It's the "usually" that's the problem for me. Last time I bought a washing machine I was willing to pay 3x the cost of the cheapest model provided it came with

It's the "usually" that's the problem for me. Last time I bought a washing machine I was willing to pay 3x the cost of the cheapest model provided it came with a warrantee that was at least 3 times longer. But in fact all machines had the same pathetic 2-year warrantee, indicating to me the manufacturer didn't genuinely believe their more expensive machine was going to last any longer. So I went for a mid-range one that at least didn't look cheap and nasty, but probably will break down in a few years anyway (and then be more expensive to repair than replace).