Ok, the truth about front loading washers.
My last three have been front loaders, loved every one of them. Over a period of about 9 years.
A maytag neptune, and a pair of (probably whirlpool made) kenmores.
When the one we have drops dead some day and I cant fix them, I'll buy another one.
I have had no problems with mildew. You do your whites with bleach as your last load and then leave the front door slightly ajar for a few hours for it to dry out. Otherwise you've sealed a nearly air and water tight 'system' with moisture in it. Of course its going to mildew a little. Most of these have a flexible folded rubber seal between the drum and the door assembly. You can also solve the mildew problem by drying this seal after you're done using the washer, or once a week wipe it with a paper towel that you've sprayed a little bleach/water solution on. Takes 2 seconds, if this is a big problem. Its worse with some models and non existent in others.
With my old top loader, you couldnt take a shower while the washer was running. It took roughly 8 gallons of water per wash/rinse. The new one takes under 2 gallons per wash/rinse.
I use literally a couple of tablespoons of detergent and maybe a tablespoon of bleach per load. The limited water use means you get a much higher density of soap/bleach so dont need to dump a lot in there. A large costco sized laundry soap and a large clorox bottle last me almost a year.
The latter two things mean a great deal to someone with a septic tank rather than sewer...reduced water and reduced soap/bleach increase your pumping intervals and improve your leach field life.
My clothes last virtually forever due to the gentle rolling approach rather than the agitation. I used to get a couple of years out of stuff before they'd start to get some subtle wearing and fading from the agitation washer. Unless I tear something or pour ink on it, its going to last. I have some shirts that are probably at least 8-9 years old that still look pretty good. I think the front loaders wouldnt do as good of a job on really, really dirty clothes, so if you work as a mechanic it just might not do as good a job. Cant say for sure 1st hand though, even my dirty stuff comes out good.
There are extensive reciprocated diatribes on whether the cost savings of water/electricity/soap and so forth justify the higher cost. Depending on how much your consumables cost, you might make up the whole cost of the washer dryer pair in 5-7 years or you might save nothing at all. If you're on a well with septic and you make your own soap, its not such a deal. If you live in california, just about anywhere, you'll get a payback.
For me, the longer clothing life pays for the washer 2-3x over.
Loads do take longer. My front loaders take about 40-50% longer on a wash cycle than my top loaders did. If you do a lot of laundry, this is a consideration. The good news is that even the smaller (2.8-3.1 cu ft) front loaders, due to lack of an agitator, can take more clothes than even a super capacity top loader. My wifes old ~3 cu ft basic model could take a cal king comforter of some boofiness with no trouble. So if load cycle time is a problem, buy one of the 3.7-3.8 cu ft washers. Those can take something like 20 bath towels at a pop. The good news is that due to the high speed spin on the front loaders, your clothes come out almost dry so the dryer cycle is very short. Guess which uses more energy...your washer or your dryer...mmm hmmm....
Fix-it wise, the models I've had were similar in makeup. Two control boards, one tied to the controls and one tied to the motor and pump. One motor with a belt tied to the drum. One pump with a hose coming in and a hose going out. Everything held in place with a bolt or two or three, and a plug-in wire harness or two. Something stops working, its not going to take much rocket science to figure out what isnt working, and maybe 15 minutes to replace it. Whether you can get a good price on parts to make the repair economical vs buying a new one is debatable. From a reliability perspective, the genre has gotten a bad name from the maytags. They were and are price fixed and expensive, the worst performers per consumer reports, and have the most problems. A lot of the 'european' models are good performers but also suffer from reliability issues. Whirlpools and Kenmores are highly rated, can be had on sale cheap often, and dont have a lot of reported widespread problems.
The bottom line is if you're my dad and you wash one load of colors and one load of whites every 6-9 days, get a cheap washer and dryer. Costco frequently has a decent basic set for under $300 for the pair, you take them home with you. If you have 2 or more people and do 5-10 loads of wash in a week like we do, and/or you have clothes that are worth keeping around a little longer, and/or you have a septic system...you might seriously consider a front loader.
Two other sources of good appliances.
Sears closeouts. They keep dropping the prices until they sell out.
(Link edited by a moderator without a 32-inch monitor
Link
Note that on hot items that sell fast, they'll often give you a confirmation of order and pending ship, then cancel a month later or never tell you anything at all. Fine service as usual. Not like you could do this with a computer or anything.
Or go to the sears web site, click on store locator, and look for sears appliance outlet stores. These are sprinkled around most major metropolitan areas and sometimes elsewhere, and have all the returned/dented/floor models/etc. You can get a brand new or nearly new appliance with a full manufacturers warranty for usually 1/3 to 1/2 off. Sometimes quite a bit deeper if the dent is in the door. I've occasionally found appliances with a dent in the rear or on the side in back where its not even visible, otherwise brand new and in perfect operating condition. Considering that Sears has usually tried to deliver me a dented appliance on their first visit, there are plenty of these.