Can anyone recommend a new washer under $700 that is reasonably well built and easy to work on?

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For the money you can’t beat the Roper RTW4516 or the Amana NTW4516. They are identical except for the color of paint used on the control panel. I’ve had my Roper RTW4516 for 17 trouble free months. It’s a simple machine that allows the flexibility of either a lower water wash with the Auto Sense water level option or a full fill, and I mean right to top of the tub with the Deep Water water level option. The Auto Sense uses and adequate amount of water to clean thoroughly. With the Deep Water option the roll over is just like the TL’s of yore, very impressive. Since I live in California and we are in the midst of a historical drought I only use the lower fill Auto Sense, except for our Cal King bedspread.

I almost always use the Normal/Regular cycle with Auto Sense and Hot water and the cycle completes in 35 mins, with the Auto Sense/extra rinse it takes 50 mins. Both machines are right around $500.00 even with the currently inflated prices of appliances.

How easy they are to work on I don’t know. But as simple as they are I suspect they wouldn’t be any more difficult to work on than any other modern day washer.

I wash a minimum of 4 loads a week and have never had any problems with mine. No unusual noises, no failure to spin or start. I just set the cycle selection and press start and in 35 to 55 mins (depending upon the options selected) the wash is done.

It may not have the longevity of some other washing machines, time will tell on that count. But with the current options now available, if this Roper were to bite the dust and be irreparable I’d replace it with another one just like it, thats how much I like it.

Eddie
 
Anything is better than going to a laundromat, especially during a pandemic. I personally like the videos I've seen on the Amana and it was the washer my serviceman recommended to me when I asked. (Not sure why exactly). Good luck!
 
Repairguy, you are right - the one that is two hours away is in fact older than mine - it is an Amana "Commercial Quality Washer", model# LWA40AL2. I looked up the parts list for it and it uses the better metal/porcelain tub like the Speed Queens. In fact, it looks dead like a Speed Queen in every way except the name. Mine is also called a "Commercial Quality Washer", but it is model# ALW480DAW. It also has the Speed Queen components, but it must have been made after Amana was sold off because they had switched to the cheaper plastic tub. I sure wish mine was the older model, I would be in good shape, as parts are available for it.

I am really tempted to go get the LWA model and just swap the motor/pump/transmission module with the new brakes and bearings over to it. I think the seal/hub kit that I bought will also fit the LWA. I would then essentially have a rebuilt Speed Queen machine just like the new $1200 one. If only I could convince the wife. I'm tempted to just get in the truck tomorrow and make the 4 hour round trip to get it. I have driven further for less!
 
Fire up the truck and go for it!  If money is tight, you compromise.  It's that simple.  What if something else needs an unexpected repair in the near future and you've spent a bunch of money on a new machine? 

 

Tom, you are a capable and resourceful guy.  That should not go unappreciated at a time like this.
 
I’d go for it for the price. They really are good machines. A lot of them went to an early grave simply because repair folks didn’t want to spend the time to fix them. The biggest issue was a poor quality seal at the time and it would ruin the upper bearing. Probably close to 90% of the repair folks told the customer it was the transmission when it was not. The only time I replaced transmissions was when oil was getting on the clothes because of wear in the top shaft area and it was on machines that were at least 10 years old with heavy use. I hope you get it. I always liked these and even saved a couple from when they were still commonly seen in use.
 
Thanks RepairGuy. I might go get it even if I can't convince the wife against buying new. We have a daughter in college who will need a new washer in the relatively near future.

Question - you mention all the seal issues - did the Speed Queens have the same issues? I see that they went with a different seal design at one point that appears to be a two-piece seal that is pressed into place by placing a ring over the inner seal and using the hub to push it down. Did this design alleviate some of the leak issues?
 
I can’t speak for speed queen during that time period in the late nineties as they weren’t building residential machines during that time. The seal issues if I remember correctly were corrected by using different materials to make them.
 
Ditto re: the late '90s Amanas.  We had one.  It never leaked but it ate through belts and was the worst ever at rinsing, even with an additional rinse selected.

 

If La Grange means the Chicago suburbs, then yes, ditch the Amana and go after the Neptune.  A 2004 stacking Neptune pair was left behind in the house we bought in 2018.  After some discussion here, I decided to include our larger, newer Frigidaire Affinity (Electrolux) machines in our moving sale and keep the Neptunes. 

 

The Neptune front load washer retains the design features of old school front loaders, like using enough water, three rinses on all cycles with an option for a fourth, and it goes right into a spin, unlike the Affinity, which would spend up to 20 minutes trying to balance a load prior to spin, and sometimes would just give up and call the cycle complete when it certainly wasn't. 

 

The Neptune pair has been a joy to use and the washer gets the job done in a fraction of the time the Affinity required.  No nonsense, no steam, no on-board water heater but no dumbed down hot water either, just a washer designed to get the job done efficiently and effectively, and built to last longer than any front loader on the market today -- maybe even including Speed Queen.
 
It's fixed. Had a buddy who owns a machine shop mill .125 off the snout of the hub. Put it all back together last night, and have run 3 loads through it without a problem. No leaks, no burned up belts, and runs much quieter. So I can at least sleep better knowing that I got it fixed. The things you do when you have a little extra time on your hands.

And the wife got a new Speed Queen Classic - found one at a local appliance store that was S&D - got a hundred knocked off for that.

Guess the daughter will have a washing machine waiting for her when she graduates.
 
When I grew up, we always had 2 washers - one my mums and one my grandmas - even though we did all the laundry together.

We still now even though only my mum and my grandma still live here.
They still run loads simultaneously.

Having 2 washers at once can be a great time saver especially if you hang dry a certain amount of stuff.

If you have the space, try to set them up side by side.
You should - usually - get away with running 2 washers off of 1 circuit breaker as long as they don't have a heater.
And splitters on the tap isn't a huge deal with normal water pressures.

It's nice to run both lights and darks at once.
You can usually get away with drying different colours together as long as fabric type matches and load size isn't to big.
You end up saving some time even though the one load might take longer to dry.

Especially if you are sorting some stuff out after washing you end up using the dryer more efficiently.
 

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