My Kenmore (frigidaire) FL washer broke after a little under 5 years of normal use, which I'm none to happy about. We decided to have it repaired rather than shell out for a new machine, but the Sears repair guy said the motor needs to be replaced and this would cost over $400 which is too much to invest in a machine that is clearly flimsy.

So I've been looking all over for advice and opinions on a replacement set (need to replace dryer too for different reasons). I've been reading opinions here too, and would appreciate any more insight. Also have any of you purchased in the NYC metropolitan area? Recommendations of appliance shops would be great too.

My husband wants to go with the Frigidaire Gallery set, but I'm not thrilled about the idea since my dead Kenmore was also a Frigidaire.

Despite rave reviews here I'm not really interested in the water heater thing. I don't separate white and colors, and I wash everything on cold. It's clean enough for me.

The real issues for us are:

SIZE - we live in a small apartment. The Kenmore was 27"wide by 27" deep and we'd like to stick to those size limits. the Gallery does meet that requirement.

BUDGET - I'm tempted by the Bosch but is it REALLY worth it? I have a fear that all the appliances out there are crap that will break down in a few years' time anyway.

ABILITY TO STACK

GOOD GENTLE CYCLES - I wash a lot of clothes on gentle/handwash cycle so options in that department are more meaningful to me than extra hot washes.

CAPACITY - My neighbor has a fancy Miele Novotronic she's been letting me use, but its capacity is very small. I don't need anything huge enough to wash 25 towels at once, but we do like to be able to wash the queen-size comforter when the cat throws up on it for example.

This decision is driving me crazy! So many options. Thanks in advance for your help.