Do you have any dent/scratch places? Or any appliance outlet stores around you? If you want one that lasts a long time, get them with as few options and settings as possible. Just my experience and two cents.

Speed Queen, Miele or Bosch

Speaking from an EU/UK perspective, I've been really impressed with the AEG goods I've been buying recently, fantastic spares availability (I've been buying shipping damaged items) and good construction practices.

Our LG Direct Drive washing machine is now 7 years old and showing no signs of giving up, we currently run it 5 nights a week as our daughter is in cloth nappies. The only thing wrong with it from a design perspective is the use of spring washers as anti vibration fixings - an easy fix when they went wrong but an own goal from their design department!

Bosch also very good, probably my favourite appliances to work on (just slightly behind AEG because spares availability to the consumer is sometimes limited) - easy access, good spares (mostly), good design.

Absolutely avoid Hotpoint (and anything Whirlpool group), absolutely the worst for reliability and repair, spares availability poor, sharp edges all over the place.

AEG from my research

I agree with not going with Samsung. I had a Samsung washing machine. One day it broke down. It made a specific beeping sequence which sounded like an error code. I studied mechanical engineering and am confident repairing stuff. I contacted Samsung requesting to understand the error. They refused to give any information. Their only option was to send out a technician. If I remember correctly the diagnostic fee was €125,- regardless of it being able to be repaired and the hourly fee was something like €75,- to repair it with a minimum of 1 hour. So if no parts were needed I was looking at €200,- at minimum to fix the thing.

Also no local technicians nor useful information on the Internet.

I bought a Siemens with a small dent in the exterior shell (near the back on the left hand side near the bottom ). It came with 7 years warranty because of a special promotion at the time.

Not sure if it holds true for Germany/overseas, but if it’s a cheap piece of shit washer and dryer in an apartment complex (in the US), it’s probably good. They get used and abused with minimal to no maintenance.

What brands besides the ones you mentioned are available in Germany?

Did a ton of research on this recently because we just moved. Went with Miele and we’ve been very happy so far.

There’s definitely a lot of settings / options on it, but it does everything.

Speed Queen, Miele or Bosch

We got a miele washing machine, and a zanussi dryer. I would highly recommend them both. You do get specific mounting brackets for stacking on top of each other, but often only for the same brand appliances. I lifted the dryer on top of the washer easily enough, put a board of wood in between them to leasen any marks and vibrations and it's been fine.

Washing machine was quite pricey, and it was later pointed out to me that we could have bought a cheap one and replaced it twice with what we spent on it, but it is amazing, and I'd expect it to last a very long time.

The dryer is decent too, and was half the price of the washing machine, was a heat pump dryer so is very energy efficient, but I am warned that it will be harder to repair if something goes wrong with the heat pump.

I can look up model numbers if you like.

Buy the entry Miele models. Sometimes they have anniversary editions. We have had our Miele since 10years without a fuzz. My Mum has had hers for about 25 years… I used to live in a flat as a student that hade a 30year+ dishwasher from Miele, still working. We needed a replacement part, which we still got!

Miele, Bosch or Siemens. They have a decent customer service and can recommend specific models (I talked to the Siemens representative who seemed to be very knowledgable)

We bought a Bosch washing machine 2 years ago, because Miele was too expensive. If I could change that decision, I would. Things we wash in our machine, look worse with every washing cycle. Seems like the machine isn't gentle enough. I never had this problem with my dad's Miele that I used for 10+ years (and it's still going strong). It doesn't matter what program we wash our laundry in, the Bosch will make it look more and more worn every time.

Miele. Got 3 years used washing machine 10 years ago, runs just like new, and washes much better than previous one (we practically stopped ironing). The same with dryer. Three kids, so multiple uses every day. Each about 500 eur slightly used.

Bosch or Siemens, both are one and the same. You live in Germany right?