There are two general "types", A front loading washer and a top loading washer.

Start by deciding which type you want.

If cost is the overriding concern, then you probably want a top loading

If large or bulky loads are important, you want to look at front loading

Have you considered looking local? I.e., visiting a local retailer?

Read through the last 3-4 pages of posts. Multiple people asking the same thing.

Yes, please do what Luna suggests.

Consumer Reports tests washers of all types and provides ratings and reliability estimates. $10/month to read: consumerreports.org/join. Follow up with owners' anecdotal reviews on sites such as Home Depot and Best Buy.

You can also check reviews at wirecutter

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/search/?s=washing+machine

The least expensive simple top loader would be an older Whirlpool off Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. $100-150. Better reliability than anything they've made in a long time. A used Speed Queen top loader at least 4 years old(2017) is another option. TC5 is closest new.

A "pre-owned" older WP or KM toploader is a good choice but be prepared to do some clean-up on it and possibly repairs if bought from an owner/seller or if a resale/recycler shop doesn't go the full distance. Check with a local independent appliance store for haulaways that they refurb and sell, some do that.

I confess I have not looked at the availability of laundry machines, but if it's anything like kitchen appliances, currently you may only have a VERY limited choice of machines available for actual delivery within 1-5 days.

Everything else is just "a promise" that someday what you're buying will show up within the next 6 months. Production line slowdowns and high raw material costs have really hit the appliance industry hard during COVID.

Since you didn't say what kind of machine you own that is leaking, perhaps you already have one like what people are recommending getting used off of craigslist. It might be worth having it repaired instead of buying a new one.

It's my experience that new washers don't get your clothes clean. You have to buy fairly expensive "washing machine washer pellets" to use monthly because the machine uses so little water that the machines builds up bacteria and leaves stink on your clothes (so, it's getting your clothes clean?). Of course, you can buy those additives that make your clothes "smell fresh". Mine is a whirlpool energy efficient model and saves lots of water. Of course, a little more water might help me with the build up in my drain line that requires a plumber every year or so.

They also don't last long because the electronics go out and you have to buy a new "mother board". Then there is the issue with disposing with all of these 5 year old appliances and or their mother boards. But, by golly, we saved some water.

bk

@bkay2000 Miele uses less water, but it has a powerful pump to make sure it pushes the water down the drain with force. Also with low water levels, one has to be very careful with the amount of detergent used. I am currently using about 1 Tbsp of liquid detergent per load. Previously I was using 1/2 cap (about 4-6 times what I am using) and that was causing problems with over-sudsing and clogging up the pipes to where the drum started making funny noises during the rinse/spin cycle. It has been a learning curve for me to find the right cycle and right amount of detergent to get my clothes clean, but I'm there now (after about 5 years!). I'm hoping my machine will hold up for at least another 5-10 years if not longer.

@bkay2000

I have an LG frontloader - about 10 years now. I haven't had the same experience.

I would never go back -- any more than I would go back to a rotary dial landline.

I did have to replace the steam generator - after 10 years of 21 grain per gallon hard water it gave up.

I resemble that remark.

In my experience, besides using too much detergent, people with front-loader problems also tend to wash their clothes too cool -- you need to regularly run what Germans call the "boiling wash" (sanitary cycle) in order to eliminate eventual buildup.

I wash everything on hot except wool blend socks. If it can’t tolerate hot wash, I don’t buy it. I skip all the hand wash/dry flat type clothes.

We briefly used an older Kenmore toploader before we got our Mieles 12 years ago and even the "hot" cycle was only lukewarm as it had no onboard heater and was across the house from the water boiler. (My family's German and I know my grandmother would be rolling in her grave at the thought of not boiling sheets and underwear, lol.)

I wonder if this is a common problem for the US front-loaders, too, and explains all the complaints folks seem to have about smells and such?

All washers without onboard water heaters can run into the problem of getting hot water when the household water heater is a substantial distance away. The onboard heater typically doesn't activate unless an appropriate cycle is run such as Heavy with maximum soil level, Allergy, Sanitize, or a Stain Treat option.

Frontloaders and HE (low-water) toploaders are particularly a problem because they don't take in much water. A workaround that can be helpful is running the hot tap at a sink located "down-wind" on the same supply line that feeds the washer immediately before starting it so the supply line is purged of standing cold water.

"Frontloaders and HE (low-water) toploaders are particularly a problem because they don't take in much water"

That's not a problem with those machines -- front loaders are designed to work with less water, and they do as good (if not a better) job with less water. As has been said, if you're not getting clothes clean in a front loader, the problem is you, not the machine.

What hasn't been mentioned are the cost benefits of using a front loading washing machine: they use less water and electricity, and your dryer will use less electricity because the clothes dry quicker.

I take your point to be aimed at refuting the kind of sectarian advocacy which insists no washer can wash without dozens of gallons of wash water. To be clear, that is not what Dadoes was talking about, at all. Dadoes was talking about overcoming the problem of avoiding or mitigating cold washes when you want hotter or warmer washes and your front load washer is some distance from the house water heater. His points were that distance can be handicap with any kind of washer and it is harder to overcome the cooling effect of that distance with washers that take in less water.

ETA: to be sure, your points about front loaders may be helpful to the OP in choosing between front load and top load models.

@jessymin "don't want anything fancy or expensive...need a basic washer that will last me for at least 5 years lol. Any ideas?"

Are you saying you want a bare-bones budget priced top-loading machine? Apart from looking for reconditioned used washers (as others have suggested above), the least expensive top loading washer you can buy new these days seems to be the Amana NTW4516FW. It is also sold as the Roper RTW4516FW2. These seem to be in stock at big box stores, at least where I live. There are some favorable discussions of them (albeit with recognition of their limitations ) at the AutomaticWasher.org site including:

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREADM.cgi?86083

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?83143_11

The Wirecutter/NYTimes reviewers described it as cheap but not awful. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/the-best-washer-and-dryer/