The local mom and pop appliance shop stopped stocking SpeedQueen in the last five years and replaced it with Fisher and Paykel. Their baseline washer and dryer is where it's at. They have the simplicity of SpeedQueen in terms of how cheap/easy they are to repair and replace components, but are super high efficiency.

They use(d to use) more energy and water, but maybe they get the laundry cleaner or get it done faster. A washer repair tech on reddit said that after 2017 SpeedQueen went the same direction as all the others, but if you get an older one it might be a better machine, depending on the model.

They brought back the classic model for 2019, it's called the TC5: https://speedqueen.com/products/home-products/top-load-washe...

I can see the efficiency argument, but arguing that the technology is old seems odd to me. What does it matter how old the technology is if it works?

What's more inefficient: the extra electricity and water of older machines, or the extra waste, manufacturing, and shipping caused by shorter replacement cycles?

I know many people who have had to replace or service their "high efficiency" machines within 5-10 years, while many old washers seem to last at least 20 years without service. Given the electronics and specialty parts in the new machines, it seems doubtful that you could keep one of them in service for more than 15 years.