Well this is basically how we ended up going Miele.
We had a Zanussi JetSystem and a Creda Tumble Dryer (Vented)
When we moved house, there was no easy way of ducting the dryer out, so we replaced it and someone managed to convince my mom to get a Hoover condenser.
I can't remember which model it was, but it was a lousy machine. Didn't dry the clothes well, regularly over-heated them and caused damage to fabrics.
So, we did a little investigation and ended up buying the Miele T470 dryer, at that stage, we wouldn't have touched a condenser dryer as the Hoover had been so utterly terrible.
Anyway, the dryer was so impressive that we decided to replace the Zanussi JetSystem, which had been quite a good machine but, was about 10 years old at that stage and the spin performance wasn't really great.
The JetSystem was given away to someone and is now close to 15 years old and has only had one repair (the circulation pump which went quite early in its life and was replaced for free)
The Miele had a couple of repairs, one was entirely our fault - sleeping bag zip dragged across the edge of the rubber seal at the bottom of the door which created a little slit in it. The zip worked just like a bread knife.
Cost about €100 !! to replace the rubber door seal, however the repair guy said that he doesn't even carry them in stock normally as they fail that infrequently !
Also, the miele had a problem with one of its fill valves, the one that controls the water for the rinse part of the cycle. So, it was intermittently not filling. The repair guy came out and it took a while for him to figure out. The valve was opening sometimes and not others, so he initially suspected it was the Novotronic control board, which is a very pricey replacement item!
But, with a little further investigation, it was narrowed down to a tiny problem with the solenoid coil in one of the valves. He was able to pop the coil out, without replacing the entire valve! Seems it's designed to do that.
Whole repair only cost a call out fee.
Overall though, both machines perform fantastically and are real workhorses, doing multiple washes per day since they've been here.
The dryer was particularly impressive as it's so kind to fabtics. I know no matter what washer I get in my own place, I will buy a Miele dryer. There's just no comparison. I feel quite comfortable about putting very delicate fabrics in and know that they'll come out in perfect condition.
. So they could be anything from 9-6 years old.
