How Much Should You Spend On A Washing Machine

There are a wide range of pricing these days on washing machines. You can see some washing machines from people like in Dorset or own brands at £200. Others may be extremely expensive machines, when people like Samsung, LG and Miele price them at £1500. But what is the right price for a washing machine and how much you really should you spend?

The price of a washing machine is predominantly based around the components. The labour time to make a washing machine is broadly similar depending on the machine that you buy. A £1000 washing machine will roughly take the same amount of time to make as a £300 washing machine, so it's not the labour cost. The real cost is in the quality of the components and the technology.

Some very expensive machines have features like a steam function, where they can add steam to a machine, reducing wrinkles and preventing clothes getting creates. Steam technology is fairly simple, but still requires additional components. The component costs will therefore be higher and there are a lot more things that can go wrong.

Equally with things like auto dosing, it requires some more technology and some more components. And its another thing that can go wrong.

Principally, the vast majority of components within a washing machine are the same. You have the casing, the control panel in electronics, the drum, the bearings and the motor and the pump. These are really the core components of what goes into washing machine. Things like the door and the detergent drawer, and plastics around the machine again are pretty standard and common.

We have the same types of components, other than the very special types of components. The difference in price between the £200 washing machine and the £800 washing machine, if they have no fancy components or features, is the quality of the components. There is no way you will get the same level of performance durability and quality from a £200 washing machine as you will from a £500 washing machine.

Equally, the bearings in a £200 washing machine will not be the same quality as the bearings and £500 motion machine. Of course, when the key component in a washing machine is the motor, the motor that you have in a £200 washing machine is not going to be the same as the motor you get in a £500 washing machine.

Given that they are not the same, what is the problem with having a cheap motor?. The single biggest problem is that because it's cheap, it's made from inferior materials. As a washing machine is a moving piece of equipment and the drum goes round very fast speeds and creates really exceptional forces the cheap components will start to degrade very quickly. You know cheaper bearings, drums, motors and pumps will all start to lose performance fairly quickly.

What do we mean by lower quality? Well, the cheap machines will be made of cheaper materials and they will start to degrade faster the drum. It will be assumed that the drum won't be repairable, it won't be replaceable, and it will be made from cheaper plastics and cheaper metals. This means that it won't last as long and will break sooner, that the motor again will be a cheaper motor with cheaper materials and cheaper components, and the motor won't last as long.

You can see it would simply break, so the cheaper washing machine will break sooner and the performance and quality of washing mode degrade faster than a machine of £500 or £1000.

Ebac went into this market and made the conscious decision that we didn't want to create another cheap washing machine that would break quickly and end up in landfill. We wanted to use high quality components, high quality type of manufacture and create a great quality product that would last a long time.

We wanted to sell a fair price. Ebac washing machines range from £449 up to £699 depending on the size in the functionality. We have a real great spread of pricing there, but the one thing they all have in common is that they've all been engineered to last, using very high-quality components. They'll last you a long time and, as a result, represents phenomenal value.

We would always say that you should spend as much money on a washing machine as you can possibly afford. If you can't afford the initial outlay, always consider things like interest free credit to get a higher quality washing machine and a more affordable monthly price.

In the long term, it will save you money. Washing clothes better, lower running costs, and all round will be a far better economic decision for you than spending £200 on a cheap washing machine that you think is a bargain.