Best Value in modern washer/dryer?

[passatdoc]

seems to be a Home Depot exclusive

I have seen the GE branded version of the 2140 for sale only by Home Depot. May be an exclusive brand/model just for them. Lowes has special edition Frigidaire models (dishwashers, ranges, fridges) called Frigidaire Elements that are Lowes exclusives. The "GE 2140" may be a similar exclusive for Home Depot. In any case, rather than the Chinese built GE stuff, the "GE 2140" seems reliable, based on the positive experiences that most owners here have reported. Home Depot sells it for about $540, and Best Buy sells the Frigidaire branded version for about the same.

The nice thing about these two retailers is that they are all over the country. Recently, someone here posted that they couldn't find the 2140 for under $600 (the MRSP is 699), and I think they were in semirural Illinois, but there must be a Home Depot or Best Buy somewhere nearby.

 

[spankomatic]

I took them back

I had Kenmore HE3t with matching dryer for 6 months and took them back to Sears. They were really good about the return (full credit). I hated the washer. It shook the entire house on high speed spins (washer was level). I did not care for the pull out drawer to put the soap and bleach in. You have to have a steady hand to get the bleach in that tiny little square with out spilling on the floor. The soap dispencer always gets gucked up. The washer never seemed to have enough water in it. The matching dryer always had annoying hum to it. I did not like the lint filter,hard to get in and out. You have to line it up "just right" to get it back in. Most of all I did not like the cool down cycle of the dryer. It goes into on/off mode while the clothes are still hot. The concept of cool down is to keep the clothes moving until they are cool. I have used my friends Whirlpool Duet many times and have the same complaints since they are very similar machines. The washer shakes their entire house to to the point you can not use the high speed spin feature. Once again washer level. They probably do better on a cement floor in a garage.

When I brought them back I traded them for Maytag Neptunes (no window). I am much much happier with these machines! They are much smoother and quieter machines. The washer has much more water in it (I peek). The soap dispencer is on top,not pull out drawer and is much easier to add product. The high speed spin is nice and smooth. The dryer is much quieter. The lint filter pulls out with one finger and slides right back in very easy to get in and out. The cool down cycle is continuous until the clothes are COOL then goes into on/off tumbling. I have had them since 2004 and have not had a single problem with them.

 

[irishwashguy]

For the Money

Go with the Bosch Nexxt series. I know lots of people that have them and seem to like them alot. Both washer and Dryer have a window on this years models. The drum in the Dryer is shinny stainless steel, and for aobut 849 for the dryer, and about 849 or so for the washer, they are a good value.

 

[passatdoc]

Bosch

The Bosch NEXXT series was the other brand I seriously considered. I prefer to have a gas dryer and NEXXT has a gas model. The problem for me was that NEXXT is not stackable...controls are on the top, rather than the front face of the machine. I don't have a space problem per se, but I do have a big ugly concrete-filled steel pipe in front of the washer. It's called a bollard and it is required by county building code to protect the appliances from a runaway car, since the laundry area is the back wall of the garage. The bollard would prevent the door of a front loader from opening, even if the washer is perched on a pedestal. The only solution, short of cutting out the pipe, was to use a stackable washer and dryer. For that reason, I went with Frigidaire. Had I had an indoor laundry room, I might have gone with NEXXT.