Product review (5 stars): Great so far
We had an old Kenmore top loading washer at our old house and then moved to a new house this year that came with a front-loading washer about 6 years old and working fine; I managed to wreck it in 6 months.  The repair guy (from a company we have used for 15 years and trust) said front loaders were great washers but only last 3-5 years before the rear bearing goes out and to make them last longer you should wash small loads and balance them.  I really had been trying to balance loads but my husband and I have dust mite allergies so I often wash our blankets and allergy casings, and my husband insists on washing the sheets in really hot water; apparently the blankets were hard on the front loader.  So I really appreciate the reviews from others here on Speed Queens, because although we just got ours (from a local appliance store) it seems great.  And by the way, I am thinking there may be a genuine conceptual issue with front loaders in that when they spin, they're spinning at a 90 degree angle to gravity--unlike any of the centrifuges I have seen in biology labs where I have worked (all of which are aligned like top-loading washers)--so if you can envision the force vectors of gravity and the washer you can probably realize that a load even a little bit out of balance could work some mischief on the internal workings of the washer.  Kind of like, imagine spinning around on an old-style playground merry-go-round versus doing somersaults over a waist-high metal bar on a playground--with your body basically representing a possibly unbalanced load of laundry. ;)  Maybe mine more than some others, but still....  So IMO front-loaders seem pre-destined to fail more quickly even though I was very interested in doing laundry with less water, but I don't want to have to buy a new washer every 3-5 years because they are NOT cheap.  Anyway, people considering a Speed Queen should also read the reviews for the top-line Speed Queen with '92' in the product number here because some of those are actually for this '82' washer and except for the pre-programmed cycles on the control panel are basically the same although I could have gone either way.  I've uploaded a photo of the '82' control panel so you can see the choices.