Well given the fact that a number of the Kenmore model are made by Samsung. I would not deal with that sales person. Kenmore does not make any thing, they have others make them for them.

Sometimes these yesterday to today complaints about appliances seem a bit like apples to oranges comparisons to me. I just retired a 25 year old Admiral washer and dryer, I only used them for a few months but if they were like anything else in the unit they had never seen a lick of maintenance. I have a very basic compact set from Samsung now and they do a lot of things the old set didn't while using less water, power and detergent to provide me with much cleaner clothes. They are stackable (goodbye support frame), with stainless drums and I don't have to wheel the washer forward to open it and hold the lid to load it(imagine how great that unsecured washer sounded to my downstairs neighbour when spinning - I don't have to because someone upstairs above me still has one) nor does the dryer door open into the doorway anymore. Will they last 25 years? Not a chance but if I get 5-7 with relatively few problems I will be very happy. Better 5-7 with all those features than 25 without them - if I am trading those fairly simple features for longevity then I'm Ok with that - would I prefer to have my cake and eat it to - sure who wouldn't.

Kenmore doesn't manufacture anything - Sears pays other companies to make Kenmore products. Often these are just re-badged versions of the manufacturers own product or sometimes they re-configured with features added or subtracted from the manufacturers version.With washer and dryers I think LG might be doing a lot of the Kenmore front loaders but I'm not sure. This may not be true in your market but in Canada Sears charges more for other brands than their competitors for regular price and doesn't have as good regular markdowns. You can probably get a Samsung pair cheaper somewhere else. Sears tends to offer deeper markdowns on Kenmore products generally anyway. Kenmore is as good as the similar manufacturers model - which often is quite good so no reason not to consider them.

One thing you must always remember is the salesperson is there to make the most money they can. Even if the sales person isn't on commision there are usually spiffs (bribes)on several of the appliances that may run from just a few dollars to hundreds of dollars. There is also the internal sales contests that put extra dollars in a paycheck.
I worked in sales for a few years and we had several salespersons who would pick up the new spiff sheet on Sunday and announce that these will be the only models they would be selling that week. So one week they would tell customers a model would be such a piece of cr#p that they wouldn't sell it to their worst enemy and next week it would be it was the best smartest appliance ever built.

It's best to do your research, find a brand / model you like, find out who services them, maybe call the service company and ask them what they think of the model. Then make your decission and don't be swayed by a salesperson.

I have the Kenmore HE5t large capacity - which 4.0. It's a front-loader and I haven't had any problems with smells. But I leave the door open overnight after wash day. I love, love, love it!

There's 2 of us and 2 pooches. It cleans fabulously. We're remodeling and you can't imagine how dirty the clothes get, but with the 'heavy duty' cycle and 'stain treat' option, the clothes come out clean. It's large enough for me to wash the dog beds - and we have lab/retreiver mixes. There's a 'whites' option that works great, and a couple delicate cycles for wool and silk that I use a lot. There's also cycles for inbetween so synthetics and blends get clean without too harsh a treatment. I've washed very large loads and many small ones with no problems.
The dryer is very nice. You can adjust the heat settings and dry synthetics without baking them.

I'd highly recommend it. we've had ours for 2.5 years now - no problems.
A note on outsourceing manufacturing: Even if that is out sourced, that doesn't mean that the design, engineering and quality testing is outsourced.

I've not had a problem with smells on my frontloading washers, but I wash frequently (washer probably never sits for more than a day without washing), wash on hot frequently, and wash on sanitize at least once a week, which I think helps get rid of the things that might smell. Also, I don't use fabric softener, and I keep the door open so the drum and seal has a chance to dry out.

Thoughts on TL vs FL... it's a big adjustment to go from one to the other. Don't get me wrong, I love my FL. I went from my old faithful Kenmore TL set to a GE FL set, which was OK, and 5 years later when we moved, got a Miele set which I love. I would not go back to a TL. But it is an adjustment and a learning curve... and I think you really need to weigh whether it's worth it to you to make these changes in how you do laundry. Also, if you frequently wash things that need a lot of water to get clean -- your husband's mechanic clothes are a perfect example -- you may want to stick with a TL.

I have no issues with my Kenmore Fl which is 9 years old and made by Whirpool. The new Kenmore elite FL are made by LG. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a Samsung Washer. Most sales people at sears are clueless to what they are selling. Case in point, I was there the other day listening to Sears sales Associate explain the features...what a joke! No clue at all. Lowes and such places are not much better. Best advice is...research, research reasearch and ask questions. No harm in your asking them. The newer HE toploaders seem to get better customer reviews than the old ones. Yes they are engery savers, but not as much as a FL. I have no mold smells in my 9yr FL and I dont wipe it out, or leave the door open. Most problems with people using an HE machine is operator error, unless it is a mechanical failure.

I have also had my run-ins with salesmen at Sears. I took my mother there to hunt for a new range. She had always bought Kenmore and liked the brand. She couldn't decide between a Kenmore and name brand one, and he stepped in and started tearing the competition apart. I let him finish and then informed him I worked for several years in the evaluation and quality laboratory in the competitor's manufacturing plant, knew that product inside and out, and that he either was not telling the truth, or he didn't know what he was talking about. I even worked with the man who invented one of the features he was going on about. I was almost embarrassed for him.

She ended up buying the Kenmore product. It was good and I didn't have a problem with it. Just with the salesman. LOL.