Hotpoint Ultima 1200 WD71

This was our first washer drier ran 5-9 times a week washing and drying at least 3 times a month . Only had one call out for repair 2 weeks before the 5 years was up for a motor fault,the multi connector came out zip tied in . My wife worked at a fish factory so was ran every workday. Only thing i told her was not to overload it.Washer was taken out of service at 8 years old and still going ,but thought it was due to be replaced before it gave out (still on original bearings) .. Replaced with wdd960. The bearing i have just replaced the bearing on the wdd960 now 8 years old . Thought i would bring the wd71 out of retirement and put the wdd960 on standby now it's been repaired . not a 5 min job but went well taking time to clean seal seats ready for new. more time taking than anything else so not to have leak on new outer drum seal. Any how just set the wd71 on a test spin and all looks fine after standing 8 years . Think i might put her to use now as part going obsolete for it now and can'rt see any second hand ones ..

So i can't fault the wd71 apart from it didn't like out of balance loads to spin and would stop itself with the message .. ok well it's trying to look after it's self don't knock praise ,but could be a pain some times i admit but had 8 yrs from her and it's still alive in front of me at 16yrs old ready to live a second life . More than can be said for a lot of others . look after it it will look after you... and she still looks like new...

The Hotpoint WD71 looks great in your kitchen and the dryer dries quickly and efficiently, however that's really where any praise ends I'm afraid. Whilst being relatively simple to use, a lot of programmes are only accessed via a combination of buttons/button presses which might make it harder for some.

You'd think you'd be buying a machine to last you a good few years when buying this, but not so....

Prepare for the door seal to fail(3 times for me), bearings to go (twice),resulting in lots of crashing and banging when on full spin, and the old favourite - the motor, of which I've had two in my two years of ownership!!

Luckily, when my initial warranty ran out, I paid £6 per month for a new insurance that would replace like for like if the machine was irreparable and this has been the best £6 a month I've ever spent otherwise I would have paid a fortune in repair bills!

I'm contemplating buying a new machine now, as my Hotpoint has decided to stop taking in fabric softener now - not a major problem I know, but still a little niggle I could do without.

This was my 8th Hotpoint machine and I should know better by now!

All I can say is, if you're going to buy a Hotpoint WD71, also take out a monthly service cover. Within the first year, this machine had a new motor, new bearings, door seal, electronic display, door catch....

Looks-wise, it can't be beat and the dryer does a good job too - you can dry a pair of jeans in just half an hour.

However, the noise when spinning is phenomenal...you almost need earplugs - and it goes on soooo long! Also, if you're washing anything heavier than a pair of knickers, prepare to rope in at least half a dozen friends to pin this bad boy to the floor as it will smash against your cupboards and work surface in it's bid for the freedom of the kitchen - mine scares me so much when it's on full spin, I go and hide upstairs!

To recap - DON'T BUY!

Don't get one, it might be more eco-friendly but the costs are way too high to keep it running. Got it fixed for £80 then within half an hour, the same problem on the display appeared.

The Hotpoint WD71 washer dryer is a very good machine and is very easy to use. I don't know why people say they are unreliable as ours lasted 5 years being used 3 times a day. We may have spent money getting it repaired but that is just things that are going to wear out. I don't think it has done bad as it was used a lot. In the end the dryer fan came dislodged from the condenser unit as it has just worn out over the years. The dryer motor was damaged and that would cost £50 and the condenser was totally smashed up and that was £65 for a piece of plastic worth about £1 in materials. So our Hotpoint WD71 came to the end of its hard working life after 5 years. We now have our third Hotpoint washer dryer which is a WD860p Ultima which is currently the highest spec washer dryer Hotpoint make. It is 3 times better than the WD71 and I highly recommend it.

When I bought my first Hotpoint Ultima 1200 WD71 machine it broke within the first month, the second machine,, a replacement has been constantly unreliable and resulted in at lease 12 service calls to date.

The following parts have been replaced numerous times; the drum, the ball bearings, the electronic control panel, the rubber seal and the brackets inside.

Would never by Hotpoint again.