I'm too young to have been around the belt drive machines to experience them in depth, but I do know that the direct drive machines are bulletproof. I had a Kenmore 90 Series from around 2000ish that came with the house when my wife and I purchased it in 2014. The seller loved the washer but didn't want to take it as she was moving across the country. It was still working when we donated it to Habitat for Humanity to make room for my Kenmore front loader.
An aunt of mine still has the identical machine to the old Kenmore I had, except hers is from 1997 (which I thought was newer than that, but it wasn't, according to her Sears receipt, which clearly stated October something-something, 1997 as the date of delivery). It never saw a screwdriver. The dryer, same thing. Not even a belt. She wants to buy a new set but doesn't want a front loader, so I've told her to keep what she has as the new toploaders are not the same and if you buy new, might as well get the front loader.
My grandparents have one from the late '80s/early '90s that still works, after a three year hiatus when my grandpa surprised my grandma with a new HE3 set a few Christmases ago, which didn't work out as the control boards in both machines died. As far as I know, that set hasn't been touched by my grandpa (who is very handy) or a repairman, except to vacuum out the internals of the dryer. They've had that Kenmore set since I was in diapers, and it looks brand new. My grandpa waxes it twice a year, and I don't think he's the type that likes washers and dryers like us, he's just meticulous about maintaining things. So he's got me waxing my washer and dryer, ha ha.
