FWIW,
I work for a senior couple who just had to replace their 5yr. old Kenmore 80 series washer. Light use.

BookerT, although I don't know the details of what went wrong with that Kenmore 80, I highly doubt they "had" to replace it. Those machines are very easy to repair, your employers just decided not to go that route.

This is what I do NOT understand.

How can something legally be designed to fail? Many appliance and technical junkies can take these machines apart and spot flawed parts/ engineering easily........and this could EASILY lead to a class action law suit against that company......Not to mention people buying and expensive washer, only for it to fail a year or few years later........Is this person going to go out and buy that same brand? Probably NOT.......They will feel it's junk and look for another brand.........So, in the long run, that company loses business and trust. It's almost like a lose/lose .......Build something to last 30 years, then market is saturated......No more sales for a while.....Or build crap and get people pissed off with you so they never buy your product again. Crazy world we live in.

Without further details on the aforementioned Kenmore 80, there's no way to know what was the situation. It could have been one of those cases of a broken drive coupler ... machine doesn't agitate or spin, makes an unhealthy noise, so "obviously" it's toast ... for want of a $12 part that can be replaced in 15 minutes ... and the manufacturer gets unfairly bashed. Sometimes the consumer is the problem, not the manufacturer.

dadoes,

A tech came out and deemed it repairable but at a cost of over half, if not more of it's worth new. He did not have an interest in the unit and was from a very reputable business locally owned. He didn't charge them for the service call.
I am certainly not trying to bash the unit, just stating that this washer did NOT last near as long as the owners had hoped. They had a 5 yr. warranty thru Sears that included a yearly ck up. It had just ended two months prior.

Thanks for the further details ... but still, without knowing myself exactly what was wrong, there remains the question of whether the tech was right ... reputable or not. I've run across incidents of service techs quoting outrageous prices for simple repairs involving parts that didn't (or shouldn't) cost near that much ... sometimes because of misdiagnosis, other times because the servicer apparently was discouraging the repair.

Also, even if the problem was diagnosed and quoted correctly, one person's experience cannot be applied to a manufacturer's entire product line. Whirlpool has been producing that toploader design for more than 26 years, over ten million machines made. My parents have a KitchenAid-branded set, 16 years old, that has had a few minor repairs and is still running along fine. I also have one that's 19 years old.

Actually, appliances today really aren't always less reliable than machines of the past. The issue is that people are reluctant to get them repaired due to the comparatively higher cost of parts and MUCH higher cost of labor. The 1962 Whirlpool toploader my parents had while raising the family had numerous minor repairs and two major overhauls involving bearing replacement during its 14 years of use. Neither of our KitchenAids of the "newer" design have any bearing trouble.

I was under the impression Kenmore doesn't manufacture - rather it contracts with other manufacturers (including Frigidaire) to produce Kenmore branded appliances. Poor quality can be attributed to many factors but I'm not convinced that the geographic location of the plant has as significant an impact on the end product as poor design or a lack of quality control.

I'd blame Consumer Reports.

Kenmore is not a manufacturer, it is a brand name, almost all manufacturers make Kenmore although traditionally, Whirlpool has made the most laundry appliances for Kenmore. You can easily tell if your Kenmore is a Whirlpool or other brand by looking at the model number. The number starts with 3 digits followed by a period: 110. indicates that the model is manufactured by Whirlpool.

Frigidaire may have lost some of its quality by moving the plant, however, I have no knowledge of this. I would prefer to buy products that have not been outsourced though.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Identify Your Kenmore Appliance

I had a 2940AS Gallery which ran for about four years or so (going from memory, I'm at the local Woods Coffee shop) and then it started to extract LOUDLY on final spin. I ran it another three-plus years until it finally made so much noise I retired it last week.

My Miele W4842 should arrive tomorrow. If the Miele goes sour on me then it's either a Miele commercial version or Wascomat for me :)

Yeah, I thought the Frigidaire Gallery would have lasted MUCH longer than it did- I only did about three loads per week average in the thing, and not that heavily loaded, either. Even though I thought the programs for my Gallery were very well-planned, I would also not recommend this washer now because of its lack of durability.

Don't throw out ur old washer you can get it warrantied! at least the basket/spider and the bearings are under $40 at a bearing store. I got a gallery model fl washer with the same spider/basket issue. I joyfully argued for hours to electrolux I wasn't making much leeway until my friend said something about the only reason you won't send us the basket unless an authorized repair center does the work is because they want the average person to give up trying to fix it and toss it. And by doing this most people won't see the "designed to fail flaw" and start a class action lawsuit. Just like mentioned above. After she mentioned this the manager was like hold on a sec. came back and said you can have the part if you sign a waiver. I looked at my friend and said that was brilliant. True story. It started cause I new I was in the right and they were wrong but it took the mention of legal action to persuade them. I used a fake email address because of that waiver. Haha I'm gonna coat the aluminum spider before reinstalling it so it will outlast the washer lots of good info on the net. if your right never give up!

mark40511, the reasons this happens are many. No company can make a washer that costs $400 year after year after year without cheapening it continually. Stock markets reward companies which make more money this quarter than the one before -- and rewards the executives of those companies handsomely for increasing profits, even if the "bill" for their creativity comes due on the next exec's watch. Older, experienced engineers and technicians are laid off in favor of younger, lower-paid engineers and foreign labor. The American economy is based largely on consumption -- if we're buying washing machines only every 20-30 years, a lot more people are going to be out of work.

It's no mistake that the company recognized for making some of the best washers in the world is based in Germany and a private company.