I bought this only 2 months back, since I was told that my TVS Whirlpool top loading machine was beyond repair. I had always wanted to buy a front loading machine because it uses much less water thereby economizing the consumption of detergent, and electricity, as less power would be required to heat up a smaller quantity of water.
When the technician came for demonstration he told me that I had to mix 200 gm of Protecta, a powder marketed by IFB, with 1kg of detergent, to prevent limescale and protect the machine. The price of this powder is Rs.100. Once every 2 months the machine has to be run empty with another powder- an appliance descaler, also marketed by IFB, costing Rs.135. These are not readily available in the market and you have to ring up IFB for having them home delivered. Though you can save on detergents you still have to incur these additional expenses.
And the machine takes almost twice as much time as a top-loading one.
I must say that the wash quality is much better than that of a top loading one. The water plus facility allows you to increase or decrease the water usage according to the wash load. So far I am quite satisfied with my machine and am reconciled to the fact that a little more maintenance is required for this machine.