn-down-your-house potential. We finally replaced the 68 Kenmore dryer about 8 years back when it started making the whole house dim and it was too hot to touch while running. I noticed a drop in the electric bill when the brand new dryer went into service.
I've had terrible luck with appliances, so I'll never buy used.
I think Dryers are overrated anyway. Have not used one since I moved out of my parents place 20 years ago and do not even own one now
I'm not sure I would trust a craigslist appliance.
In reply to mad_machine:
Yeah, same here, although I really should get down with ironing here and there... oddly enough that hasn't really happened.
A $6 clothes drying rack from Ikea was probably one of the smartest and most money-saving things I ever bought. Should have grabbed another one.
The last washer and dryer we bought before we bought this house came off CL - no problem with them at all. We basically ended up buying some fairly high end appliances that were a little older so they were quality items.
Check ebay for local ones you can pick up. We "won" a Maytag top loader in the Chicago area for $25 that lasted a year - motor then fried. Shipping is cost prohibitive.
scardeal wrote: I'm not sure I would trust a craigslist appliance.
but you would trust a craigslist car?
mad_machine wrote:scardeal wrote: I'm not sure I would trust a craigslist appliance.but you would trust a craigslist car?
You can test drive a car before you buy it.
The W&D are usually out in the garage or in the back of a truck.
You might look for drum size.... we bought a low end washer with the largest drum size so we could also wash blankets and other larger items...
mad_machine wrote: I think Dryers are overrated anyway. Have not used one since I moved out of my parents place 20 years ago and do not even own one now
That works less well here where the humidity is over 90% for 8 months out of the year and afternoon rainshowers are almost guaranteed through the summer. Stuff often mildews before it gets dry.
chances are the haier is made by maytag or whirlpool, the stickers inside and part numbers are all the same. just a different name on the outside to make them cheaper. my parents have the lowest of the low end from lowe's, don't recall the brand, but it was $399 for the pair and they are 10 years old running on nasty irony well water, and the tags and guts all say whirlpool inside.
All the Whirlpool washers for the entire western hemisphere are made just a couple of towns over from me, in Clyde, Ohio.
Back in the late '90's I got a tour of the place from a friend who worked there. I remember being amazed that they were working overtime and generally behind schedule and demand. They manufactured 16,500 machines per day!
That stuck me as a lot of units considering just about everyone you know has one and they last 14 years.
Of course, we are talking all of North, Central and South America from just this facility.
Used Kenmore stuff is great. The stuff we have in our house was bought used on Craigslist for $400 for the set years ago. I've also put it in my rentals. Never had a breakdown. It's all 80 and 90 series stuff.
I just bought a washer and dryer on craigslist for $200. They were 4 years old from a guy moving out of a swanky apartment and work perfectly. Just keep an eye on CL and have a way to get them home.
With the exception of all the new-fangled fancy electronic E36 M3, nearly everything in a washer and dryer is pretty easy to get to, available at an appliance shop or via the interwebs, and not very expensive. The washer/dryer that we have are a couple old Whirlpool units (I think) that I bought used from a lady who eventually became my mother-in-law. At this point, I think they're something like 15 years old and as long as you don't overload the washer with eight tons of crap, they work great. Used top-load washers and "regular" dryers seem to go pretty cheap because they aren't all whiz-bang, but my all-in price on these at this point is less than $250 -- $100-150 to purchase the pair and I had to replace a couple broken things over the course of the last 12 years.
On the newer units with the electronic control panels, I've seen and heard of the main control board going bad and being hundreds of dollars to replace. But if you can find an older unit with plain old dial controls, chances are it'll last for decades with only an occasional cheap and easy repair. I think the most expensive broken thing I had to deal with was replacing the water pump when my wife managed to get an infant sock on the wrong side of the wash tub and it got sucked into the pump, completely destroying the impeller. So, basically, we broke it by doing something we shouldn't have, it didn't wear out.
I guess the caveat on the repair is that you need to be willing to do it yourself. If recollection serves me, having the local appliance shop actually come out to diagnose and repair is pretty spendy.
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