Is the door lock not working? That will prevent the machine from reaching full spin speed. It can be fixed fairly easily ... cheap or expensive depending on which way you go with the repair. Factory specs call for the circuit board to be replaced (a resistor and triac typically burn when the door lock wax motor goes bad). The board is of course, expensive. However, if one is handy with a soldering iron, there's a repair kit available that includes the required components. It's more costly than the parts justify, but the advantage/convenience is that somebody has researched and gathered the parts together. Do a Google search for "neptune wax motor" I did this repair on a friend's machine several months ago.

An even cheaper work-around is to bypass the door lock microswitch by tying the wires together ... the drawback is that the lock light stays on continuously, and the machine will NOT shut off automatically at end of the cycle, it'll keep running the fluffing routine until shut off manually. This can work if somebody is available to monitor the machine EVERY TIME it's used.

I have the bosch 500 set, these are not stackable, are european designed and built in the US in NC, they are not necessarily 'pretty' like the 'newest' machines out there, but they seem to be well built and nore than functional.

Mine are 2+ years old now... when we looked we nixed Miele quickly due to the then need to go 220 for electric (son't think that's entirely true now) and basically decided either Whirlpool or Bosch. After a trip to the local spplicance store (which btw is an awesome place to go to get real information on all machines... they tend to know much more about wht they sell than the 'big' stores do) we decided to go with the Bosch. no regrets here... my install in on the second floor on a tile floor... no vibration issues...

good luck... you will find opinions on both sides of most all brands here... you really need to go look and see and feel the machines...

what sold me on bosch??? truthfully I did not like the detergent drawers which were broken onmost all floor models we saw, regardless of store, the bosch has a door that flips up... pops off and on prettily easily should something happen to it... and btw... should you feel the need for extra water in a load (like with bulky stuff or pillows) you can POUR it in through the detergent opening if you open up the lid and use a funnel... I admit to doing this for my king comforter and pillows... just to be sure there really is enough water in there...

We love our LG set, I have had nothing but good luck with every product of theirs I have ever used.

Unfortunately your old fashioned Neptune has more digital electronics than you think. It has a large computer board behind the console and another one to control the motor. Those old fashioned buttons and timer just connect the circuits of those computer boards.

Today we have no real choice but to buy electronics that can be surged, shorted, etc. Other than the greatly expensive Miele there hasnt been one that has proven highly reliable for years and years yet. If you really like your Neptune you may want to try fixing it yourself with MANY webpages of help out there to get it done, you might get lucky.

On the other hand you might just be human and want to UPGRADE to something new..