[ErroneousBosh]

> Newer stuff is more efficient. For example washers and dryers have a direct drive technology with gears that help it use less power and maybe even less water.

That's never going to pay off in the long run. They're not significantly more efficient and they're less repairable, so the penny you save per wash is going to be more than offset by buying a new washing machine every five years when the bearing fails just out warranty.

New washing machines have a plastic outer drum that's welded together, so you can't get them apart to replace the bearing when it fails. They are designed that way so they're essentially disposable - after 5000 washes, you must replace the whole washing machine instead of a five quid part you can get from the tractor supply place down the road.