Bosch vs Siemens washing machines

[Lazarus]

Re: Bosch vs Siemens washing machines

kwatt wrote:Many are on both Bosch and Siemens brands and, many are the same. The difference, so far as I can tell and keep in mind I’ve not researched this in depth as I’ve no call to do so, is in the electronics and software as well as perhaps a few other things, largely cosmetic.

The general ‘belief’ out there, seems to be (BSH group) that the Siemens machines are seen as more premium, , followed by Bosch? The problem is when looking at what Which? thinks , you might be surprised by their results.

As you’ve said – most of the internal components are the same across these two brands, with a few exceptions here and there. I would like put out a call for you to research this in depth if willing!

kwatt wrote:
I did a little research for a thread on Which? and it turned out that a considerable number of components in one Bosch and one Siemens machines rated as a “Best Buy” were in fact identical.

The difference, other than cursory stuff, was one had a two year warranty, the other a five year warranty. The cost of that I guess, was accounting for the lion’s share of the difference, as with the same tank and drum etc there’s not going to be much of a discernible difference in performance.

If I understand correctly, there shouldn’t be much difference between them then. The seriously confusing thing – Which? scores seem to be at odds with this. I don’t understand how this is possible, when Siemens are regarded as the more premium brand, with generally identical parts.

kwatt wrote:
From memory, the trade price of the tank group was about the £200 mark or so. Retail you can kiss goodbye to £300. Or, in other words, when the bearings wear out it’s a pile of scrap.

Have I understood correctly: If someone buys a 5 year warranty machine with a maximum outlook of 5 years then fine. If you want to buy a machine that can be repaired, so your investment might last even longer, then split tub is the only financially sensible purchase? This rests on the fact that, bearing replaceability is the key deal breaker re washing machines.

kwatt wrote:
How fast the bearings will wear out is anyone’s guess, that depends entirely on how much it’s used as a general rule and, in respect to warranty, keep in mind that unless it is a failure extraordinarily early in the life then it is a “wear and tear” item that fails through use.
K.

This is my most important question to the forum. If I buy a brand that has a five year warranty, and the bearings go, halfway through year four – does the warranty cover replacement (irrespective of split or welded)?

Or – have manufacturers ever said:

This bearing failure will NOT be covered under your currently active warranty, as after ‘x’ years, we simply class it as wear and tear.

Surely – if there is a five year warranty, then if the bearings go, they should be covered until and uptill the day that warranty ends???
Surely manufacturers don’t do this – otherwise what is the point of a five year warranty? Please expand your last paragraph.

My last point: Clearly bearings are a key issue in how repairable a machine is. What other components are worth keeping in mind?

My sincere thanks,

Lazarus

[kwatt]

Re: Bosch vs Siemens washing machines

To be perfectly blunt, I don’t have the time to research that stuff, I only happen across it on occasion or in some cases go looking for specific examples to make the point. There’s far too many models to compare of that to be practical, especially so at zero cost.

Not knowing how Which? test, I cannot comment on their results, only on what I can see.

You will see that virtually all warranties exclude wear and tear, be that a car, a sofa, a washing machine… whatever.

Equally neither is accidental damage, abuse, misuse and so on, it’s all very sensible really.

If the issue is deemed to be wear and tear then it is possible that the company may elect not to cover it. By the same token many will and do but, they don’t have to.

As with a warranty on a car or anything else, not everything is covered and people often make the mistake of assuming that virtually everything possibly imaginable is and that any issue will be covered when that may well not be the case in reality or in practice.

I use the car example as, we all are fully aware that wear and tear items such as brake pads, fluids, tyres and all manners of things are excluded from cover as they are wear and tear items. You can get them covered of course but, the cost is huge to do so and for most people unpalatable so, they accept the risk themselves.

So, to answer the question as best I can, no there is no universal cast iron guarantee that wear and tear items will be covered at all with many often specifically excluded and, no compunction to do so as if they fail in the period the presumption will often be that the machine is being heavily used, beyond the design parameters.

That said, if they fail in a short period then the presumption would be some sort of fault but, you’re looking at the first twelve months or so at best, after that it would likely be viewed as being wear.

I can’t say what BSH’s policy is in this respect or, how they would act but I have seen some that have taken this line and with the way that the industry is going, with essentially throwaway machines in some segments and extremely low margins, I can understand why.

Sorry, it’s actually not that simple to explain so apologies if that’s not clear enough.

K.

[Author]

Posts