Miele washing machines continued: Build quality overview

This independent review continues looking at the ethos of the washing machine manufacturer Miele, and why they are a lot more expensive than many other washing machines. In order to get the full picture and context, I recommend you read Miele washing machines (part 1) first.

Built in obsolescence?

What's wrong with the majority of washing machine manufacturers?

Ultimately, the obsession with supplying washing machines at ridiculously cheap prices has resulted in a plethora of virtually throwaway washing machines. These washing machines are noisy in operation, dance around the kitchen, and suffer long known about and totally unnecessary breakdowns.

I've seen mains cables and fill hoses get so short they don't even reach in many situations. Many washing machines now have basic time-locks which make a customer wait two minutes to open the door whereas before they had more sophisticated (and more expensive) systems that let the customer into the machine as soon as it stopped.

Over the last 30 years, I've seen many individual parts getting cheaper - but much poorer in quality. Dozens of metal parts have been replaced by plastic parts, and parts that used to be repaired if a minor fault occurred, now only come as complete items. The worst example of this is when a simple coil goes open circuit on a motor, or a bearing wears. The only option on many of the cheaper washing machines is to fit a whole new motor which costs nearly as much as the machine did in the first place. This, is one of the hidden costs of cheap washing machines.

In fact, many of these manufacturers now appear to rely heavily on the profit from supplying spare parts to make up the shortfall in profit from making the washing machines in the first place. If this is the case, then they don't have much incentive to improve the quality of some of the parts inside.

Of course, if quality was too poor, it could start to get counter-productive, so a suspicion is that many washing machine manufacturers keep their product just reliable enough to keep people buying, but unreliable enough to make lots of profit on the spares. Of course, this could just be an inevitable side effect of trying to keep prices artificially low as discussed here, Do new washing machines have built-in obsolescence?

Summary

What kind of washing machine would you end up with, if quality and reliability was the main influence on its design and production? You end up with a washing machine that combines the build quality and reliability of products from decades ago, with the sophistication, and energy efficiency of modern technology. The company motto at Miele is, "forever better". They are one of the minority of washing machine manufacturers that decided to build the best product they were capable of, even though to achieve this standard, their product would be amongst the most expensive in the business and the majority of people would be put off by the price. That's what I respect about companies like Miele.

Read Washerhelp's Miele washing machine reviews - Miele W 3740 review | Miele W864 review

Miele washing machine - 5 year guarantee (£499 at John Lewis)

Compare prices on Miele washing Machines (using price comparison site)

Alternatives to Miele?

Miele are definitely not the only washing machine manufacturer making high quality washing machines built to last. But they are the best quality washing machine I know enough about to discuss (so far) and there are relatively few other washing machines up there with Miele. I hope soon to be investigating other quality washing machines such as Siemens.

Are there any downsides to Miele washing machines?

There are two downsides. The first is obvious, and that is cost. A quality washing machine simply costs more. More to buy and more to repair. The second potential downside is that there are very few independent washing machine repairers that repair Miele washing machines, and there is a small percentage who will have a go, but don't have the equipment and knowledge to do it properly. Unless a fault was very simple, they could end up wasting your time and money. At worse they could totally misdiagnose the fault, or lacking the computer laptop and diagnostic software carried by Miele engineers, could be unable to diagnose or even calibrate the machine.

My advice would be that if investing in a Miele washing machine, you really need to be prepared to use Miele engineers for any future repairs. I would also be cautious if you think it would be a serious struggle to find the money for an expensive repair sometime in the future.

Do you like the idea of a Miele washing machine but just can't spend that amount of money?

If I wanted to buy something decent - but couldn't stretch to a Miele what would I buy? Here's a list of washing machines I would personally consider and why (in no particular order).

• ISE washing machine (Decent washing machine, five year guarantee, supplied and repaired by your local independent engineers. Although nearly as costly as an entry level Miele (with the 5 year guarantee) it has high hopes of being a very repairable washing machine so it should be much less likely to be beyond economical repair too soon. It has higher specs than the entry level Miele plus all local engineers should be able to fix it.)
• Zanussi washing machine (Decent washing machines)
• John Lewis washing machine (Decent washing machine - virtually a Zanussi - with a three year guarantee)
• Bosch washing machine (They are now quite cheap but still a decent washing machine)
• Siemens (Decent quality - premium brand owned by Bosch)

New Miele forum

If you have any questions about the Miele washing machine, or you have bought one and want to share your experiences or ask for any advice, then you can now do so on the Miele washing machine forum