Thought we had it all worked out, went in to buy the new FL GE or Bosch, when the salesman went into a spiel about the F & P Intuitive Eco TL... I'm SO confused & overloaded w/info. No FL seems to have a great history of reliabilty. What track record does F & P have for reliability/durability? ANY help/advice/experience would be helpful! Thanks in advance!!

Well Bradley, welcome to the club. It would have helped had you joined then went out shopping, but as to your question, we have several members who have the F & P's. Contact DaDOES.

I have front loaders, the Hettie's, and just love them.

Let us know what you decide.

Steve

Hi bradlyl,

Here is Oz, F & P are big business. I spoke to a guy recently who runs a repair business but also sells machines and has been in the business for 20 years. All he would say about the F & P was that it keeps the "repair" side of the business running! What exactly goes wrong with them i don't really know.

Cheers
Leon

Although I prefer FLs I am a big fan of F&P. I have seen a few need repair but generally they have been trivial faults such as lid switch or suspension struts but overall they are very well designed, are extremely easy to service when it is needed. The circuit boards can fail especially from a power surge so I'd always use one with a surge buster filter. Most parts are very reasonably priced (in AU) except the circuit boards which can be dear. If one board fails it is usually worth repairing the machine, if they both fail together it is usually goodbye. The engineering in them is just brilliant, there is nothing else like them on the market.
I really hope they eventually bring out a front loader or a top loading tumble washer, then nothing will stop me buying one.
My mother has a Gentle Annie which I gave her some years ago, it is a 1990 model and has only ever needed a pump hose which cost $18. It is still used every day and never misses a beat. Mum loves it and still often comments about how good it is.

Chris.

Hi Guys,

According to Choice (AU Consumer Reports)

85% of F&P owners surveyed have not needed repairs in the last 12 months. However the F&P is below our cheap domestic machines by 1 point. It is however no higher than average for those needing repair.

The below information shows the brand, quantity, and percentage not requireing repair.

All machines (9581) 85%
Miele (330) 94%
Hitachi (188) 91%
Bosch (191) 88%
LG (616) 88%
Simpson (1092) 88%
Maytag (306) 87%
Hoover (1255) 86%
Westinghouse (176) 86%
Fisher & Paykel (2894) 85%
Whirlpool (957) 85%
Kleenmaid (320) 80%
Asko (442) 78%
Ariston (158) 73%
Bendix (139) 64%

Percentage who would buy the same brand again
All machines (9650) 83%
Miele (333) 96%
Bosch(196) 88%
Asko (445) 87%
Simpson (1097) 86%
Westinghouse (175) 86%
Fisher & Paykel (2915) 85%
Hitachi (189) 85%
LG (620) 85%
Hoover (1269) 81%
Maytag (308) 81%
Whirlpool (966) 80%
Kleenmaid (321) 77%
Ariston (160) 67%
Bendix (140) 51%

During Curbside collection there always seems to be a hell of a lot more F&P on the side of road than anything else. But according to these results, there are a hell of a lot more in use, than any other brand, so its to be expected.

HI Bradlyl,
I don;t know about Bosch in the U.S., but here in Australia I found they leave a lot to be desired as our Bosch F.L. broke down badly after just 2 years of normal use i.e. washing every 2nd day with standard loads however the worst part was their after sales service in a word.....APPALLING!!!!,it took about 6 weeks to get the silly thing fixed.
Never owned a F.P, I do have a couple of friends who do and have had nothing but trouble wih them.
Good luck with what you choose personally my next machine is going to be a Hitachi Jumbo Twin tub nice and simple.
Cheers
Steve.