Great Idea! I know I kick myself anymore because when ours went out in '05 I didn't just suck it up & buy what I wanted. I wasn't earning anything right then & owed quite a lot on my own student loans. I had just finished up my stint of "teaching for free" for a semester (student teaching), just committed to teach jr hi Title I math f/t at the jr hi starting 2 wks later, S15 still at home, & S18 coming home between 2nd/3rd yr of university & beginning the process for admission to high end law school. Way too busy on all that to focus on all the choices for a functional washer/dryer & really didn't have time to do without for any longer than absolutely necessary. We even gave short thought to just replacing the broken unit w/a used one for the time being when DH figured out that would be cheaper than a do-it-yourself fix.
At least we didn't go there :-) BUT I told myself no matter how they look & what I'd like in a new set, I don't use or want the bells & whistles, I do need the heavy duty (we regularly wash large loads of jeans), & I refused to get sucked into spending a LOT of money when something considerably less $$ would do the job. So I went to Lowes & Home Depot, steered myself away from the more expensive ones I always tend to look at when we are in there, and just bought a relatively inexpensive replacement set. I also rationalized that when I felt a bit more settled financially I could always turn around & sell them, if not give them to one of the boys as they settled into their own place & then feel OK w/spending more.
I got a GE Heavy Duty Super Capacity Plus, 15 cycles - 3 wash/spin combinations - the regular top load washer & front load dryer set in white. Reasonably priced, does what I need, energy tested at 515 kw/yr (on the high end) - but had them delivered, installed, and the old set taken away for less than $800 - within the week the old one went out.
I did the same thing when we had to buy a new refrigerator when we moved in here because the one we have is too big for the kitchen slot. The least expensive for now. And same thing - now15 years later, I'm still looking & wanting to change up & spend a little more on something nicer in that dept. also. What I'd really like to end up with for the washer/dryer is one of the highly rated energy efficient front load washers & matching dryer of course, that has the capacity to do the steam freshening - and I will, just not right now. This year I'm catching up last years bills from me not working after the accident.
For right now, we are in the big $$ for retrofitting all the windows in our house to double pane energy efficient this month. DH has begun the process of collecting quotes on replacing the heating/AC unit - but so far they have been absolutely ridiculously high (we're talking over $25,000 - which for us would never pay for itself). And, I have decided since he won't do tile in the open areas of the house, I'd like to do hardwood (Pergo or whatever). I would like to just get rid of the wall-to-wall carpet in those rooms. It just never ends. But then that makes the smaller stuff like a new frig, or washer/dryer look less forbidden & more likely in the nearer future.
