Is there a dealer or service technicians in your area for Miele washer/dryer? If not, you might be better off with one of the brands where you can easily get service, if you should ever need it. Most likely you have a dealer locally, but is something to consider.

Just a heads up on the Miele Dryer (Electric).
The dryer it self is hard wired and comes with a 4 prong plug.
Some older electric set ups may have a 3 prong receptacle or even be direct wired.

You can't change the Miele plug, you have to use a 4 prong outlet.

Changing 3-prong to 4 prong is a pretty simple. I would not regard as deal make/break issue.

I would regard distance/closeness of dealer as make/break issue.

Mieles are configured for washer-on-right / dryer-on-left set-ups. Which is exactly the opposite of most American laundry rooms. Accommodating the difference is easy in some situations; very difficult in others. Suggest careful consideration before purchase.

Oh, that's very interesting, asolo. I didn't realize that. Is it based on the direction the doors open?

There are dealers very close to us, I'm not sure about service if it's separate from the dealer, but we're in Southern California so I assume service should be available.

I have every expectation that your Miele dealer encounters this concern frequently. They may (or may not) have ideas about it that render the concern moot.....I don't know. However, considering the bucks involved for their machines it's something I would want an answer to concerning YOUR SPECIFIC installation site before purchase.

@Northlut - if you've got authorized Miele dealers close to you, service should be no problem. Check Miele's web site, to make sure they are 'authorized' dealers.

FWIW, our laundry room is set up for washer on L and dryer on R and next to an outside wall. I knew, before purchasing, that the Miele doors cannot be switched. It has not been a problem for us to have the W/D set up reverse from the plumbing/electrical configuration.

Purchase only Miele's extended warranty through Miele. Third-party repair simply do not have the proprietary equipment or Miele training classes. Miele's extended warranty is available online, at Miele's website. Once you have your appliances, register them online and your warranty options, along with your when you warranty expires, will be available. DO NOT purchase any Miele products from unauthorized Miele dealers as you will be ineligible for any Miele warranty.

Purchase only the latest Miele models under consideration.

I have a thread going as well. My reason against Miele is the capacity. I don't think it will be able to accomodate our Queen sized featherbeds. I'm torn btw Samsung & Electrolux right now.

@Northlut - California is one of the states where Miele completely taken over the delivery, installation, and service of their products.

Your dealer will place your order on Miele's website and Miele Concierge will take over from there. Miele will contact you to schedule a delivery and installation date.

My reason for not buying Miele is that my laundry closet is wired for 220, and Miele doesn't sell 220V washers in the US any more. AND the lower-voltage washers can't reach the high wash temps I have come to prefer (especially for my husband's bike clothes that he wears while commuting every day).

@janeannechovy,

Bosch has returned to the 220V 3 prong washing machines: Bosch Washing Machines

Note: please check the capacity of the new Bosch washers if capacity is also in your criteria of concerns.

@comom27

I'm not sure capacity will be an issue for us. The W4842 supposedly has 4.0 cu. ft., our old HE4t I believe had 3.8. And we had no trouble washing everything we wanted to wash in the HE4t.

However, I don't know a lot about this stuff. Is that measurement really an accurate indicator of capacity? Is the W4842 truly bigger than the HE4t?

Fahrenheit 451 - what was the outcome of your issue with your Mieles?

@ Sandy16,

I will post here in the near future as I like to follow-up with some realistic findings based upon some serious usage versus just posting that Miele did give us a new dryer (which Miele did indeed do). :)

The Miele is a 3.07 cu.ft. machine. Accurate ratings can be found on EnergyStar.gov.

The only other downside I can think of is that Miele does not use VTR+, TrueBalance and what have you. The washer is very heavy, which prevents it from walking and shaking too much. However, it needs a solid floor to absorb excessive vibration if it goes off-balance.

Alex

Interesting, thanks. I'm having a hard time finding the HE4t in the list for comparison, so I'm not sure how different it is. The energy star list has numerical model numbers, and I found a whole bunch of different model numbers for the HE4t online, but none of them appear in the list. It looks like the HE5t, which Sears calls "4.0" is really 3.51 according to Energy Star, but that probably doesn't have much bearing on what the claimed 3.8 from the HE4t means...

Our laundry room is on the first floor on a slab foundation, so I think that'll be okay.

One "upside" for the Miele is the pedestals, if you get them. They are built very well, very solid, very quiet, and like high-end kitchen drawers & doors. Not flimsy at all. Well, the machine weighs so much, I guess they have to be strong.

Once the drawer is within the final inch or two of the base, it closes on its own. To close the drawer, I give it a gentle push and it takes care of the rest. I think I'm more impressed with the pedestals than the machine, because the attention to detail continues with them, as well.
;-)

I looked at the Miele set a few months ago and though I will undoubtedly incur some wrath from the fans but I wasn't impressed. I didn't feel like the larger Mieles were special. The smaller ones are built like tanks. The larger units didn't have the same construction. I honestly felt that they weren't so different from LG, Electrolux or any others of similar capacity.

I'm not sure how much stock, if any, can be put in impressions from fiddling around with the machines in showrooms. But we did exactly that with the Mieles, LG, Electrolux, Samsung, Whirlpool, etc. over the weekend. And I thought the Mieles felt much much more solidly built than most, especially the Electrolux. The door mechanism on the Electrolux felt very flimsy to me, for example, and the controls on a lot of them felt like cheap plastic.

Again, I don't think these first impressions really have a lot of bearing on how well the machines will perform over the long run, but I could disagree more that the Meile machines feel like they have the same build quality as the LG and Electrolux machines. . .

I look at washing machines like I look at cars.
There is a large variety to choose from, a large range of sizes, features and prices.
They all get the job done (where you want to go).
What do you want to drive?
There's usually something for everybody. :o)

Northlut, my impressions were very similar to yours last year when I was making my purchase decision.

I couldn't stand those Electrolux doors - they would drive me crazy. I pushed it and had to wait for it to open - a few times I had to push it again.

Sandy16, not just because I own them but it was pretty obvious to me the Miele were built differently than the rest.

The enamelled finish for one is a big jump up from everyone else's paint finish.

As Cavimum stated, the drawers are like custom cabinetry - not cheaply made at all. They soft close on their own and they actually have a support system built into them to take the weight of the machines (unlike all the others where the machine just sits on the drawer unit).

Then there's the cast iron cradle vs. everyone else's concrete one and the special fibreglass outer tub vs. everyone else's plastic one ... well ... I could go on but ... ;)

I am certainly not knocking the Mieles. I do think of a major appliance purchase much like the purchase of a car. I start with the mechanics and build quality and work outward. Yes the Mieles had some great program options and features. I loved the gasket design. I was disappointed by the inner tub. Had the inner tub been steel as it is on the smaller units I would likely have purchased the Miele instead of two Askos. I have a Miele dishwasher that I believe is built like no other. I just didn't have that feeling about the washer. Why not build the 4842 the same as the 3035?

"The larger units didn't have the same construction. I honestly felt that they weren't so different from LG, Electrolux or any others of similar capacity."

You specifically said the larger units didn't have the same "construction" as the smaller units (or any other machine of similar capacity).

Some research would reveal that they indeed do appear to be quality built units. Anyone feel free to challenge this information I acquired while doing my own research a year ago.

"The W4842 comes out of Miele's commercial washer plant in the Czech Republic. It's the same assembly line that produces $10,000 machines. Some equate the W4842's fiberglass outer drum with "lower quality", however it is a much better heat insulator than stainless steel which is why you will find fiberglass outer drums predominantly on 110v machines. You need a better insulator to help limit heat loss when a lower wattage heater is being utilized. In this respect, the W3033 shares the same heater and wattage limitations as its bigger cousin, so no bonus there. It's stainless outer drum will result in better heat conductivity and higher heat losses during washing."

"The new outer tub is not plastic, which most companies use. Miele uses a product call Glaron K. It's a compsite that will not allow water to beed up on it which is the largest contributor to the mildew issue."

"Miele's large 4 cu/ft washers here have a carbon-composite outer tub, called "Glaron". It is yellowish in color, and drastically helps reduce drag with the water while spinning the SS wash drum, and also helps insulate the heat from the interior of the machine's cabinet."

Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to start an argument with this thread :)

I think I got the info I needed. Thanks all!

@Northlut ... I like to think we have intelligent discussions not arguments ;)

Let us know what you decide and how it all works out!

Don't get excited. Disputation is par for the course on any/all forums.....as are various manners of expression, "intelligent" or not. Soak up the information you want and leave the rest. We all do.

Do come back at let us know what you think.

Northlut - Certainly not an argument. Differing opinions are the best part of this forum! There would be no reason to visit if everyone had the same machines and user experiences. Let us know what you decide. The fact is few consumers agonize over appliance purchases the way those on this forum do.

Someone mentioned that Miele doesn't import a 220v machine into the U.S. Actually they do. And I'm bringing this up because Northlut said money was no object (You single?). And to answer one of your questions, the machine I would buy if I could buy anything is the Miele PW6065 Professional, sometimes called the "little giants". It's the Rolls-Royce--or perhaps I should say Mercedes-Benz as it's German--of washers. Because it's 220v it's temp. goes up to 190F, which means there is nothing it can't get clean. It also has a program for everything. They are very expensive, but it will be the last washer you'll ever buy. You can will it to your grandchildren. Well, you wanted to know.

The Little Giant has a little drum, around 2 1/4 cubic feet. If the size were practical for my household, I would seriously consider it. Miele also imports larger 220V commercial washers, but they aren't designed for residential plumbing setups.