I had a Saturday morning with nothing to do, so I decided to go look at some washers. I went to four stores: Home Depot, Lowes, Sears, and Boscov’s. Interesting to say the least.
At Home Depot, the first stop, a man asked me if I needed help. I said I was just looking, but with each machine I examined, he flew up at me and started explaining details. I wanted to turn to him and say “Which part of ‘I’m just looking’ do you not understand?” But I did not. Eventually, I left, essentially being chased out by this overzealous salesperson. The same thing happened at Sears, but no matter.
What I saw: Each of the stores had several of the Whirlpool-made Maytag top loaders, but they were all labeled differently: the Sears models were labeled Dependable Care; the Home Depot models were labeled Legacy Series; and the Lowes models didn’t have a label at all. To me, they all looked the same, so what’s up with that? I liked them the first time I saw them, but this time, I’m not so sure. They seem sturdy but generic. The thing I like best about them is how easily the softener dispenser cup lifts out for cleaning—to my knowledge, much easier than any other current Whirlpool machine’s. Very slick. Boscov’s had other Maytags going for as low as $399. They felt very cheesy and had plastic tubs. I guess they were the last of the pre-Whirlpool models? Boscov’s also had lots of Frigidaire top loaders at very low prices. Nice looking machines but very jerky, ratchety knobs.
All the stores had the Whirlpool standard top loaders, but they seemed kind of blah to me. Lowes had the new Amanas, but their control panels were exactly the same as my 6-year-old Whirlpool’s. Nothing like going forward!
The GE top loaders were in attendance everywhere. I must admit that the upper range models looked and felt better than many of the others—but I’m probably just swayed by that easily defeatable magnetic switch!
Actually, among the traditional top loaders, I think I liked the Kenmores the best. They seemed very sturdy; the white porcelain tubs were very nice; and I was even able to pull up on the triple action agitator, just as described here. Cool! That said, the control knobs seemed somewhat flimsy—surely they can do better than that.
About stainless steel tubs: I thought that the Whirlpool Cabrio/Kenmore Oasis/Maytag Bravos had the nicest tubs. The seams were very smooth and almost undetectable. Of course, those washers are very expensive and seem to have a lot of complaints about performance and reliability, so I probably would not consider them for now.
As for front loaders, Boscov’s was the only store that had the Frigidaire 2940. That one seemed very nice, although I thought the door was kind of flimsy. Some of the other stores had lower model Frigidaires that had essentially the same feel. The Affinity machines looked good and were reasonably priced. Actually, the GE front loaders looked very nice, too, maybe nicer than the Frigidaires—but they are made in China. I just walked right past anything called Samsung. I found the Bosch and Whirlpool front loaders plug-ugly, not to mention inordinately expensive. There was a Maytag Epic that was priced lower than the Whirlpools: $999. It seemed OK but still too expensive for me. Most of the LG machines were very expensive, also, but I did see a plain white model that looked good. It was $799 at Home Depot, looked very nice, and had a lot of features for the price. I hear so many horror stories about LG, though, that I would be afraid to consider it.
So there you have it: one person’s washer shopping on a Saturday morning with nothing else to do. These are just my impressions from seeing the machines in the stores. Any insights into particular models are welcome.
Thanks.
At Home Depot, the first stop, a man asked me if I needed help. I said I was just looking, but with each machine I examined, he flew up at me and started explaining details. I wanted to turn to him and say “Which part of ‘I’m just looking’ do you not understand?” But I did not. Eventually, I left, essentially being chased out by this overzealous salesperson. The same thing happened at Sears, but no matter.
What I saw: Each of the stores had several of the Whirlpool-made Maytag top loaders, but they were all labeled differently: the Sears models were labeled Dependable Care; the Home Depot models were labeled Legacy Series; and the Lowes models didn’t have a label at all. To me, they all looked the same, so what’s up with that? I liked them the first time I saw them, but this time, I’m not so sure. They seem sturdy but generic. The thing I like best about them is how easily the softener dispenser cup lifts out for cleaning—to my knowledge, much easier than any other current Whirlpool machine’s. Very slick. Boscov’s had other Maytags going for as low as $399. They felt very cheesy and had plastic tubs. I guess they were the last of the pre-Whirlpool models? Boscov’s also had lots of Frigidaire top loaders at very low prices. Nice looking machines but very jerky, ratchety knobs.
All the stores had the Whirlpool standard top loaders, but they seemed kind of blah to me. Lowes had the new Amanas, but their control panels were exactly the same as my 6-year-old Whirlpool’s. Nothing like going forward!
The GE top loaders were in attendance everywhere. I must admit that the upper range models looked and felt better than many of the others—but I’m probably just swayed by that easily defeatable magnetic switch!
Actually, among the traditional top loaders, I think I liked the Kenmores the best. They seemed very sturdy; the white porcelain tubs were very nice; and I was even able to pull up on the triple action agitator, just as described here. Cool! That said, the control knobs seemed somewhat flimsy—surely they can do better than that.
About stainless steel tubs: I thought that the Whirlpool Cabrio/Kenmore Oasis/Maytag Bravos had the nicest tubs. The seams were very smooth and almost undetectable. Of course, those washers are very expensive and seem to have a lot of complaints about performance and reliability, so I probably would not consider them for now.
As for front loaders, Boscov’s was the only store that had the Frigidaire 2940. That one seemed very nice, although I thought the door was kind of flimsy. Some of the other stores had lower model Frigidaires that had essentially the same feel. The Affinity machines looked good and were reasonably priced. Actually, the GE front loaders looked very nice, too, maybe nicer than the Frigidaires—but they are made in China. I just walked right past anything called Samsung. I found the Bosch and Whirlpool front loaders plug-ugly, not to mention inordinately expensive. There was a Maytag Epic that was priced lower than the Whirlpools: $999. It seemed OK but still too expensive for me. Most of the LG machines were very expensive, also, but I did see a plain white model that looked good. It was $799 at Home Depot, looked very nice, and had a lot of features for the price. I hear so many horror stories about LG, though, that I would be afraid to consider it.
So there you have it: one person’s washer shopping on a Saturday morning with nothing else to do. These are just my impressions from seeing the machines in the stores. Any insights into particular models are welcome.
Thanks.
