I'd buy a small kitchen timer for $4 and set it on top of the dryer. It's probably louder than the dryer timer anyway!

I shop for scratch and dent stuff. no one sees the sides, once you snuggle them together.

scratch and dent or craigslist.

I was dumbfounded when we were looking for a new washer/dryer. There is a place not too far from here that a guy opened out of his home where he refurnishes and resells them. His prices were just as bad as the brand new models.

We lucked out with our first set we bought for this house. $200 for washer and the dryer off of craigslist. Worked great for 2 yrs before the washer died. Bought the new set and ended up giving away the dryer.

Our first W/D was top of the line Speed Queen. Bought them from a friend who's wife had left him and he was selling all of her expensive stuff.. We got the set, almost brand new, for $100.00 . It lasted us 17 years.

I'm still looking at that LG W/D combo for my closet @ 1200 to 1500.??

Yeah and thats the other thing how come nothing lasts as long now?

Sally, my grandma had a Speed Queen that lasted her almost 25 years. She kept hoping it would break so she could get a newer model!

Jules, I know what you mean about appliances not lasting like they use too:
I bought a Kenmore washer/dryer set in 1982. I used it 22 years and gave it to a young couple when we moved in 2004. That set was moved across country 5 times! It only had one $20 repair to the washer in all that time. My Fisher/Paykel set have lasted 7 years. Both need to be replaced.

I had a Kenmore refrigerator that I bought new in 1987. We gave it away when we moved. It had never had a repair. It just was not very energy efficient. We bought a Kitchenaid in 2004 and the compressor and some switch went out this March. It cost more to repair than getting a new one, except I went high end with bells and whistles. However, I love this refrigerator! It holds everything and has soft LED lightening that doesn't hurt my eyes when I open the door!

Nope, it just has to come from Canada or Australia! Apparently I bought the only model Fisher/Paykel made that parts are not available in the US.

It is crazy, huh? DBF and I just went through that about a year ago. Luckily, one of his friends mom was getting rid of hers and we got it for $100. It was a year old. There are deals out there. We got a really nice washer that was less than a year old for $200 on craigslist. It was still under warranty too and the guy gave us all the paper work.

Scratch and dent places are great as well if you have any near you.

We have replaced all of our appliances: waher/dryer, microwave, fridge, dishwasher and stove/oven. The sales person told us appliances are no longer made to last like they used to --- 5 to 7 years is about average anymore

Might be a little off topic here, but have you ever noticed when you go to buy ink for your printer there is always a new printer that is cheaper than your ink cartridges? I think we have purchased at least 5 printers in the last 3 yrs because it was cheaper than buying the ink for the one we had. I know how bad these things are for the environment and it would be so much better if they just dropped the price on ink.

You might want to check to see if there is a Habitat for Humanity Re-Store around you. They have all kinds of goodies from remodel projects. I almost bought the Double oven stove for $150. But decided against it.