My first pair: White-Westinghouse 1988 pair
Bought them at Price Club (merged with Costco in the 1990s, but often regarded as the original company because Price Club opened in 1976, before the pre-merger Costco did), back when they would carry one model of everything: one dishwasher, one fridge, one laundry pair. I was moving to a newly-built home from an apartment, and Price Club sold the pair for $600. A middle-aged colleague at work had purchased them and said they worked reasonably well, so I figured it was a safe choice, plus I didn't have to shell out $1000 at a time when money was tight.
The dryer worked reasonably well for nine years. Did not have a moisture sensor, all the cycles worked on a timer so sometimes it would stop short of a fully dry load, if it were heavy. It did have three temp settings that worked, at a time when most BOL models offered two or sometimes just one temp setting.
The washer was another issue, however. Thank goodness major appliances came with three year warranties in those days. The washer had an infinite water level control, rather than "small" "medium" or "large" loads. The water level sensor in the washer was poorly designed and I had to have it repaired twice under warranty. Otherwise the washer would continue to fill and then overflow.
The factory-authorized repairman said the switch was problematic and he commonly had to make repairs on them. California's lemon law was already in place and quite possibly I could have demanded a replacement machine, but I didn't know my rights in those days.
The sensor broke again a year or two after end of warranty. I paid roughly $150 to have it fixed again. At that point I realized that were it to happen again, 2 x $150 would nearly equal the original $325 price of the washer, at which point it might make more sense to buy a new one. The third replacement sensor held out until 1997, when it broke again. It was possible to wash by remaining near the washer until water level hit desired level and then turning the knob back toward the "small" end of the dial, but you had to repeat this process for the rinse, and the process certainly wasn't "fully automatic".
I replaced them with a MOL GE pair which were ok, but the washer tub seals broke down by 2006 and could not be repaired. The washer went off to Salvation Army. I gave the gas dryer to my neighbor, who had an electric model and wished to change to gas (much cheaper to operate where we live). I bought a new Frigidaire 2140 FL with matching dryer. The Frig pair is working perfectly at my neighbor's, who inherited that set when I bought a new Electrolux pair last November (60 series FL). The Frigidaires have never had a service call.
