They are highly unlikely to get rid of the brand - even with the reliability issues they've faced over the years, there is massive brand equity in the Hotpoint name which they'll be able to leverage for sales.
I think Hotpoint is still one of the biggest selling brands in the UK - along with the likes of Beko, Zanussi, Bosch - and as long as they can provide decent machines for the money, particularly if they can get reliability better, then they'll keep selling.
Hi, Anybody who has worked on the Indesit/Hotpoint vented tumble dryers from VTD00 onwards will tell you how grim they are. From the fragile heating element ,rear drum bearing that doesnt,the front drum seal that doesnt,wafer thin cabinet, drum that wears through rear panel and then the heater wiring, the insanely tight elasticated drive belt, and the list goes on and on. This possible recall was just a matter of time i think. It may save them some money as many of these dryers have been scrapped already ! Good for the trade though. There could be a reason why the part number for the drive belt ends 666. Most of this range of dryers ive been called out to repair have been badly contaminated with lint due to the front drum seal that doesnt. Rant over, regards Nige.
Hotpoint vtd tumble dryers and Tvm dryers are actually pretty good machines for what they are worth. They only go seriously wrong when people overload them and don't clean the lint filter. They are also incredibly easy to maintain, I've refurbished hundreds and never spent more than an hour doing so, which is good considering there's a few parts to change often. Parts are also incredibly cheap and easy to obtain and I'd never put anyone off having one so long as they looked after it.
Yes I agree they are flimsy clearly seen by the fact the front panel can just flop when you take the sides off but that's only from an engineering point of view
They are nowhere near as good as TL or TDL dryers though. And I'm not sure about the new ones but I'm sure it's just something simple I.e a heater problem that they need to correct but I could be wrong
My parents have a 12 year old Indesit tumble drier that is categorised as a budget machine is still working today as it did brand new without any issues. It's been overloaded. It's placed in a very hot/cold conservatory, yet it goes on and on. The condenser model I used in a previous flatshare was used quite a bit when I lived there, yet it didn't let the house down.
I know of 3 Indesit washing machines purchased in 2008 still working today, despite being full of nasty black mould. My 2015 Hotpoint 9kg has let me down once with an F05 pressure switch fault. I'm not too impressed with the sounds from the suspension legs 'tapping' when spinning unbalanced or tumbling heavy loads. But it's just a quirk I suppose, a friends 2007 super silent 9kg Indesit does the same thing. I think my parents Zanussi Jetsystem 7kg that I purchased in 2012 is slightly better made with non of those noises from the suspension, but my Hotpoint may go on and on with no issues, I'll have to wait and see. I don't regret getting it.
Don't get me wrong the washing machines are horrendous but the dryers aren't too bad, they aren't anywhere near as good as white knights but they are just dryers at the end of the day and they knock the socks off of amica/Russell Hobbs dryers and beko dryers. Good budget machines. Since 2004 the design hasn't really changed and before that they were the same for years and years.
However even in the change in 2004, a lot of the parts are still compatible excluding the drums cause they got bigger
Any ideas what models are affected with the dodgy bearings and fluff etc. My hotpoint dryer is five years old in January and touch wood not had an issue at all with it and it does get a lot of use. It's in the summer house so if it does burst into flames it'll take the summer house with it