I don't want to open a big can of worms, but I will comment that I wouldn't dream of buying a new washer without a 5-year service contract. Laundry appliances, at least the ones at the OP's budget level, are not made "like they used to be." I have a ten-year-old set of Kenmore Elites, they are a very good W and D, but they have been repaired at least once a year or more since they were new. I would be way in the hole if they weren't under a service contract. Sears charges an arm and leg for a service contract at the time of purchase, I don't know about the other big box stores. I'm going to purchase a Bravos set soon (we're moving and it doesn't make sense to take old W/D cross country). I'm buying from an independent appliance store in my new state, they charge $109 for a 5-year contract and they do the work themselves. As others mentioned, be sure you can get service for the washer you choose at your home.

I just purchased a Speed Queen AWN 412 top loader. 3 year parts & labor, 5 year motor & 10 year transmission guarantee. Uses about 25% less water than the old TL's. Lot less lint than my old Whirlpool TL. I even washed sweat pants w/ jeans & there was very little lint on the sweat pants. Higher spin speed than the old Whirlpool. Several water level settings, so the water level is more customizeable compared to just 3 choices w/ the Whirlpool. Because it uses less water, I can wash an X-Lg load without running out of hot water from my 40 gal H2O heater, unlike the Whirlpool. 'Hot' water ended up being warm--our 'cold' water is very cold so the incoming cold water in the tank diluted the 'hot'. So far, I like this washer a lot. Chose a TL because the SQ has no electronic controls to flash error codes, because I'm familiar w/ the TL's and do most of my own repairs, our clothes get very dirty & I like to stop the washer & let them soak in plenty of water and, for less dirty clothes that I don't need to soak, the load is finished in much less time than a FL. Yet another reason was because my local Craigslist is loaded w/ non-working front loaders for sale. That was telling me something, something that has been confirmed by appliance repair people. Oh, and Speed Queen is made in the USA, right here in Wisconsin. Think it was the transmission that went out on the Whirlpool. (Plastic parts in the tranny.) SQ is all metal & has only 6 moving parts in the transmission w/ confidence to offer a 10 year warranty on it. If you're shopping 'used' Speed Queens, make sure to get a newer one mfg'd by Alliance Laundry systems. You don't want a Raytheon one from what I've read. HTH

Shawn1972ut: "Front loader complaints of smell, long cycle times, inefficient rinses, poor electronic components, and failure rates at less than 5 yrs concerns me. " It is necessary to separate issues of front loader vs. top loader from issues of generations -- both generations of people and generations of manufacturing. The numbers would be difficult to aggregate, but, with a fair degree of certainty, it can be said that a majority of the automatic washing machines ever made have been front loaders. Front loading automatics have been around since the 1930s, but top-loading machines did not lose their mangles (those wringer arms that you see atop older top-loading washing machines) -- that is, they did not become automatic, until after World War II. Like tail fins on automobiles, top loading automatic washing machines became all the fad in the United States in the 1950s, but never caught on elsewhere in the world. In the United States, though, some consumers mistakenly think of top-loaders as "traditional." There is a high correlation between those who refer to top loaders as "traditional" and those who simply do not know what they are talking about. A couple of generations of housewives (that is not sexist, just the way society was organized), brought up on the post-WWII top loading machines, were educated to think that you need at least 40 gallons of water to wash a load of laundry. And that much water required at least a cup of laundry detergent; and if one cup is good, aren't two cups even better? When those consumers encountered later generation water-conserving front-loading washers, they continued to use their two cups of detergent per load, and that detergent overload is the source of a lot of the negative comments you see about front loading machines. Now, getting to your question, there are two kinds of "features" in washing machines. One kind of feature is choice of materials and construction techniques. Speed Queen washing machines are rightly often praised for construction quality largely because of choice of metal bearings in place of nylon bearings, heavier gauge steel where it counts, etc. The other kind of features are multiple selectable cycles, programability, LED screens, etc. You pays your money and you takes your choice. Personal opinion: one of the better "features" is a dimpled stainless steel drum. When a washing machine's drum spins for water extraction, fibers of the laundry inside the drum are drawn through the water drainage holes in the drum, and that accelerates fabric wear. Miele pioneered the "honeycomb" drum, with the drainage holes positioned in small domes in the drum surface to minimize the fabric pull-through. Samsung rather blatantly copied that feature in its "diamond" drum. So far as I am aware, no other maker has followed Miele and Samsung down that road. Our family, starting with my mother, has owned only four washing machines in over 75 years; they all have been front-loading washing machines. The first three lasted, on average, over 20 years each in moderately hard use. We purchased the fourth machine a few years back, and the deciding factor in our purchase was the dimpled drum design; we selected a Samsung over a Miele for price considerations. HTH.

Those were good machines,but not without there share of problems which is fairly well documented. 13 years old is sketchy even for an orginal Neptune. It would be a questionable when there are clearly better choices with superior cleaning capability. Not to mention it is nearing or at end of life. I will concur, newer doesn,t mean better. What is different is the amount of water used and that makes a difference, not necessarirly with cleaning, but flushing and rinsing. In that respect almost any older FL will outperform any modern FL. It's pretty much the same reason an older dishwasher would knock out a load of filthy dishes in 30 min washed and dried. The newer siblings take 2.5 hours, less water, with mixed cleaning results. I am hopeful with a new president those energy regs go bye bye and let appliances work the way they were intended to.