I just ordered a new washer, WP, 4.0, top loader, non-he, 540 out the door from Lowes, 4 year extended warranty. Get the extended warranty on any major appliance you buy, it is only 100 dollars and well worth the money.

I did not consider LG or Samsung due to the cost of spare parts. I called several repair shops and they all recommended staying away from Korean brands and to consider a WP Top Loader. They loved the newer high tech, lots of electronics because it keeps them employed.

Dryer - The standard FL, WP, dryer design has not changed much in 30 years. Easy to fix, lasts a long time. If you go for the one with all the high tech features, you might be buying a Rolex when a Swatch will due. I think just about anyone could fix the standard WP, FL, non-high tech machine. Well, not my wife, but anyone else.

Check out some youtube videos about the various washers/dryers. I have a Duet 9200, F/L and it came with the house. The previous owner paid about 1000 dollars for it, 6 years old, and I have a loud banging sound during the spin cycle. This is a classic problem with that model and too expensive to fix.

My current dryer is the the WP Duet, 9200, came with the house. But we use a clothes line and don't use it much. The only negative of a clothes line is the clothes can sometimes be stiff, so we just toss some stuff into the dryer for 3 minutes to fix that. I did notice a savings in the energy bill putting clothes on the line to dry. And, I don't think I'll need to replace this dryer for years.

The HE soaps are suppose to be "a god send" for the users, but I have some reservations about that logic. I like trying different soaps from time to time or on different garments. If you are limited to just HE soap that goes out the window. I used the Tide HE soap, caught on sale at Target, but now Tide has "improved" the HE soap. They say to use less since it is more powerful now. Also, I think the newer high tech, HE machines, recommend not using fabric softner, which I like on some clothes.

The FL, HE, machines use less water, lower operating cost, but do they clean as well? Perhaps not. A recent WSJ and NYTimes article complained how 15 years ago, all the t/l machines did a very good job cleaning no matter which model you bought. Now, fast forward, most machines are FL and don't all clean as well, but are cheaper to operate. Which would indicate a loss of cleaning for the sake of lower utilities bill. Which defeats the purpose of washing clothes. Are you going to send your child to school with clothes that "just don't look as clean?". Or have to run the FL on a longer cycle?

Our new, soon to arrive, 4.0 WP TL machine has a "water sense" feature which helps. So I am trading a little higher cost for a more simple machine.

That Roper brand is not so bad. It is really a good basic machine that keeps going.

Now you could look at the new TL, 4.7, 5.0 machines, I think Maytag makes a 5.0, but it is expensive unless you can catch it on sale.

Where to buy? I bought from Lowes and have bought from them before. They seem to do a good job and have a 30 day no question ask return policy. I like their extended warranty and used it on my KitchenAid dish washer in a rental home we owned. However, one time it took them 3 tries to deliver a new fridge. Each time they showed up with one that had a dent in the side and they actually tried to get me to buy off on taking it!. Ha!!! Home Depot does not sell WP, but their warranty cost is the same. Sears just seems too expensive compared to HD/Lowes.

Good luck!!!

Thanks for the reponse Totsucka and please do not take this the wring way but I am just not interested in another top loader. I have had a front loader in the past it it was far better then the top loaders I have used in the past. I am also not really interested in the whirlpool brand, the people I have known that had WP did not have good things to say and though some people i am sure have had good expierences with WP its not something I want to gamble with.
If anyone has any advice on these samsungs or any other comprable brand of front loaders i am open to any input. I am going to be making the purchase soon and so far am leaning towards the WF419.....I have read some reviews stating that peoples clothes still stink after washing in the wf520 not really sure what to think about that one.......

The Samsung's are among the highest rated pairs in the Consumers ratings! So, you are looking at very good pairs ... probably among the top three available on the market! These pairs have diamond drums (the drum holes are 45% smaller than on traditional drums) and so will not tug and pull the threads of your fabric and they have 38 ball bearings that increase stability when doing an imbalanced load. You also have a choice of doing the WP Duet Steam (WFW94) which is new on the market yet rated at #1. These, however, do not have the ball bearings but do have a capacity of 5.0 cuft. Remember, that doing steam (both washer and dryer have them) will save you money in the long run as they use only about two cups of water. These pairs retail between CAD 1899 and CAD 2199 (cheaper in the USofA).

I would suggest looking for the alternates of these machines in the Kenmore or Kenmore Elite as a majority of SEARS laundry pairs these pairs are made by Samsung. They have a special on the navy blue #49045/89045 (also avlbl in red) or only CAD 1899.98 These are comparable with the Samsung WF448 only (washer capacity 4.3 and dryer 7.3).

Check these out! Great value or money!