Good brand, bad product? (22 May, 2020)

[DJx]

My Samsung washing machine packed up within the first year. Got a tech out under warranty, changed a 50c part.
20 years later it's still going quite happily

Check out the Consumer Guarantees Act. That will sort it. I've used it twice to fix 5 year old TV's

[pid@ifm.net.nz]

I've been unhappy with my F&P. So I would add that to the list of brands to avoid.

[Fast Eddie]

Only time I had top-loaders was when I was renting and they came as part of the rental.

When we bought our home we got a brand new Bosch front loader. I knew they that front loaders were superior, and I knew that European brands are generally better, and sure enough since buying the Bosch it has proved right what I've always known.

The problem with top-loaders is that they don't wash properly. The suds stay at the top. At the bottom there's not much in the way of soap and so the stuff at the top gets washed through the suds (although it also collects a lot of dirt) while the stuff at the bottom remains only partly washed.

A front loader forces clothes through the suds each revolution. And they're much gentler on clothes. Why New Zealand was still using top-loaders in the 80s is beyond me - Europe had already moved on. And rightly so.

Personally I would never buy an Asian or F&P washing machine. I'm sticking to European brands!

[decibel]

Been using a repoed Gentle Annie I bought from F&P finance division at the time for the last 18 to 20 years. A lid switch broke many years ago and replaced. Apart from that totally rock solid if you can find one 2nd hand. Mmm my dad has a Samsung washing machine. Fingers crossed it will be ok...

Hi namartinnz, you and I must be the only lucky people on the forum - I too have had no problems at all with F&P .
You should have warned your Dad not to touch any Asian junk.

[joeseph]

There was an AEG 6050 frontloader already in the house we moved into 15 years ago (it was probably 10 years old at the time)
In 14 years we only ever had two issues, firstly the sensor on the motor failed (replaced myself with a secondhand one off trademe) and last year it caught terminal bearing failure - still ran but the noise was unbearable!
Ended up buying a Bosch front-loader to replace it. Expensive, yes - but well built & I hope lasts the distance. Speaking of bad product, has anyone spoken to Simon Bridges today?

[keyman26]

We had an abysmal start to the year with appliances. Dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, waste disposal and AV receiver all died to various degrees over a 2-3 month period.

most of them were very old and very well used. Hammered the finances a bit.

On the washing machine front, moved from the trusty F&P top loader that was about 16yrs old, to a front load LG model. so far, so good - has a 'fast' and a 'really fast' mode if you are in a hurry. 1400rpm spin for some cycles - makes the house shake a bit. Has a steam mode as well - cool for certain jobs. also has wifi - i like that I can download new cycles - in fact a firmware upgrade was the first thing it did. Hopefully a security patch - slightly worried about LGs earlier ioT issues. sends my wife and I alerts on our phones when the washing is done - handy at times.

[mad mike]

our last lg top loader is still going strong with new owners after around 12 years use and 3 kids worth of nappies and farm gear for 2 people through it so not bad going the new front load samsung is way quieter and seems to wash a bit better had to have a new part under warrenty after 6 months but no other issues my parents one is around 6 years old no issues eithier so maybe you got unlucky

[tonyr]

We bought a larger Samsung top loader about 10 years ago and would still have it bit it was too big for our "new" house 3 years ago. Bought a smaller top loading Samsung and have had no problems with either of them.

Luck of the draw, I guess. If we do have whiteware failures I just fix them, but for many years it has been daughters whiteware that has needed attention.

[dingram17]

Been using a repoed Gentle Annie I bought from F&P finance division at the time for the last 18 to 20 years. A lid switch broke many years ago and replaced. Apart from that totally rock solid if you can find one 2nd hand. Mmm my dad has a Samsung washing machine. Fingers crossed it will be ok...

Hi namartinnz, you and I must be the only lucky people on the forum - I too have had no problems at all with F&P .
You should have warned your Dad not to touch any Asian junk.

Had good luck with F&P too. The current washing machine is coming up 11y old. The solenoids packed it in on the machine once, but it was a next day service call and it was fixed on the spot. The error codes were correct and diagnosed by the person that answered the helpline phone.

F&P keep good spares, and were able to supply a glass shelf for a fridge we bought 20y earlier. It arrived in a few days, so was in stock here in Oz.
* F&P products were made in NZ or Australia

[phill]

F&P were taken over by haia a decade or so ago
when the losses from disastrous mexican foray proved to much to sustain
haia already owned about 30% of them .. they just took the rest for pennies

ceo and most of the board were marketing geniuses of course