We bought the Top Of The Line MAYTAG "Neptune" frontload washer / dryer set about 15 years ago - large capacity, heavy duty. That was $2800.00 Cdn (ouch), but we wanted longevity and quality. Sears was always great.
we live in the country, hobby farming, and had three children in numerous sports
we thought that this was the best value for our money, but it was terrible. Within 16-18 months, both units crapped out, left all of the freshly washed clothing with a terrible stench. As though no detergent had been used, and the clothing festered in dirty water (that is exactly what happened, drainage issues). Some clothing was tossed out before we realized the problem. The items were under warranty, so we pursued that for replacements, having already paid the Maytag Repairman several service bills.
Maytag sent us their REPAIR KIT (3x) ... that was nothing more than an instruction booklet and a small bottle of liquid detergent and detergent pod package. Did absolutely nothing.
My wife, a stay-at-home mom, who was trying to manage a busy household was devastated, cried on the phone several times, while explaining our plight to the Maytag service reps.
Unsatisfied, we Eventually, were told that the ONLY option was to join a large-scope Class Action Lawsuit, that was North America Wide, with Regional settlements. We were forced to join the lawsuit OR receive nothing. The regional settlement (I think in Canada, or at least most Provinces) was that Maytag replaced our high end front load set, with their entry level regular capacity top-load units. NOT comparable at all. And we had to dispose of the original problem units ourselves. This made us angry.
By that time, MAYTAG was then / is now under the WHIRLPOOL ownership ... we will not buy from either company in the future.
There was a lot of frustration with this result, so what is a cathartic redneck solution, that would make us feel better ??? I took the ATV out, chained the units one at a time to the hitch, and drove full throttle down the paved road. Wife took first ride, washer bouncing down the country road, returning completely mangled. Then my turn with the dryer.
That felt good. Loaded units into the truck, and delivered to the dump.
We were not happy with the replacement units either, and sold them within a year - those ones functioned fine, but were not adequate for our needs.
PS - in other news...
my parents were married in 1958, they bought a USED full sized heavy (Sears ?) Freezer. in 1988 I bought a house and inherited that Freezer. In 1996 we were married, we moved in 2001 and dragged that Freezer with us, about 600 kms. That same Freezer remains in use in our garage. it is the best appliance that we have, still running strong at more than 65 years old.
They don't make things like they used to. We don't buy products manufactured in China, because when quality is needed, we'll pay the difference.
(I feel better)
