Unfortunately, the days of 'buy a 30 year appliance' are over. Upright or front load, they are just more complex and more cheaply built than in the past....

I bought a sears he3/ he3t front load pair about 12 years ago. Just out of warranty the control board failed- very common failure, was able to troubleshoot and buy the part for $250.

Then last year the tub broke. Seems that the stainless tub is held by a cast alloy hub assembly which mounts into the main bearing. This bearing supports the entire tub/load. The cast alloy was incompatible with water, and corroded to powder, then broke. This then damaged the tub.

Parts were going to be $1700.

Good news.....Lifetime warranty on the tub. But they wanted labor. Argument ensued. I said I'll send you the bad parts, just send me good parts... Finally I agreed to a standard diagnostic service vists with a $99 fee...I wanted to document the parts that were bad and of they were under warranty.... they came out, looked at it and said, 'yep, those are bad'.....and ordered the parts to be drop shipped and said 'call us when they arrive'..the tech kind of winked and added 'if you don't call, nobody will ever know- good luck'. Labor was going to be over $400 for this 'two person' job...

I Installed it, fine since.

Like what we do with cars in the forums, there are plenty of DIY sites, service manuals, etc, available on the web. Oh, and having a spare washer dryer in the barn helps when 7 days pass without the main laundry!

But I am convinced the the old days of 20 year washers (or cars) are gone. Front or top load...

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