If the units are indeed unused the price is good. However would't move them behond a short distance without the shipping struts in place.

You can contact MieleUSA directly but think they may have stopped stocking spares for the 1900 series and matching dryers. So there will only be whatever stock is in USA warehouses. Once that is gone there will be no more.

Compared to the w3033, the 1918 is slightly smaller in capacity but not that much. However if you have large family and or are planning one and aren't used to doing laundry every day, this could be a problem. Also king or some queen sized comforters will not likely fit.

The 1918 series had complaints of premature rear bearing failure. Some machines lasted the full twenty year predicted lifespan Miele warrants for it's washers, others barely made it past five, or ten years. Once this happens unless the washer is under warranty (which this unit won't due to age), Miele usually will not do the repair. It involves removing the drum and basically the unit must be transported back to New Jersey to Miele's inhouse shops.

Finally MieleUSA seems to be betting a bit of an attitude lately about doing service on "older" units. Many of the new techs no nothing about units before the 1200 series and quite frankly some don't want to bother.

The 19 series of Miele are amazing performers. I would be all over this set, if I were you. You must use the shipping struts, or support the drum somehow, in order to move it without damage. Forget about the assumed smaller capacity. True Euro washers can be loaded to full capacity and never complain. You will be very surprised at how much these washers really can hold. In my opinion, this would almost be a laundry investment that will pay you back for years to come.

So I did buy the washer and dryer and was able to trasport the dryer in a SUV. The washer is another matter. It was too heavy. I also could not figure out how the shipping brackets look like and how to check if they are still installed. The washer door is locked as it is not connected. The manuals are still inside. How do the shipping brackets look like and if I need to buy, what is the best way to buy them?

Lalitha

Farenheit 451.. Thank you for linking the Manual. I did call Miele and order the shippng struts. I am still not clear if the$80 but I am hoping I am going to get a great washing machine out of this exercise. My friend just laughed out loud when she heard about the trouble I am going through to buy a old new washing machine that is more than 10 yrs old :)

Hi,

I went through hell and back to get mine too! That's after calling all over the country to locate the full size W/D. Apparently they were discontinued earlier this year. Anyway, I found a set in NY but the seller said he could not ship to CA (something about his agreement w/ Miele) so I was going to have them shipped to my sister's in Boston and then have her shipped to me in CA.

But luckily at the last minute I located a set an hour away so I made DH leave work early rented a Uhaul and we went to pick them up. We were outside their delivery distance and so delivery or hookup. Which by the way I had the hardest time finding a certified installer. But my persistence paid off and I'm over the moon w/ my W4802 and T9822 gas dryer!

Hopefully yours will turn out just as wonderful! I never thought I would enjoy doing laundry so much. How's that for being pathetic? LOL

We got the shipping struts and thanks to the operating manual link from Fahrenheit, DH was able to get the struts installed - this took a bit of wrestling and we needed to call the Miele support. The machine weighs a ton! We are getting some movers to help us with it. We also opened the door manually and the machine has clearly not been used at all. The stickers and the manuals in plastic are still inside. Can't wait to get it home :)

"Design is not limited to fancy new gadgets. Our family just bought a new washing machine and dryer. We didn't have a very good one so we spent a little time looking at them. It turns out that the Americans make washers and dryers all wrong. The Europeans make them much better but they take twice as long to do clothes! It turns out that they wash them with about a quarter as much water and your clothes end up with a lot less detergent on them. Most important, they don't trash your clothes. They use a lot less soap, a lot less water, but they come out much cleaner, much softer, and they last a lot longer.

We spent some time in our family talking about what's the trade-off we want to make. We ended up talking a lot about design, but also about the values of our family. Did we care most about getting our wash done in an hour versus an hour and a half? Or did we care most about our clothes feeling really soft and lasting longer? Did we care about using a quarter of the water? We spent about two weeks talking about this every night at the dinner table. We'd get around to that old washer-dryer discussion. And the talk was about design.

We ended up opting for these Miele appliances, made in Germany. They're too expensive, but that's just because nobody buys them in this country. They are really wonderfully made and one of the few products we've bought over the last few years that we're all really happy about. These guys really thought the process through. They did such a great job designing these washers and dryers. I got more thrill out of them than I have out of any piece of high tech in years."

- Steve Jobs, 1996, on his then-new Miele W1918.

I don't know about you, but whether you're an Apple fanboy or an Apple hater, when the guy who brought forth the iPhone and iPad is more blown away by a *laundry appliance* than any recent gadget, that's quite an endorsement. More here (I also wonder how many other Fortune 500 CEOs do their own laundry).

I have a W1926, which was introduced to the US a year later and is essentially a W1918 that's 4" deeper inside and out, mitigating some of the capacity issues. It's awesome.

That is interesting! I live in bay area close to Apple and Steve Jobs' home. We finally managed to get the washer home on Monday and it looks great! Hope ot install it by early feb once the laundry area is done.

If someone offered you a new, never been driven (less than 50 mi on the odometer actual) 2000 Mercedes E-class sedan for $15k, would you buy it?