Need a new washing machine - Asko or Miele?

[lisa_spyder]

Well my much loved AEG washing machine is giving us some headaches (3 prong spider which holds the drum is worn - parts cost over $400 AUD). We've replaced the seal and bearings only to find the spider is worn. Considering we have spent virtually nothing on the machine (apart from one door seal) up til now over a very hard life of nearly 10 years I think we've done well. This poor thing has been abused by the kids (forgetting to turn the taps on and punishing the pump) and has washed for a household of up to 7 people. So I am not complaining...but the motor is original and so is the pump, the shockers that hold the drum etc etc...really not prepared to start throwing money at it.

I am a front loader girl. Hate top loaders. Don't tell me how much you love your top loader cos I don't need to know .

So, now I am considering the options. The two brands I like and have good recommendations from friends who punish their machines as much as I do are Asko and Miele.

Asko W6342 pros: NO STUPID BELLOW DOOR SEAL! I love this one....hate that rotten seal in my AEG. PITA to clean.
Good door opening size; good spin speed options; stainless inner and outer drum; fair range of wash options etc etc
Price - 20% off at the moment so is now only $1640 AUD
Good reviews from several friends who love their Askos
Cons: only cold water connection so it heats its own (which my AEG does up to a certain hot wash temp which I never use anyway; but it does have hot and cold water connections)

Miele W3831 pros: It's a Miele...everyone I know who has a Miele machine has never called the serviceman. Ever.
It has hot and cold water connection and mixes both for even warm washes. Has honeycomb drum technology which means if someone slips a tissue in the wash you get the whole tissue back out, not bits of it all over the entire wash.
Has a great range of wash options, spin speeds etc.
Currently offering 5 year parts and labour warranty at no extra cost.
Cons: IT HAS THE STUPID BELLOW DOOR SEAL!
Price - $2499 AUD

Reading up on both I can see no real difference between them for water consumption and wash time even though one has to heat its own water. The Asko has a 4.5 star rating for both water use and power; the Miele has a 4 star rating for power and 4.5 for water use.
The Miele is rated at 6.5kg capacity and the Askoo is rated at 6kg (which is what my AEG is rated).

Asko are supposedly releasing a machine here soon which has hot and cold water connection, but I don't like the design of the detergent compartment. It's some push button to release thing instead of a pull out drawer. Something little, but more prone to go wrong with continued use.

I don't want a Bosch, Kleenmaid have gone belly up here, Maytag are not what they were...AEG are no longer fully supported here either. In Aus my choices for a better quality machine are Asko or Miele.

Anybody got horror stories about either/or? If I want to go with the Asko I need to do it within 24 hours to get the 20% sale price...it's tempting as it's a saving over the Miele of $850 or so...and it doesn't have the goddamn seal thing either!

Thanks!

[look 171]

Not too many vendors sell Asko washers here, at least not in LA. I would buy a Miele. I know they make a damn great Dish washer. Good luck. AEG, what's that? We get a little bit of their tools, and some appliances, but not too popular here. I am sure if we dig hard enough, we can get it. Not too many dealers of AEG.

[island911]

if your appliances heat their own water then you can turn down the thermostat on your hot water tank -saves energy and no one gets scalded by the shower or tap water.

[alf]

I have found that basic washer without digital controls for all the doo-dads work best, last the longest and cost less to maintain. The expensive ones cost more, break more often and cost more to fix...and they do not get your clothes any cleaner.

[lisa_spyder]

You have a point Alf....probably why I am not a 'new car' buyer as well!

Look 171: AEG was German engineered and made when I bought ours - like most things I tend to surround myself with .

Asko is Swedish and for all intents andd purposes a well made machine. They sure sell well here so that must mean something.

I am leaning toward the Asko because I can't stand the double door seal thing on the Miele....I am a lazy housewife; the less cleaning the better . I have better things to do with my time than clean out that rotten seal.

Island; water is set at 55 degrees anyway. Can't have the kids getting burnt. We have gas hot water so it's pretty cheap to run as well.

[creaturecat]

Asko. For sure. Our units have performed flawlessly for 10 years.

[Dottore]

They're both great machines. We've had both in the past. My wife has a Miele obsession though, so now it's all Miele.

I don't think you can go far wrong with the Asko though—especially at the price difference.

[LWJ]

Not that much market penetration in the US. These are sort of uncommon. I do have a Miele dishwasher. I was sort of "sold" by the appliance guy. While it was stupid expensive, the thing is really great. Just does the job. Quiet. No fuss. I am impressed.
Larry

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by alf

I have found that basic washer without digital controls for all the doo-dads work best, last the longest and cost less to maintain. The expensive ones cost more, break more often and cost more to fix...and they do not get your clothes any cleaner.

Truth there...we had a $pendy maytag neptune. Control board burned out twice. 1st time under warranty, 2nd time not. We replaced with a basic Frigidaire front loader with no digital controls. It's been running without problems for years.

Sometimes it's best to not try to reinvent the wheel..

[lisa_spyder]

Thanks guys,

Valuable input here - helps a lot!

But it looks like I have to get over my hatred of the door seal and will pony up for the Miele. More research has tipped me. Plus if in the unlikely event it gives us any trouble we have an authorised service agent here (not one for Asko) so that has to be a plus. As Mike asked me last night; apart from the rubber door seal what don't you like about it?.... Well there's nothing else. The Miele is built to do the job for 20 years, does have more wash program choices than the Asko (dug some more last night and it blew me away) and has a 6 point suspension system versus 4 point on the Asko....which is really important as our house is on stumps and the machine will vibrate a little no matter what we do, so more suspension the better. Plus the honeycomb drum....plus, plus, plus....this really does seem to be one situation where I'll get what I pay for.

I know it's only a washing machine....but it's probably the most important bit of equipment in our house (you guys with sports playing kids will know what I mean). After having gone a week without one waiting on parts for the AEG I don't ever want to be without one again. Handwashing large quantities of grubby clothes just SUCKS. Parts are easier to get in a hurry here for the Miele vs Asko should we need them...

So the Miele wins. More money sure, but a 5 year warranty included plus knowing we have a local service agent should anything go wrong makes the money argument a little irrelevant (for me and definitely for Mike). He reckons the only thing louder in our house than the AEG clanging and banging when the bearings went was ME - whining about the handwashing!!! Wants to keep me happy (and quiet ).

Now if only I could arrange for the piddly excuse for an oven to blow up and take half the kitchen with it so I can go through this whole process for new kitchen appliances (I've tried...really I have...bloody thing just won't die ).

[pwd72s]

Women are so soft these days. They should be content with a scrub board and a tub! After all, their mothers had to haul clothing down to the river!

[lisa_spyder]

LOL....I'll take that from you Paul; even if it wasn't green....

How times change eh....rofl....

[enzo1]

I'll put my Electrolux against both of those Price/performance.... YouTube - Electrolux - Final Spin (1350RPM's)

[Bill Douglas]

Maybe ask your repair man what he thinks of the particular washers. They understand the engineering and spare parts availability aspects of them.

Miele do make nice stuff.

[Normy]

Well, what my friends in Belgium tell me is that Miele RULES. Avoid Zanussi appliances!

Haier is another brand to avoid in the United States. I fly for a cargo airline in my spare time, but I also help run a small business with houses in Fort Liquourdale. We buy crap, fix it, then rent it or sell it. We have an 18 unit apartment complex with Haier washer dryers. This unit DOES NOT WORK. It uses 120 volt electricity [Hello? Yours gnikcuf-truly really should have seen the folly in THIS!] to dry clothes. What that mean? It means I screwed up buying these units for my apartment complex. The units can actually wash and dry clothes, but only a few pieces. You can put two pair of jeans and two typical t-shirts in this thing when you leave for the office at 0800, and when you come back at 1700 or 5 PM then they are clean and dry. Any larger load winds up with wet clothes! This we have fought against for a year, and still don't have an explanation. We bought the units from Brandsmart for $800 each, but their customer service has been somewhat spotty. You get what you pay for apparently, but I don't make the decisons....all I do is seat toilets, install blinds, and mount ceiling fans. I'm the wax-ring king...I should take my 928 to "Sharks In The Mountains" and wear my toilet seal to the thing as a crown!

N!

[lisa_spyder]

Bill,

I did just that a few weeks ago when chasing parts for the AEG . His advice was buy a Miele. Sure the parts are a bit expensive (I said - not to me considering what I do for a living ), but they are more readily available and probably cheaper than Asko parts. Big clincher for us too is that there is an authorised service agent for Miele here in town. I'll live with cleaning that door seal I hate so much...

So, when the AEG gave a BIG hiccup this afternoon when I was only 3 loads done out of 8 loads (Charlotte was on camp this week - disgusting masses of putrid clothes from canoeing and climbing up and down muddy banks etc)....I got on the phone to my favorite store and ordered the damned thing...plus I ordered the matching drier and stacking kit thingy with pull out shelf...damned if I wasn't going to just get what I need and be done with it . Mike came home from work (we are stupidly busy; kids haven't seen him for more than a few hours total in two weeks now ) and I told him I'd just spent a few grand of the hard-earned without leaving the house...I got a big smile, a big kiss and a "good - if it makes life easier; great".... I love my hubby !!!

Enzo....sorry; three minutes to reach maximum spin??? Pitched against Maytag, Bosch etc? No mention of Miele or Asko in the comparison...think I know why ... Electrolux have a lousy name down here - I don't think we have the same model range that you get; maybe that's it .

[enzo1]

I know better than to argue with a woman, LOL..... fixed it for ya YouTube - Miele W3205 Spin 1300rpm

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by lisa_spyder

Bill,

I did just that a few weeks ago when chasing parts for the AEG . His advice was buy a Miele. Sure the parts are a bit expensive (I said - not to me considering what I do for a living ), but they are more readily available and probably cheaper than Asko parts. Big clincher for us too is that there is an authorised service agent for Miele here in town. I'll live with cleaning that door seal I hate so much...

So, when the AEG gave a BIG hiccup this afternoon when I was only 3 loads done out of 8 loads (Charlotte was on camp this week - disgusting masses of putrid clothes from canoeing and climbing up and down muddy banks etc)....I got on the phone to my favorite store and ordered the damned thing...plus I ordered the matching drier and stacking kit thingy with pull out shelf...damned if I wasn't going to just get what I need and be done with it . Mike came home from work (we are stupidly busy; kids haven't seen him for more than a few hours total in two weeks now ) and I told him I'd just spent a few grand of the hard-earned without leaving the house...I got a big smile, a big kiss and a "good - if it makes life easier; great".... I love my hubby !!!

Enzo....sorry; three minutes to reach maximum spin??? Pitched against Maytag, Bosch etc? No mention of Miele or Asko in the comparison...think I know why ... Electrolux have a lousy name down here - I don't think we have the same model range that you get; maybe that's it .

Good for you, Lisa...Parts availablity is thinking in the right direction. We now buy our appliances from a small local store. A phone call brings fast service...

[jossiegas5]

For me and based on my experience in washing machine, I'd rather buy a Miele washing machine than Asko. Know why? Because Miele washing machine was great! It really help the detergent in cleaning our clothes even in a certain period of time.