Our 9 year old washer crapped out last month, so the wife and I went washer and dryer shopping. Early on, because of our family size, we realized we needed a washer with a good size capacity, at least 4.5 cu. ft. We felt that a front load washer and dryer pair, at easily $2K-$3K and upwards, was priced out of our budget, since it's pretty much essential that you buy the pedestals ($400!) to avoid busting your back.
We then started leaning toward the Cabrio pair from Costco noted by ANYTIME above, based on some research that I did (via some Cosumer Research reading, and some buyer review posts), and Costco had a very good price. However, delivery was not available for another 15-20 days. No good, since clothes were piling up.
We ended up going with a comparable
washer and
dryer setup from Lowes, which had a slightly lower price, had next day delivery and setup and haulaway, and had reasonable prices on all the necessary replacement parts (hoses, gas lines, etc.). Even better, on top of the lower price, they gave us an additional 10% off military discount (Veteran's Day). Plus, we recently had a dishwasher replaced by them, and were happy with the service and efficiency of the entire organization, from the salesperson to the delivery people. Final price ended being just around $1500 with parts, tax, delivery, installation, and haulaway. Wife has been happy blasting through laundry ever since.
(One thing to note about reviews saying the washer getting out of balance. It will do that when washing a very large item, like a comforter. Because it doesn't have the center column, a large single item will tend to ball up, causing the drum to be unbalanced when going through the spin cycle. On regular loads (clothes, towels, etc.), it works fine.)
As for extended warranties, I tend to stay away from them.
