Washing machine, which should we buy?

[mhenna11]

We are shopping for a washing machine because it is getting so expensive to pay someone to wash our clothes. I have no idea which to get because I found appliances tend to break easily here. I looked at the laundry machines at the laundry mats, and they seem like they would work well but where do you get machines like that? The ones they sell at the store don't look so durable.

 

[Ashley]

From what I found (when we were looking for a machine), the front-load ones seem the most durable looking. The only brand I recognised here was whirpool. They will, however, cost you in the region of about 3 thousand pesos (about 50% more than the same machine will cost in Europe). Even so, I've found that most electrical stores here will let you buy an extended warranty (about 3 years) for a bit extra so if you do go for something less durable looking, at least it'll be covered for that time.
We got a bog-standard gafa machine and it's holding up well...It's pretty plasticy so I can't imagine it lasting for years, but it is certainly saving us a fortune in laundry bills.
Also...be very careful to check the specifications before buying. We thought we were getting a great deal and ended up with a machine with no centrifuge (spin-cycle). It's worked out ok for us because we have a PH with a washing line on our terrace but would've been an absolute nightmare if we'd lived lived in an apartment and had to hang dripping clothes everywhere...

 

[steveinbsas]

I usually buy new appliances at Garbarino.

Their outlet store has some washing mahcines at fairly attractive prices (including a front loading model by Whirplool).

http://www.garbarino.com/productos/outlet.php

I don't recommend any of the lavasecaropas combination unless the dryer uses "forced air" in addition to high heat.

 

[CarverFan]

Please don't buy digital, eg Fuzzy Logic, mine broke after 18 months and I had to pay $400 to repair the electronic card but it still only does half the cycle! Our fridge card had to be fixed too. Quality here is not the same even for well known brands.

 

[John.St]

Almost all washing machines you can buy here are produced in MERCOSUR, mostly Argentina, no matter which brand.

Most locals recommend Longvie as the best quality brand. I have had one for about a year without problems.

 

[French jurist]

Also, in the major stores like Garbarino/Fravega, you can buy an extended guarantee (lasting 2 or 3 years in total, with the initial one). Not sure if that's worth spending the money though (if a machine breaks, it will mostly break during the first year of use = usually covered by a normal guarantee).

Indeed, like for cars, better a machine with as few electronics as possible.

 

[steveinbsas]

I first bought an Ariston lavasecaropas (made in Italy) at Garbarino in 2006 for about $3500 pesos (including a five year warranty). It was supposed to be better than those made here. I hated the dryer function and sold it to a friend for $1800 pesos about a year ago and, yes, I told him how much I disliked the dryer function.

He had a problem with it last year and was unable to get someone to come to his apt to look at it. He had the original receipt and it wasn't a question of ownership, just bad service.

After selling my lavasecaropas I bought used Ariston lavaropas and a separate Ariston secaropas on mercadolibre for about $800 pesos each. They both looked as good as new and both worked perfectly for about six months when the lavaropas "overheated" (I caught it in the clothes are smoking stage). It was damaged beyond repair.

The dryer still works OK, but I don't need to use it. I dry my clothes on line and thanks to the strong breezes here I don't even have to use fabric softener.

I believe the Ariston lavasecaropas now costs about $7000 pesos. The family that used to live here gave me an old top loading Ariston model (still working) in exchange for a microwave I bought at an expat moving sale. My friend bought another Ariston lavasecaropas (identical to the one I sold to him) from another expat moving sale. At least now he has plenty of spare parts.

 

[asadofan]

I bought a BLUE SKY model last month from Garbarino.very nice and it was 55pesos delivery

 

[KevinK]

Longvie usually is a safe bet for buying local washing machine, dryer (do buy separate) or dishwasher and they do have factory service throughout ba if things go wrong.

 

[salgueiro]

I bought a smaller Ariston combo washer dryer at one of the major stores. It works ok , but the dryer is inefficient. It can't really dry all the clothes in a wash load, so you must take out some items and dry them separately on a second (or third ) cycle. These combos come in various capacities so depending on your needs, keep that in mind.

Also be aware of the significant savings you can get via one of the bank card promotions - as much as 20% and with the right to pay over 6 or more months with no interest. It would be silly not to take advantage of these no interest deals. The stores don't discount for cash up front so these deferred payment with discount promos are the way to go. If need be, find a friend with the necessary card and make a deal with them to use their card. This should not hard because assuming you pay them up front for something approaching the full amount chargeable to the card over time (that can be negotiated), your friend will have an interest free loan AND the points accumulated via the card promotions to get other benefits.