I have a few questions:

1. Is there a huge difference between the 7000 and the 8000? There will be a $300 difference between the two and I am leaning toward the 7000 because of that.

2. I'm somewhat nervous about getting a front loader. I've heard so many mixed reviews about them and having to get them repaired often. Am I just hearing the bad and the happy ones don't talk about their appliances?

3. Would you buy the store warranty when getting the washing machine? (I'm looking into the specifics of that tomorrow.)

4. I guess this is a biggie. My normal top loading washer and dryer are only 4 years old. They work just fine and my sister has already offered to buy them from me. I'm just wondering how much of a saving I will see when switching to the HE front loaders.

Thank you so much!

Initially I bought the very expensive extended warranty from Sears but then I read some reviews about the company they contract with to do the service and decided I'd rather take my chances and be able to use a reliable, quality service company if I have problems. Since the machines aren't at my primary residence, it would be a real pain to deal with incompetent service people.

I don't know about savings with a FL vs. TL. That wasn't a major factor in my decision to buy one so I've never tried to calculate that - not sure exactly how you'd be able to tell.

2. I'm somewhat nervous about getting a front loader. I've heard so many mixed reviews about them and having to get them repaired often. Am I just hearing the bad and the happy ones don't talk about their appliances?
Be aware that a front loader operates differently than a top loader and there's going to be a learning curve. There are different maintenance issues too. But if you're not afraid to learn something new, you'll probably do quite well. Yes, more often people with problems will post and a a smaller percentage will post with positive reviews. So you have to look at the big picture.

3. Would you buy the store warranty when getting the washing machine? (I'm looking into the specifics of that tomorrow.)
First off, I would probably never buy a service contract. I look at it this way:
A) Do you plan to buy a machine that will break down often?
B) Do you plan to spend more than the cost of the service contract on repairs during the most reliable years of the appliance life?
C) Are you in a position to wait longer for service than hiring someone yourself?
There's more but these are a start. If you say yes to all, then you're probably a good candidate for a service contract.

4. I guess this is a biggie. My normal top loading washer and dryer are only 4 years old. They work just fine and my sister has already offered to buy them from me. I'm just wondering how much of a saving I will see when switching to the HE front loaders.
That IS a biggie. If your current machines are working fine, why replace them? If nothing else, you could keep the dryer if compatible size if you're deadset on replacing. I'm sure you won't get the value the machines currently are to you out of them. I'm the type who likes to use it up, hence a 30 year old washer that's still going strong.

Not sure if that helps or not, but gives something to think about.

I called Electrolux and spoke with a person in the Extended Service Agreements office (866)386-5286 who informed me that Electrolux no longer has any kind of lifetime warranty on washing machine parts as of 2005. I then called the parts department at 1-800-599-7569 where I was informed that the spider bracket attached to the steel drum in this model aft67000fe (and I presume all other Affinity models) was made of aluminum. (By the way it used to be made of stainless steel previous to 2005 when the lifetime warranty was in effect. Nice timing,eh?) I then called my local parts dealer and was not surprised to hear that when the aluminum spider brackets would inevitably corrode to such an extent as to need replacement (say four years?) then the cost of labor and parts to replace the drum assembly spin basket which contains the spider bracket arms would run me about $500. Thanks, but no thanks, I will be returning the washer.

Thanks