At this point, I'd be glad to pay double for a washer, dryer, refrigerator, or microwave that lasted more than 7 years. But no matter the gamut of models available at Sears or Lowes, they're all made by the same few manufacturers, and they're all crap. The only option is to pay TEN times as much for commercial-grade units.
Supposedly Miele's white goods are better than most other brands. They're on average 3-5x times more expensive, so they have plenty of margins to make durable products.
And I'm considering it.