Miele 1203, What Do You Think?

[whirlcool]

There is this Miele W1203 available on Ebay. The seller said it works perfectly. What do you all think of the W1203?

The location is very close to my brothers house. I contacted the seller to ask why they are selling it. She said that they are moving and their new house came with a new washer & dryer and that they already gave the Miele dryer away.

The price seems right. I wonder that it would cost to pack & ship to Houston?

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[irishwashguy]

I would ask them how big their family is, and how often they

That would be the first thing. What kind of detergent did they use, what was their favorite detergent, how much did they use. When people use too much detergent, it wears on every component of a front loading washer especially the pump, the spider gear, and the berrings. Using to much soap(which a lot of Americans do) and not washing over 140, or on the W 1203 is called "hot" will shorten the life by a large margin. Why would they "give" the dryer away? Those were 1100.00 brand new! The washer was 2489.00.That also makes then five years old or less considering that they came out in LATE 2004. I would ask them what they replaced their machines with. Do they have the easy conversion kit that came with the set? Just my two cents.

 

[launderess]

Ok, I'll Bite

IIRC, this model was discontinued by Miele and replaced by W3030 series.

Machine is a 220v connection and rated for "super size", but that compares to the 5kg or so capacity of previous Miele units such as the 1900 series.

While a quality product as with all Miele washers, many consumers did not like the lack of user control, as the machine comes with 8 pre-programmed cycles and the option of "custom", but even there it may have not offered some the choices they desired.

As for shipping, don't let the size fool you. As with all Miele washers this thing is built like tank, cast iron cradle and all. You will need to have the shipping bolts put back in and the machine properly prepared for transport for anything beyond a "simple" local move. Even there I'd be very careful about whom one chooses to shift the thing, and if possible have someone who knows about these units do the packing/crating instead of leaving it up to the shippers.

There are quite allot of sensitive electronics inside this washer, so dropping or otherwise violently shoving it about can knock things loose.

Google Search

 

[launderess]

Giving Away Miele's

Happens quite allot, I mean if one has to move and not taking the unit, or knows someone who wants it (family member, friend), what is the good of holding onto it?

Have seen Miele units on eBay and CL where persons are almost begging someone to take them away. Most recenlty a brand new W3033 and matching dryer installed in a new NYC condo. Person listing the units already had his/her own washer and dryer and wanted the things gone. It took several months before that listing finally stopped. Don't know if the units were sold (asking price barely touched the cost of a new model washer alone), or what.

 

[whirlcool]

The woman who is selling it really wants it moved soon. I think I could make an offer of $275.00 and she'd take it. However, I don't really like the idea of no rinse/spin and no spin cycle only selections.

I sent her an e-mail asking the questions that Irishwashguy mentioned. We'll see.

I'll contact a Miele place in the Chicago area and see that they'd want to pack it up for shipping.

 

[launderess]

"no rinse/spin and no spin cycle only selections"

Was one of the reasons we took a pass on these units (1200 series) when they came out as well. Bosch Nexxt washers (the large ones with tilted drums) came out at about the same time, and also lacked these features, so they didn't make the cut either.

As for Miele USA, don't think they will offer to pack, but who knows, nothing ventured nothing gained. You may have more luck with a factory trained/authorised independent service tech

 

[whirlcool]

Actually we use the rinse/spin and spin only option quite a bit on our WP top loading machine. I am very sensitive to left over detergent in the wash. So if the rinse is not good enough, I can run another one with the rinse/spin option. I gather on the W1203 I'd have to run another complete cycle?

I am beginning to think that the packing, shipping, no rinse/spin options may kill this deal for us. There is just too much to go wrong.

But thanks Laundress. I appreciate your insight into this machine. That's one thing I love about this website. Somebody here always knows more about these things than I do and I respect all of your opinions very much.

 

[launderess]

Shucks, T'wern't Nuthing

You're welcome.

Miele units seem to pop more more and more these days, sooner or later you'll find one closer. The only persons I would even remotely consider for a long distance move of that washer would be C&F, however that probably is going to cost dear.

Problem with Miele appliances is their call out service charges are very expensive, as are parts. If the unit is some how damaged during shipping and or does not work upon arrival, you are looking at a potential large bill.

My Miele washer was only coming from New Jersey to NYC, so felt it was safe enough to do the deal.

Personally think the W3033 is a better unit than the W1200 series. For one thing Miele "listened to their customers" as our Miele service tech told me, and put back some of the functions/cycles that were taken away. Again while one can make various custom programs for the 1203, not sure how deep those changes go. Then there is the fact the new models from Miele run on 120v, so no special wiring required. This means you can put the washer anywhere.

Yes, often reset my vintage Whirlpool portable for an extra "rinse and spin", as with you prefer my laundry well rinsed.