I never thought I would get excited about a washing machine site - but what an excellent find. Total appreciation here for the time that must go into this. Suitably armed with your recommendation I marched into John Lewis to find the 1202 has been replaced with the 1203. No change other than a handwash programme and still the same cost.

The guy in the store said they were from a quality maufacturer but he couldn't tell me who - how nice to be able to say - not a problem AEG have a great reputation!

There seems to be a bit of a global shoirtage of these - the JL website proclaims out of stock and the stores are bare.

I was told it is better to order one from the store as they will be getting first pick when they arrive in about a weeks time. Don't know how true that is but I ordered one anyway - and they won't take payment until they have one to send you. Top service and 3 year warranty.

Update to follow when it comes. Many thanks.

I got my new machine yesterday (JL1202) after reading good things about it on this site. So far I'm impressed.

Anyway, I have a couple of questions about the machine and I wonder if anyone can answer them?

Before the first wash the instruction manual says to pour 2l of water in to the detergent draw to 'activate the eco valve'. What is this so called 'eco valve'?

Those familiar with the machine will know you have various wash options including economy 60, 40 etc. If I select economy 60 the wash time is longer than that of a normal 60 wash. According to the instruction manual the economy 60 wash takes longer than the normal 60 wash but uses less electricity. How is this possible?

Nothing of major importance but I'm just curious

All the best.

corksta

I wish to annouce the arrival of my JLWM 1202 on the 23rd January, 2006 a truly gorgeous addition to our family. She arrived as expected on time and has behaved impreccably since. She is so quiet, I hardly know she is there. Seriously folks, I am delighted with this little baby. It is amazing the difference 20 years on from my Hoover. The only thing I will miss about my old machine, is the fact that it was on castors and made moving it so easy. This JL model is pretty heavy to say the least and even though I have a tiled floor, it was still pretty difficult to manovre into position. That said, I'm sure it will give me years of pleasure! Sincere thanks to washerhelp for all his assistance, it was invaluable. I wish you continued success. Best regards - yoj13

Having read the Washerhelp review, I recently purchased a JLWM1202. Thought I'd share a little feedback:

1) The order process was excellent. I ordered online, was called the next day to arrange delivery and the machine arrived at the scheduled time a week or so later. The delivery people took away my ancient old washer (this costs £9 extra).

2) The machine itself looks well put together. Being a bit of a geek (I'm a journalist, and I review high-tech products and computers for a living) I took a look inside through the hatch on the bottom - it was all neatly put together, with cables well tied up in place etc.

3) It weighs a ton. It's at least twice as heavy as my old (ancient Hoover Soft Wave) washer. This makes it hard to install, but more stable when spinning. The drum is also far bigger than my old machine.

4) The controls are very easy to use. The push buttons have a good solid-feeling click to them, but the rotary program selector dial doesn't feel very good - it's slightly out of line with the marks, and doesn't "click" very well when turned to a different program. This is my only, and very minor, complaint.

All in all I'm very pleased - it works fine, and the three year warranty is reassuring. Thanks for your excellent website and reviews.

Tom

Before I found this site I was all set to go out and buy a hotpoint washing machine, but now I've had second thoughts and am now looking at other brands.

Originally I was going to buy from John Lewis anyway as they always have great warranty and when I was last there I saw they had their own range but didn't think much of them as own brand stuff from other places usally ends up in a disapointment!

The washing machine I was going to buy was the Hotpoint Aqualtis AQXXF149PM.

Since Reading your review on the Zanussi ZWF1221W (which is now only £199!) I've been tempted to get a Zanussi ZWF1431. First because I have got around £350 to spend, secondly it seems quite good with power and water.

But to make things more confusing I saw your review on John Lewis which says there are made by Zanussi and indeed there is a John Lewis one there for the same price as the Zanussi but I don't think they are based on the same machine as the dimensions are different. The Zanussi looks to be a newer model in the range as it is the only one there with different dimensions.

The hotpoint looks like a no no as it is the biggest, uses the most water and electric and I can't work out how it has an A+ energy rating when washers using less of everything don't get one!

There is the AEG that I have included but I don't know much about them, so the main two are the John Lewis and the Zanussi and I can't pick.

What are your recommendations on the above or is there a better one in this price range?

Thanks for any help!

Thanks for this great website - Just what I was looking for!

I'm considering buying a John Lewis washing machine following the positive comments about them on this site.

It will either be a JLWM1202 washer or a JLWD1406 washer drier, final decision resting on whether my wife decides she really wants a washer dryer or whether we can make do with just the washing machine.

A question I have is if I decided one day to perform a DIY repair, how easy would it be to get parts for them and how would I know what parts to order?. Since the machines are made by Electrolux, do most Electrolux/AEG/Zanussi/John Lewis machines all use the same parts so parts for one will fit another? Is there an 'equivalent' AEG/Zannusi machine for the 2 John Lewis machines I mention above?

Any advice appreciated,

Thanks

Paul.

My Tricity Bendix BA450 has just died on me, so I need to replace it

I emailed Tricity Bendix (which turned out to be Electrolux) to ask for suggestions for an equivalent replacement to the one I have already and they suggested the Zanussi ZJ1218. Searching the net for possible built-in machines I came up with possibles from Hotpoint BWM 129, Whirlpool AWM049-3, Indesit WM12X and Tecnik TKL9260 (never heard of them?) and a few other Zanussi models:

Then I found your site!

I noticed you're not a fan of integrated machines, but as my kitchen is totally built in (washing machine, tumble drier, dishwasher, fridge, freezer) I really don't want to spoil the look of it so it'll have to be an integrated one. I really wanted a hot and cold fill, but see from your site that they are nearly all cold fill these days.

On your recommendation I checked out the John Lewis website, although they don't have any integrated models on there, so I phoned them. It seems they have a model JLBLWM 1401 for £499 - 1400 spin speed and the same dimensions as the Zanussi. I just wondered if you knew anything about this model or have any recommendations from the other models I've mentioned?

Thanks in advance for any help, you really have been a great help already!

Out Hotpoint WD63 has packed up for the last time (not even 3 years old but has required numerous engineer visits and I'm fed up paying £40 a pop for new heat fuses. Anyway, I digress...)

Due to space constraints, we need another combined washer/dryer, so I have been reading through your advice and seeing whats out there and have narrowed down the choices to either a Zanussi ZWD1272 (£399, 2yr warranty) or a John Lews JLWD1406 (£499, 3 year warranty), both from John Lewis. I'm looking for advice on which of these you would chose?

The JL one obviously has the longer warranty but costs more, so I factored in getting 5 year warranties on both to level the playing field a bit (Zanussi +£169, total £568. JL +£109, total £608). I'd probably not be going for the 5 year warranty as I have a bit of aversion to paying for extended warranties on principle.

So I guess the question is this - Is the JL machine worth the extra? I see from your advice they are practically Zanussi machines anyway, so is it really worth it?

Would be grateful for your thoughts...

Thanks

Doug

Main plus points for her were:-

1. a pause button - very useful when eating lunch

2. larger drum size welcomed with 4 kids

3. washing seems drier after spin

4. less vibration

Machine is still going well and again thanks for your advice

Cheers

Peter

John Lewis are proud of the appliances they sell with their name on, and one advantage of them is that they guarantee them for 3 years. John Lewis commonly also get extra features added, or make the appliances even more economical to run.