I’ve been writing about the poor quality of many modern washing machines since 2000. As a long-time repairman I’d witnessed the gradual slip between people keeping them running as long as possible to all too often throwing them away at the first breakdown – unless it could be fixed for a pittance. Since then it’s become a serious environmental issue.
The public usually gets exactly what the public wants. The majority of people don’t want more reliable washing machines – they mostly want cheaper washing machines. They might say they want more reliable washing machines, but only if they aren’t expensive, which can’t happen.
If this wasn’t true – how come hardly anyone buys a Miele compared to how many buy Indesit, Beko, Candy, Servis, Hotpoint etc? Most people know a Miele washing machine is substantially better quality and likely to last at least 2 or 3 times longer than a Hotpoint or Indesit but they won’t buy one – because they are “expensive”.
This isn’t an advert for Miele, I mention them because I don’t know of any other washing machine that is anywhere near as well built available in the UK. I use the word “expensive” reluctantly, and in quotes, because they are only relatively expensive. £800 is what a washing machine of that quality should cost these days – if not more.
They only appear expensive because other manufacturers constantly undercut the quality so much they can sell much cheaper and make them look expensive. Instead of bravely maintaining quality but seeing their washing machines rise in price, most manufacturers have found themselves constantly having to reduce quality and cut corners to keep their appliances competitively priced.
Reduced build quality
This trend has got progressively worse, to the point where they regularly redesign parts, ditching tried and tested designs in favour of cheaper new production methods designed to cut manufacturing costs.
Most appliance manufacturers have been making washing machines for many decades, and could have developed incredibly reliable ones by now. Instead, they are selling new washing machines that still suffer the same faults their previous models suffered from over 10-years ago. Instead of their appliances becoming better with time and experience, they get worse, or at best stay the same.
To be fair, it would be a very brave manufacturer to maintain standards and become a lot more expensive. But Miele seem to manage OK producing better quality but more expensive appliances. I’m sure there is room in the market for something in between the average washing machine and a Miele.
Most current washing machines are way too cheap
It might not seem as though they are cheap, but compared to what they should be if standards had been maintained they definitely are. For example, Hoover used to sell a 1200 spin 4.5Kg washing machine at over £400 in the 1990s. Yet over a dozen years later in 2008, a Hoover 1600 spin 6Kg washing machine cost as little as £211.
In 2019 Hoover’s 1400 Spin 7Kg capacity washing machine is just £234. That’s a faster spin, and much bigger drum for almost half the price compared to almost 25 years ago. Moving manufacture to cheaper countries is part of it, but these prices can only be achieved by also reducing quality and repairability.
Note: I give Hoover as an example only because I had more knowledge of their old prices as a previous Hoover Agent. All manufacturers are the same. If prices had stayed the same (not even gone up as you’d expect) then that £400 washing machine from around 1994 should cost £775.55 in 2019.
Going back further..
In 1973, a basic Hoover washing machine was £94.88, that’s equivalent to £1,192.74 in 2019! (Source Inflation calculator). Today – over 40 years later a similarly basic model but with faster spins and a bigger drum can be bought for £220. That’s equivalent to just £21.47 in 1973. So in 40 years, the price of a basic washing machine has dropped (in real terms) by nearly 80% which is absolutely staggering.
An 80% reduction in cost is impossible without reducing the quality and longevity of the product. If you want to produce a washing machine made as well as the Hoover was in 1973, (even accounting for advances in production techniques) it should cost much more like £600+ and with extra features and technical advances it should easily be £800+.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking a more expensive appliance will last longer
Top quality, extremely well built washing machines are still available and they are every bit as reliable as they used to be – if not more so. They just usually cost between £600 and over £1000. However, do not assume an expensive washing machine has to be high build quality – are more expensive washing machines better quality?
Most manufacturers prefer to sell to the mass market in vast quantities, but it’s getting harder for them to compete on price and they’ve dug themselves into a big hole. Currently almost every washing machine available is virtually the same machine inside, with hardly any difference in quality, repairability and even design.
Summary
Consumers relentlessly batter down prices by rewarding those who can do it £5 cheaper and punishing those who can’t by not buying them. Too many consumers focus on price over quality and choose faster spins and more features over solid build quality and repair-ability. The majority of consumers swap over to cheaper brands if the one they always had goes up in price.
There’s a limit to the savings to be made by clever, innovative production methods.
Inevitably manufacturers had to resort to cutting down the length of the mains cable and the hoses, reducing the quality and sturdiness of the main casing, changing metal parts to plastic etc. and reducing the quality and repair-ability of components in order to satisfy the demand for cheap prices.
Repairs
Fixed-price repairs, Pay monthly options, Repair & protect your whole appliance..
Save Money Now
Subscribe to Which? today and start saving money now. Subscription offers often available.
Spares
Spares4Appliances is a spares company run by repair engineers who understand all about spare parts for appliances.
I completely disagree with much of this article and most of the comments. Miele is mentioned for example, which to be honest are completely overrated. My wife has a good highend Hotpoint Washing machine from 6-7 years ago and her mum has a Miele which cost significantly more. The Miele is crap in comparison pure and simple. We have had to do NOTHING to the Hotpoint (and Hotpoint are a garbage make). The Miele by contrast has had the water pump replaced which cost a couple of hundred pounds and was dreadful to work on as well. Don’t even get me started started on Fridge Freezers – they are ALL garbage, even the SMEG’s which costs £1500 are nowhere near the build quality of an older fridge freezer.
Ungrateful? Spoilt? Where do some of you people get this stuff? If you are paying several hundreds of pounds for a machine it should last, regardless. The duty is on the manufacturer to produce a good quality item (which is what you are paying for) and I shouldn’t have to fork out £1000 for a washing machine, just to be sure it will last. I certainly shouldn’t have to be content with a pathetic 12 month warranty. Stop attacking the consumer and put the blame where it lies, with the greedy corporations and their self-absorbed shareholders. We consumers are doing our part by PAYING for their salaries – aren’t we?
Traxxion: Your argument is based only on examples of two washing machines. It uses the flawed logic of, I know of one Miele washing machine that has been unreliable, and one Hotpoint that has been reliable, therefore the consensus that Miele are better than Hotpoint is wrong. It’s like saying a report that silver cars are the most common cars in the UK is wrong because on your street the most common colour you can see is red. Miele are completely superior build quality to Hotpoint. The fact that a Miele you know of had a pump failure and a Hotpoint you know of hasn’t broken down in 7 years doesn’t mean Hotpoint are more reliable than Miele.
It’s the same kind of argument as saying my granddad smoked since he was 12 and lived ’til 95, therefore smoking can’t be bad for your health. Anomalies are everywhere, as are exceptions to rules, but they can’t change facts.
The consumer is to blame in the same way as the consumer is to blame for the trashy magazines and newspapers like the News of the World. They are also to blame for spam. If no one clicked on any spam the entire industry would instantly die, but clearly many (albeit a minority) do click, and do buy the rubbish which is why we all have to suffer spam. Likewise if no one bought all the crap magazines focussing on tittle-tattle, lies, scandal and paparazzi photos then they too would not exist.
If people stopped buying rubbish appliances….
The argument doesn’t mean all the public are to blame, but elements of the public are to blame because most people buy the cheapest washing machines and shun the ones trying to be better because they are “too expensive”. Manufacturers of washing machines and appliances supply what the public generally want, or at least what they think they want. If the public wanted high quality washing machines that could be repaired and last 20 years then the people producing them would thrive and the ones selling crap would not. The truth is, that although most people want them, they are not prepared (or often even able to afford) to pay for them.
Of course the manufactures are very guilty too, but we can’t change their behaviour without changing ours first.
@Traxxion
I’m mainly in sympathy with your post, most certainly over the points about length of warranty and longevity (or not) of (many) premium brands for which one is expected to pay (excessively) high prices.
The only slight area of disagreement between us might be over your implication that a fair price for a washer should be in the lower hundreds of pounds.
Given the atrocious build quality (including that of at least one premium price brand: LG) I feel that all currently available washers should be costing less than £500, possibly a lot less. HOWEVER, IF – and it’s a very big IF, washers were built to the same standards that even CHEAP ones were up to the late 1980’s, and taking account of inflation, I do think that perhaps we would then be wrong to expect such low prices.
My 1983 washer retailed at about £250 at the time it was new. It’s still running as good as the day it was bought and it’s now 29 years old. It was not a premium brand (Hoover) but it was built to a quality standard which was evidently even better than the maker’s warranty of the time (2 years) suggested.
If you do some calculations (and I’m no economist so I’ve relied on something that Washerhelp posted on here over a year ago, but it seems reasonable) you’d now expect to pay about £900 for the same product.
I’ve experienced an LG that cost £800 in 2008 – that was absolute rubbish in both reliability and doing the job. So obviously paying a price that is roughly equivalent to what we were paying in the 80’s is no guarantee of getting the equivalent quality, therefore I agree with you about the rip off pricing. but IF the quality WAS available, then I think perhaps we should be prepared to pay for it now as we were then.
I absolutely agree with you about Fridges – any and every brand. They are over-priced and often the big name brands and ‘trendy’ ones are lower quality and less effective than the super-cheap ones. I read a few years ago that a Russian made fridge, being sold as a Dixon’s own brand for £99, had won awards for build quality, reliability and accuracy of temperature control, which none of the big name brands could come near to. I think this proves your point.
There are a lot of rip off prices. Take shavers for example. The price of some shavers is unbelievable. We are always charged by one simple calculation, what can we get away with charging for this.. and how can we add extra perceived value…
I believe, as Dave has pointed out, that a high quality washing machine is likely to cost at least £800 and higher. However, if most people favoured high quality washing machines the price would come down as they became mainstream instead of niche-market selling in relatively very small quantities.
Currently we are being ripped off with pretty expensive washing machines full of so-called desirable features that are built no better than the cheapest basic versions – If I buy a more expensive washing machine, do I get a better washing machine?
Another complete rip off is spin speeds. The idea that a manufacturer needs to build washing machines all virtually the same but with varying spin speeds is pure marketing Are washing machine spin speeds a con?
By the way, I do acknowledge, or at least guess that you are no doubt an experienced tradesman, so I defer to your experience of various brands. I was just trying to make my point that I don’t believe the prices of premium brands are reasonable, therefore while the average consumer may be ill informed and feeding a broken system, I don’t think the consumer is to blame for poor quality. Certainly not in the same way that they are to blame for the rise of rubbish Apple products and trashy magazines. Washing machines and fridges are domestic utility items. They need to be fit for purpose and it starts and stops with the manufacturer (aka scam artist) as far as I’m concerned.
I understand what you are saying, but please listen to what I was saying. For a start I did not say that Hopoint are better than Miele build quality simply based on one machine (better check your logic there). I said. yes, that Miele are overrated. That in this case the Miele cost more, is less reliable, has less features AND the washer pump is a common problem on this model. How does this distinguish the Miele build quality as superior – in this case? What benefit did the consumer get from paying the extra money? NONE. I also definitely said that Hotpoint are RUBBISH, yet in this case, the consumer has been robbed by Miele and Hotpoint are looking pretty good by comparison. What I am saying, is WHY should I pay over the odds, when I am not guaranteed to get a better result?
Do you not feel the features and design of a Hotpoint machine somewhat offset the bland oldschool build of a Miele? Why do Miele’s fetch a premium, when they are using less advanced technology and basic designs? The same goes for SMEG, Bosch or any other overrated brand. In all cases I am quite possibly better off financially and possibly getting a better machine by plumping for Beko. Its not like the premium brand is offering you the benefits of say buying a Ferrari over a Fiat. They aren’t better machines, just ‘possibly’ better build quality. By the way – Beko are not a premium brand, but service the lower end and yet do not run far behind Miele in reliability stakes – interesting no?
I do agree with what you are saying about the consumer in general however, I just don’t think it applies so much to these machines, when the lines are so blurry and pretty much all the machines are expensive. £700 is NOT cheap. I don’t care who you are trying to defend – an appliance costs nowhere NEAR that amount of money to build. Defending the dirty behaviour of manufacturers, exacerbates the problem. And then the cheek of them to ask me for MORE warranty money? I’m sorry, I agree with some of what you are saying, but I do feel your reasoning is faulty…..
I see my previous post hasn’t appeared, but I really have to disagree with you Traxxion. Miele are the best you can get, and do you not think that the design and build of them hasn’t changed for decades, because it hasn’t needed to be.
Please find me a manufacturer however that goes to the same level of detail and testing that they do, including laboratory testing on laundry, and even manufacture of components. I suppose you’re also calling the Which readers liars, as Miele constantly comes out on top. Because are they that un-reliable and crap?!
Oh, I forgot, Miele offer 10 year warranties, rather than just a year, does that not prove they are confident in their products? Afterall, they are German, says it all.
As for Beko being good, you have got to be having a laugh. Carbon monoxide cookers and fridge freezers bursting into flames, I dont think so. Wouldn’t go near a Beko with a 30ft barge pole.
@Traxxion.
Your last two posts exemplify EXACTLY why we get cheap, rubbish, washers flooding the market: people who buy an appliance based on it’s ability to carry out the job it is supposed to do and / or for it’s build-quality & expected life-span, are not interested in so-called ‘features’ (which, incidentally, the Energy Saving Trust claim are responsible for the excessive energy consumption of modern appliances compared to their predecessors, is-spite of the worthless energy-ratings they display).
Broadly speaking, though not 100% of the time, the more ‘features’ an appliance has, the less reliable, less efficient, less effective and less robust it is.
Indeed, many ‘features’ of modern washers are in fact things that older, and possibly quality (like Miele and ISE), machines did / do as a standard part of their cycles. They are not really “features’ at all.
Miele (and maybe ISE and possibly Bosch) build machines that are designed to last, designed to do the job (as well as you can get these days) and designed to look like what they are: white goods.
The demand from (mainly very gullible) customers for silly curvy shapes, daft colours (who wants a pink washing machine with daisies on it? LG think you do!), (mainly) pointless features (almost all of which never get used by almost every owner) and, worst of all, the expectation that you’ll change your appliances more often than some people change their socks in order to have the latest looking one all the time, are the reasons why the manufacturers turn out utter trash.
Miele have the confidence, quite rightly I think, to make machines which look plain (so they will fit with ANY kitchen or decor), machines which do a better job than any other on the market (though I can confirm from immediate relative’s experience, not as well as machines made 30 years ago) and machines which are guaranteed for at least 10 years and designed to run for at least 20 years.
I’m not a massive Miele fan, but if I ever have to face the horror of replacing my 29 year old washer which actually does wash, rinse and spin well, I’ll be buying a Miele because I will be confident of getting a similar trouble free lifespan from it and of getting the best washing and rinsing that can be obtained now.
Adam: Please listen to me very carefully. I categorically did NOT say that Miele were crap. I said in essence “why should I be ripped off by Miele for their overrated machines, when there is a good chance a Beko or Hotpoint will last every bit as long?”. Unlke you I had the benefit of an actual example and if you cared to look, a cursory glance down the comments on this page would reveal that many people feel the same way. I also said that Beko were not far behind Miele in reliability. Don’t believe me – why don’t you check Which magazine? I also said that Miele machines lack modern design features. For example, my 8 year old Hotpoint (still going strong) can be opened mid wash. Sounds useful – no? Then there is the actual cost to build. You can spend 1000 quid on a 30 year old design if you like, but that machine doesn’t cost anything like that to build. Then there is your comment about ‘labs’. Wow! Small point – do you not think ALL product manufacturers have test labs? It just sounds like you are ‘reaching’ a little. I have the benefit of facts (i.e. all the above) so I would think there is little we can disagree on?
Traxxion: There’s no doubt that Miele washing machines are seriously higher quality than a Beko or Hotpoint. And that they are far more sophisticated. You may have been comparing a basic entry model Miele with a “bells and whistles” Hotpoint. I can certainly open my Miele door mid wash if I want. It’s more to do with water levels, which were at one time high enough to prevent the door opening but now are universally low enough to make it ok.
It’s like comparing a BMW with a Fiat car. However, there are people who buy a Fiat – or of course a Beko – and it lasts for many many years and it rarely or never breaks down, just as there are people who conversely buy a BMW – or Miele washing machine – and have a lot of trouble with it, or it doesn’t last very long. But these are just anomalies, which if so minded, anyone can use to justify saying there’s no point paying so much more to buy the “better quality product”. It’s a completely flawed logic but understandable if anyone has been let down by a “quality” product or has bought a so-called cheap product and been lucky enough to have no trouble and a long life from it.
At the end of the day it’s about odds. The odds are that if you buy a product known as the cheapest on the market it won’t last or be as reliable as one renowned for being the best at twice the cost. If you buy the best and it sucks, it’s illogical to deduce buying the best is pointless just the same as if you buy the cheapest and it lasts it doesn’t prove buying premium brands is pointless.
To me, it’s the same principle as playing the game Bruce’s play your cards right with the predicting of higher or lower cards. If the first card is a 4, then statistically the odds of the next card being higher are greatly in your favour and you should call higher. But it’s perfectly possible for the next card to be a 2, 3, or even another 4 – and if it is, it doesn’t mean you were wrong to predict higher. You should generally always predict higher on such a card because although it’s possible for the next one to be lower or only the same there are far greater odds that it should be higher.
It’s more complex than that of course when buying products because the cost is often highly relevant but although I agree that Miele don’t appear to be as great as they once were they are still seriously better than any Beko or Hotpoint.