The difficulties of buying a washer and dryer

So the washer and dryer that I have was inherited with the house.  They’re probably 10 years old or so.  The dryer works fine right now, but the washer is probably on its last legs.  It won’t stay balanced, it’s noisy and not very economical.  Since my aunt and uncle are going to pay for Josh’s final school bill, I figured that I could spend some of my tax refund on a new washer and dryer.  So I did my research.  I made a spreadsheet of washer and dryers and checked the prices at Lowe’s, Home Depot, Sears, and Best Buy.  Then I checked consumer reports and other review sites.  Then I went to each of the stores to ask about their delivery policy and if they pick up the old appliances, etc.  I had my choices narrowed to two with one more of a standout than the other.  So the one I want is this LG washer with matching dryer.  I like it because it uses a direct drive system rather than a belt-driven motor which comes with a 10 year warranty on the motor itself.  It’s a front-loader which is more efficient in terms of water and energy.  I like the “look” of it and it seems to have enough bells and whistles (like delayed wash) that make it a good deal for the price.  Home Depot and Sears were basically the same price when all is said and done.  So I was going to order it from Home Depot but was told that they could get me the washer without a problem, but the dryer would be delivered to the store since they didn’t have any in stock.  I was confused about this and the lady was not clear on explaining it to me.  Then she tried to sell me a more expensive version that would have been $200 more.  I said no thanks.  So then I went to Sears.  Sears could get me both, but the dryer was back ordered as well and it couldn’t be delivered for three weeks.  I really wanted to get this done during spring break when I have the time off.  My other choices are to go with a fancier model – Sears Kenmore that is really manufactured by LG that has an internal heater so the hot water actually gets really hot for whites, but that comes at a cost of $140 more – which is still a decent deal because the price of each machine started out over $800 each and they’re down to $579.  The model I want is $509 each.  The other choice is to go with this Whirpool model that I can get from Lowe’s.  It’s cost is $539 but the delivery and installation is free.  It’s review from Consumer Reports was just ok and other online reviews that I read had several negative comments.  So now I’m not sure what I want to do.  Do I get the machine I want and wait three weeks for it to be delivered?  Do I spend more than I wanted to get a similar and slightly better machine delivered sooner?  Or do I go with my second choice which is ok, but not as fancy but costs the same as my first choice?  Decisions, decisions.

I was out all day.  I headed to town around 12:30 and went to Taco Villa for lunch.  I was going to get my tires rotated and oil changed, but there was a line at the Toyota place so I headed out to start pricing the washer and dryers.  After I gathered the information, I went back to the Toyota place and got the maintenance done in about 45 minutes.  I continued to research on my iPhone while I waited.  I then went to Best Buy to check their prices and they were much more expensive.  It would have cost me $120 more to purchase them from Best Buy and they won’t price match unless the competitors have the item in stock which is stupid because even Best Buy didn’t have it in stock.  So then I headed home and did more research and still wanted the LG so I went back to Sears to see if they could deliver during spring break and that’s when I found out it would be three weeks.  So I decided to think about it some more.  Then I went to Walmart to get some things and my friend Pam had called me back after I called her earlier today.  We decided to go to dinner so we went to a Mexican restaurant that I just recently tried that was really good.  I almost choked on my margarita though.  I took a drink and I guess it went down wrong because I couldn’t breathe for a bit and then wheezed trying to catch my breath.  It was kind of scary for a few seconds.  It took a little bit to get back to normal and I was shaking a bit.  But it was nice to visit and eat with her and I didn’t get home until after 9:00 tonight after being out most of the day. 

So now I’m still checking out the washers and trying to come to a decision.  Any suggestions from my readers?  I plan to go back to Sears tomorrow after church so chime in soon!