Kenmores
Back then too, Sears had the "Service what we Sell" thing going, so a lot of folks felt that they wouldn't be left in the wind if something went wrong.
Among folks that couldn't fix their own stuff, this was a key selling feature.
My grandparents old Kenmore has a sticker on it that says, "Sears guarantees that functional parts for this model are available for a minimum of 15 years". It also helps that to some degree, WLP, the maker of the 110 model prefix machines is fairly consistent with many things---that is some of the major parts carry over for a long time. It's nice that I can buy a dryer maintenance kit for my grandfather's 1975 Kenmore and then the same kit for my 1990 WLP at home here, because the design in theory is the same.
I remember a neighbor of mine was going to toss both his washer and dryer as they broke the same day. I said, "Wait a minute, let's check some things here....".
I hit the dryer first, we found that the tab for the start switch on the door was broken and of course when I pushed it with a screwdriver it worked like a charm. $20 for that switch and the dryer was like new again...
Onto the washing machine---a direct drive WLP from 1995. We found a broken motor coupling and a broken suspension spring. Took care of that, good to go. $120 in parts for the two machines (I think we changed a pump and some other stuff on the washer) and good to go. Beats $500 for two new appliances.
The washer lasted until a few years ago when my neighbor decided to toss it. I stripped it for parts for my 1996 WLP. I always salvage consoles and what I can so that I have spares---saves a ton of money when the time comes.
The point is, if you're handy like most of us here, you can hone in on the one that gives you want you want, because you know that inside you know how to fix them.
But to a lot of folks that don't know, Sears was always billed as being reliable and backing up what they sold and that's probably why they may have outsold their sister brands like WLP through Circuit City and the like.
