Do Miele Machines Last 20 Years?
My premier 520 is just over 5 years old, in mint condition apart from the circuit board and is being taken to the dump next week. Miele wanted nearly £300 for the board + £100 call out + £1 per min after the first hour to repair something that should not have broken. I wanted a Miele for ages after reading all the blurb on this site and must admit it was a beautiful machine to use, however it is not really worth paying out such a large amount of money on a machine which is likely to break and become uneconomical to repair. Much better to take a gamble on a decent machine half the price and when it breaks just replace it. A quick look on ebay brings up a full page of faulty Miele's
If I paid the money for the repair I would have a niggling worry in the back of my mind as to when the board would break again. The cost of the repair is a real slap in the face to someone who spoke well of the brand & invested a considerable amount in the initial purchase. There is no way Miele can justify a repair cost of a single circuit board costing the same amount as a brand new decent machine. I am now buying an AEG 8 series with a 5 year guarantee, at least if that breaks after 6 years I won't be so angry as they never promised the machine would last 20 years.
Its gonna break my heart dumping it, so much for their environmental claims.
Andrew
Solution Summary
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This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.
Miele Premier 520 uneconomical to repair after circuit board failure at just over 5 years
- The problem
- A Miele Premier 520 washing machine, just over 5 years old and otherwise in very good condition, was reported as failed due to a circuit board fault. The owner considered the machine not worth repairing because of the quoted cost.
- Likely cause
- Confirmed fault reported as a failed circuit board. The discussion does not provide further technical diagnosis of why the board failed.
- What fixed it
- No repair was carried out. The owner decided not to proceed because Miele had quoted nearly £300 for the board plus a £100 call-out, with additional labour charges after the first hour. The machine was being disposed of and replaced with another brand. One forum reply suggested the owner might consider a claim against the seller under consumer law due to the short lifespan for a premium appliance, but this was legal advice rather than a repair.
- Checks to try
- Circuit board identified as faulty
- Repair quote obtained from Miele: nearly £300 for the board plus £100 call-out
- Machine age stated as just over 5 years
- Machine condition stated as otherwise mint
- Parts or tools mentioned
- Circuit board
Safety: Disconnect the appliance from the electricity supply before any inspection. Work involving mains electrics, gas or sealed refrigeration systems should only be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.
3 Answers
Hello Andrew. I've been trying to warn Miele about this for the last few years. Unfortunately it's a serious issue and I hate to see it happening because Miele washing machines are a class product. Of course we should all expect repairs to be relatively expensive but not so expensive as to render the appliance not worth repairing.
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The one from the above ebay link sold for £11.35 :-( My brother wants the drum out of mine to make a fire pit! Totally ridiculous that these machines are sold with false claims of longevity. My family who all bought £200 - £250 washing machines are having a good laugh at me at the moment.
Andrew
Andrew, you bought a washing machine that was sold as being designed and tested to last 20 years. If after 5 years it's failed and will cost £400+ to repair, you might have a case against the seller under the sale of goods act that it hasn't lasted a reasonable time. Such a high quality appliance should be expected to last longer than 5 years in most people's book and a small claims court judge may well agree. You may be entitled to compensation equating to the cost of this repair, which can't even be put down to wear.
However, it's by no means a cast iron case, it depends on how a small claims court judge sees it but the whole point of buying a premium brand product is that it will be much more reliable than an ordinary one and will last much longer too. Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives us 6 years to claim for faulty appliances
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