I started reading this thread the first day it came out. I was just interested in what people had to say. Our wash machine celebrated it's 18th birthday and silly me thought it had a couple more years of life in it. That very night my daughter came in to tell me "She thinks she broke the washer?" Yes, indeed she did. I went back and reread all the comments again before we added to the store. Thank you all for the great and honest input. Made picking a new washer just a little easier for me. ---- I just couldn't get the dryer to match the washer. Our dryer is only 10 years old.