Miele Prestige Plus

[Stainless]

Hi Folks

My first post - just like to say that I find this website such an excellent resource - reliable trustworthy advice from Mr WasherHelp and real-life experiences from the other forum members.

We need a new washing machine that goes under the counter in our new house because the Whirlpool AWT5108 (toploader) has been stuck in the middle of the utility room floor since we moved in 2+ years ago. It really is time I did something about it and what with the cost of modifying the worktops - might as well buy a front loader and stick it under the worktop.

It's gotta be a Miele because we love them. It doesn't need to be fancy. Having read the advice on WasherHelp we plumped for a Prestige Plus, a John Lewis exclusive - but they seem to have disappeared from JL's online store - there is a Polaris or some such name - is that the 'new-style' equivalent? If so, yuck - I'll buy a Premier 520 elsewhere.

Anyhow - on to my questions.

1. where can I find the Prestige Plus - is it still for sale at JL?

2. is the Premier 520 effectively as good (albeit -100rpm on the spin speed - so what!)?

3. what about this Polaris thingy - any good (style issues aside)?

Many thanks in anticipation of your help,

Steve

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Thanks Steve.

Some of the John Lewis Miele exclusives are being discontinued but don't let that worry anyone who may have just bought one as they will still be repairable for the next 20 years and more.

The Miele Prestige Plus has been discontinued although there may be some left in actual stores. I'm not normally a big fan of "exclusives" because they prevent people comparing prices. Many large retailers have enough clout with manufacturers to persuade them to make exclusive models and it's a very common sales technique. Comet and Currys etc. have been doing it for years and it happens in many other industries. Some of the ones I've seen in the past have been virtually identical to the manufacturer's normal washing machine but just with different styling and maybe the odd (usually very minor) difference, but they always have a unique model number so of course it cannot be found cheaper anywhere else. The main motivation as far as I can see is to sell something no one else can sell cheaper because no one else sells it. A manufacturer could also do it to allow a product to be sold a bit cheaper at a certain store without lowering their normal price. So unless the "exclusive" is a fair bit cheaper or has really worthwhile differences I would be cautious. To me they just complicate the issue by introducing yet another model, and make it harder for customers to compare prices and features.

With John Lewis they do at least appear to try to add some value to some of the exclusives that I've seen and I do like (and recommend) one of their exclusive "John Lewis" brand washing machines (made by Zanussi) because when I compared it to the original manufacturers equivalent they had some extra features (although nothing significant), but they used a little less less energy and had a 3 year guarantee. So although it was about £50 more than the original I felt it was good value for money - especially coming with a 3 year guarantee and bearing in mind that if there were problems with one, John Lewis are likely to be very keen to retain their good reputation and ensure you are satisfied.

John Lewis say their exclusive Miele Paramount is "similar to Miele's W 4144 washing machine (but) the Paramount's spin speed has been increased to 1600rpm". There are no other feature differences but it appears that it is approximately £50 more than the W 4144. So you'd need to decide it it's worth paying that amount more for just 200 extra revs on fast spin ( Washing machine spin speeds ) 1400 should be fast enough unless you do a lot of tumble drying in which case it may be worth it. I expect it isn't technically £50 more expensive - but the "exclusive" nature of the model may have backfired on them as the model it is similar to is subject to normal market forces and there are so many people selling it that low prices can be obtained on it. To be fair though, many retailers are not selling the W 4144 £50 cheaper, and with John Lewis you do get the reassuring high class of service and aftercare, which in my opinion is actually worth paying more for - although not all would agree.

As for the Polaris new style. I can assure you they look much better in the metal than they do on the pictures (as do all the Miele washing machines) but yes, opinion seems polarised (is that almost a pun?) and people tend to either love or hate it. Fortunately Miele have been wise enough to keep the classic or traditional style too. I personally really like the half way design of the Miele W 3740 (which I currently have at home and have reviewed here - Miele W3740 review )

The Miele Premier 520 is the entry level Miele washing machine with a 1200 spin and only a 5 Kg drum and a 2 year guarantee. There's a good price on it with a web exclusive price of £464.99 (but £19.99 delivery charge) Miele Premier 520.

If you are happy with a 1200 spin, which only several years ago was considered very fast and a 5Kg drum which again until recently everyone was content with (although 6Kg is useful if you have a lot of washing) then it's a great price for a top quality washing machine if you value build quality and refinement over features and are on a budget.

Silent Professional Motor

As far as I've been able to ascertain, the Miele washing machines currently on the John Lewis web site that do have a Silent Professional motor fitted are Miele Platinum Plus, W3923 Washing Machine, Stainless Steel & Miele Paramount Washing Machine. Check out the latest Miele washing machines at John Lewis</a> ). These are in the more expensive Miele range (the stainless steel Miele is awesome and looks just beautiful if you can afford one). Don't let the fact that they don't all currently have the Silent Professional motor listed on these two model's specifications put you off as they do have them fitted. (And don't forget that the Miele "standard" motor is very quiet anyway.)

Conclusion

John Lewis appear to be readjusting their Miele washing machine range at the moment. They still currently have a few exclusives but they need to be looked at according to their individual specifications to make sure they are still good value. Another of my reservations with these exclusives is that due to Miele's longer warranties (at least 2 years, mostly 5 years and 10 years) they don't have the added bonus of the extra guarantee like the John Lewis branded washing machines made by Zanussi (mentioned above) do.

It would be nice to see John Lewis exclusive Miele washing machines come with say 1 or 2 years interest free credit, which due to their high prices may be a much more attractive "extra" for an exclusive and harder to compete with. Come to think of it I'd also love to see Miele themselves offer interest free credit because my experience is that many people who read about Miele on Washerhelp actually want a Miele but many say they can't afford one. Instead of 10 year warranties how about 5 years interest free credit and 5 years warranty - or maybe a choice of that or a full 10 years warranty?

My belief is that an exclusive is always going to be impossible to compare prices on which immediately raises suspicions. They also have the potential to backfire if the exclusive is not different enough to standard models because competition amongst all the other retailers selling the near-equivalents will force their prices down and can make them a better deal. As you can see I'm not convinced about them, but I do believe John lewis will be trying their best to get some real extra value into exclusives.

[Fiona]

Interesting take on the Prestige Plus, as when I was discussing this on here, it was deemed a good buy ie that it's a Miele and JL have a reputation for good service. I bought it on the basis that it was the same price as the entry level machine, but had a slighly faster spin (not that I really notice the difference - what's 100 rpm between friends?), and the choice of 4 more programme options. I also got the 5 year guarantee with the offer which runs until the end of May. It's all a bit academic now as JL have stopped selling that model.

I do agree you can't do the price match when companies do their own special, a real pain.

Anyway, still a good machine, and it's quicker than my old Bosch (even before when the Bosch was working properly), and that was a H&C fill, whereas the Miele is just cold fill.