I just put myself through a rather expensive discovery process; in replacing my prematurely-failed "Frigimore" (bought in '99 or '00, bad tub bearings) I thougt, without researching, that "Maytag has always been good, so they must still be." I bought a Neptune 6700, and a 9700 dryer. Soon found out that lots of people had problems w/the new Neptunes, and CU frequency-of-repair rating was among the worst. It's now in my garage w/an ad in the paper. After much more thorough research, I bought a Whirlpool Duet HT from Sears. (The top Duet is a model 9400; the one they make for Sears is a 9460, slightly higher spin speed-1250 r.p.m.) I liked the looks of the Miele except for its small size, but I can't justify $2000 for a washer. They're coming out with a larger one, and I can only guess what that will cost. The Duet sometimes takes time to balance the load for spin-seems a little too sensitive to slight unbalance-but otherwise I'm very impressed. It is top rated by CU, including its repair record. The "lonely" Maytag man is coming over tomorrow re. the dryer (used once) which gives out a rhythmic thumping noise-an imperfection in the drum where it rides on the rollers. I can't imagine them fixing it other than giving me a new drum, or a new dryer. Can't wait to see, but i didn't spend $900 to listen to that racket. If they can't put it right, back it goes to Home Depot, and I'll get a Duet dryer.
