We bought our first washer and dryer at a garage sale. The dryer squeaked and we paid $75 for it. A $2 takeup reel fixed it. The washer leaked and they threw it in for free. That cost $19 to repair. Myself.
They lasted at least ten years. Been through 3 washers since then in 15 years.
If you are old enough you probably remember the Maytag repairman advertisement. We owned a Maytag dishwasher — it broke down on us several times. We kept the repairmen busy and well paid.
We finally dumped it and bought a Bosh. Figured that we'd buy foreign until American companies got their act together and stopped ripping Americans off. The Bosh was more expensive but we figured it was investment. Especially if lasts 20 years. Plus they threw in a free Tassimo coffee maker. :)
So far, the Bosh is doing really well. We have owned it for four years. The Maytag POS started giving us problems right after the first year.