Miele quality?

Thanks Miele should have a downloadable pdf file of their 10 year guarantee terms and conditions[ on their web site so you can look before you buy. From what I can see they are fair (with one caveat), even to the extent that you can transfer the guarantee to another person (written consent required from Miele though).

At the time of writing the conditions are pretty straight forward and concise. There’s no requirement to have the washing machine serviced regularly although there are terms that need reading properly. Here’s a quick summary –

To qualify for the extra guarantee you have to register within 28 days of purchase. You can print off the registration form which includes terms and conditions from Miele's web site

The 10 year guarantee only applies to certain models (listed) Other models have 5 year guarantees and some have 2 year guarantees. Of course (as you’d expect) the longer guarantees are on the more expensive models

The guarantee covers callout, parts and labour - but only “up to the original price you paid for the product”. This makes the 10 year guarantee headline claim disappointingly misleading. The implication here is that it has a financial limit that could potentially be used up well before the end of 10 years. However, the idea is that these washing machines are very reliable, so most people should be OK

Based on my experience, the reason washing machines don't last are more complicated than just because they are rubbish although that's what it boils down to in the end. Ultimately it's because people aren't prepared to spend the money having them repaired when they break down. The reasons people have this reluctance are (IMHO) as follows -There's a general throwaway attitude that's crept in slowly but surely over the last 20 years and it affects us all to some degree.

People have a psychological problem with spending certain percentages of the original purchase price (or replacement cost) on a repair. If you only pay £200 for a washing machine, there's little chance you are going to spend £140 having a new motor fitted 2 years later. Even an ordinary (not major) repair can cost almost 50% of the purchase price, and a major repair can actually cost more than a replacement washing machine.

People often don't know a repairman they can trust so it seems easier to just buy another.

People often don't even like their washing machine because it's noisy, inefficient and unreliable - so they are half glad to get rid and try another one anyway.

Many washing machines are relatively cheap to replace so it appears better value for money to "invest" in a new washing machine (There's an old saying, "buy cheap - buy often").

The reasons a Miele washing machine should last much longer are -You invested a lot more money into it, and see it not as a cheap disposable item, but as a quality purchase that deserves to be maintained.

It is (compared to normal washing machines) very well made, and it looks and feels the part.

You are far more likely to actually like the washing machine because it serves you well, and quietly. You'd be surprised how you can get attached to a washing machine

Any repair costs, while expensive (parts are high quality so of course they aren't exactly cheap) should be a smaller percentage of the original purchase or replacement costs so it seems logical to repair rather than replace.

Frankly, the cost of a new Miele washing machine won't be cheap, so it'll be like the old days when things were so expensive to replace that we invested in keeping them running. And that's not a bad thing.

[edit] I have to add that since writing this post I've become aware of people scrapping Miele washing machines because they are being quoted very high repair costs by Miele. This has dampened my enthusiasm for them somewhat but in fairness I expect most people will have few if any problems and they are still without doubt the best built washing machines available.

( see my Blog article and comments for more on Potential downsides to buying Miele washing machines and appliances )