Are Hotpoint reliable?

[bart01]

I bought a Hotpoint wf860 super silent 1600 spin. At the moment it's not silent while on spin. Not a banging noise, more of a persistent sound in tune with the spinning drum. Also get water on floor after wash ends. Directly below the soap drawer.

I've checked the soap drawer before washing and It's fitted in ok. This machine is only 2 years old. The first problem I got was drive belt coming off. I tried to re-fit, with no luck so called a guy out, charged me £30 and said it’ll be fine now, but said it could be something else that started the belt to come loose. Are Hotpoint good make or should I steer clear of them?.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

I've moved this to the Hotpoint forum as it's relevant to people making purchasing decisions. Hotpoint washing machines try very hard to balance style and value for money. I've always admired their often innovative styling. I used to specialise in repairing Hotpoint (and Hoover) washing machines and naturally I only saw the ones that broke down so I'm wary of this giving me a biased view. However, in my experience they were always more successful on the style front than on the substance. According to Which? reports I've seen they also still name them amongst the least reliable washing machines.

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[Poostix]

Hi all,

Well I've just started working for hotpoint in the wet laundry design department so I'm hoping to get reliability up to scratch, if you have any suggestions / questions don't hesitate to contact me. Again I am quite new to the company but will help out where possible.

In response I think the wf860 is one of our good machines we test for up to 3 years use with some machines running cycles for 3 months solid, only break is changing the loads between washes. If it was me I would have been going for the 960 ultima to be honest it still retains more of the UK based parts rather than the european bits. Again this year we have been informed our focus is improving quality so expect to see much better machines in 2008.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hi all,

Well I've just started working for hotpoint in the wet laundry design department so I'm hoping to get reliability up to scratch, if you have any suggestions / questions don't hesitate to contact me. Again I am quite new to the company but will help out where possible.

In response I think the wf860 is one of our good machines we test for up to 3 years use with some machines running cycles for 3 months solid, only break is changing the loads between washes. If it was me I would have been going for the 960 ultima to be honest it still retains more of the UK based parts rather than the european bits. Again this year we have been informed our focus is improving quality so expect to see much better machines in 2008.

Welcome. It's great to have another point of view to help keep things balanced. My opinion is that if Hotpoint (and all other manufacturers) wanted to make fantastically reliable washing machines they are perfectly capable of doing so. Unfortunately though this would mean increasing prices. Their fear is that the public are too fickle and may buy cheaper competitors machines instead.

The only hope is that the majority of the public accept that they really should spend a fair bit more on their washing machines. Manufacturers are in a delicate position regarding persuading them they should rate build quality, reliability and longevity above all the fancy features but it's the message I've been trying to get across since I started Washerhelp in 1998.

Miele aren't scared to have high prices and they do very well. Of course there is a need for much cheaper washing machines that have a good balance between cost and value for money, and I'm sure manufacturers are trying their best, but the price wars of the last 20 years are still raging. Instead of resulting in the strong surviving and the weak dying out virtually all the brands are still here but just owned by a handful of global groups. The result is washing machines that are littering land fill sites all over the UK and everyone afraid to put their prices up by even £1. It's like the public's demand for cheaper and cheaper prices is backing manufacturers more and more up to the wall with nowhere to go. I believe the public have to stop pushing and accept realistic prices and the time is now right for it to happen - not only because of the environmental issues but because they should be fed up of replacing their washing machines so frequently by now.

[Poostix]

you are 90% right we are scared to put even £1 on the cost of a machine, but its not because of a price war with anyone else its because £1 onsite is arount £20 by the time it gets to the shop. I know from being a customer that if I can get the same specification machine (1600 spin with 7kg load and 4 easy programs AAA etc...) but I have a choice between a white box with a oval shaped door, a white box with a round door or a graphite box with these 2 options I'm going to go for the one that goes with my kitchen thats £20 cheaper. After all its just a washing machine I'll get 3-5 years and move on or get a new one. Its the throw away society we live in today.

This is the way I think, well did think, Now if I'm buying I weigh up the name, the tests and use sites such as this to get my information. purely because I work in the industry now. but would it affect my choice. I have to say I've had as good an experience as you can have with domestic appliance's. (only ever had a toatster and a kettle go wrong) so I can say I would buy HP washer and seperate tumble drier. I've had electrolux and LG fridge's never went wrong so I'd go with them again. some weird eastern european cooker or one of the big arger's?? I'd have both again.