I say go for new... We have owned two Speed Queen washers (both top loaders) and both have been excellent. Absolutely reliable, great washing. The first one was a 1994 model, no bells or whistles, but went through 3 moves and only had a single repair in 11 years of use and abuse- a new belt. It was still working near perfectly when we sold it. The second one came with our house, a 1989 model, slightly more features than the first, but same excellent performance. As far as I know that one never had a repair, but we moved it out because the 60 year old drainage system couldn't handle the volume of water it used any longer. We still have the matching dryer in use, and while it has very few features, the auto dry regular cycle dries well every time. As far as a dryer, if you don't mind a mismatched set, get a Whirlpool/Kenmore/Estate/Roper (All made by Whirlpool) with the top mounted lint filter. You won't find a better performing, quieter, or more reliable dryer. I never use Warm rinse settings because in my opinion all it does is waste extra hot water- All the cleaning is done in the wash cycle.