Shopping for a Washing Machine Again

And here we go again. Almost four years ago to the day, we purchased a washing machine, the LG WM2487HWMA front loader. Sadly, this washer won’t make it much longer.

It’s progressively been making louder and louder noises while in operation so we had a tech inspect it. The Direct Drive motor is fine, and the drum is fine, and these are the two parts with long term warranties. It’s the parts that hold the drum and motor together that’s busted. Estimate for the repair came out to roughly $800!!

So buying a new washing machine is a better answer. Disappointed at the longevity of this LG, we looked at Consumer Reports for other options. However, LG and Samsung still lead the way in CR reviews along with the least amount of repair issues. Hmmmm. We started looking at Samsung washers only to discover that these washers are deep. They are all 27 inches wide, but between 32-34 inches deep. The typical LG 4.0 cu ft washer is right under 30 inches deep. Because of its current (immovable) location, an extra four inches wouldn’t work out. Seems like LG has the market on “small” 27-in washing machines. Other brands (GE, Maytag, Whirlpool) we looked at were all 30 inches or more. Oh, and this is for front loaders with at least 4.0 cu ft of interior space.

The new LG behemoth, the WM8000HVA, with 5.1 cu ft of space was intriguing. It’s still deeper at 32 3/10 inches compared to 29 3/4 inches, and also it’s 29 inches wide compared to the standard 27 inches. We could actually accommodate the extra two inches of width, but those few inches of depth are still a problem so we couldn’t match our other behemoth LG appliance.

So where does this leave us? Here’s a rundown of what we wanted:

• Low maintenance
• Extended warranty
• 4.0 cu ft or more of interior space
• Front loader. Every sales rep and tech still recommended front loaders for cleaner clothes.
• Similar depth of current washer
• No extra fancy wash cycles (but they all pretty much have them like it or not)
• Available NOW. Our current washer just ain’t going to make it so we can’t wait 30-60 days for delivery.

After checking out Sears, Costco, Lowes, and Home Depot, we ended up at Pacific Sales inside of Best Buy. Not finding a Samsung that met our requirements, we went with another LG, the WM4070HWA, with its 4.3 cu ft of space. It’s the same footprint of our current LG, and there is was one in stock. It seems this model is relatively new with very few reviews available unlike the popular LG WM3470. So although Pacific Sales did not have a floor model to see (neither did other stores), we bought the LG WM4070HWAD with delivery this week.

We also purchased the extended warranty due to our bad luck with our former LG washer. At $129 for 5 years (I have to check on that), it’s a reasonable addition.

Let’s hope for better luck with this LG.