As is my nature, I did some info gathering before buying this front loader from LG.
Since I own an LG fridge and TV for the past one year, I kind of had a good feel for their quality and customer service. Which are the points in favor of LG I started with. I did some debate over top-loaders and front-loaders, and settled in favor of the latter, mainly for the wash-quality. Also, if you notice top loaders are being phased-out, much as the days of semi-automatic are nearly over.
Hence, with an eye in the future (u need to think of continued spare part availability for the next 5-6 year or so), I went in for the front loader.
Now, comes where to buy it from.
I went down to the Pai next to my place. Good customer service, took time to explain all the features, did a compare and contrast between brands. And, not a surprise when he tried to push the IFB.
Ok, so I went back and did some more reading on the net. Ofcourse read the reviews here. Saw many people unhappy with the after sales service of Whirlpool.
Next, I went to CMH road Pai (cos one of my friends was buying something there). And was pleasantly surprised to see a LG brand shop right across the street. After gathering the price from Pai, intial quote 21.5K which he came down to 19.9K, I went to the LG shop, and he promptly gave it to me for 19K flat.
The delivery was next day, Sat, as promised. The demo guy stopped by in the evening, gave me a detailed demo, took time to answer my questions (and believe me, I have many). And the thing that impressed me the most was, he did not try to sell me the extended service plan, or some such money grab scheme.
I have been using this m/c for the last 3 weeks.
Wash quality is good
Dont really know its water or elec usage
Clothes have not been mishandled so far
Does vibrate a lot during rinse, especially with strong loads such as bedsheets.
The memory function works like promised (with elec cuts every day, I think this is a good feature)
No leaks so far
So, I hope this info is good enough for you. Hopefully if you have been sitting on the fence, this might sway you towards LG. Also, strongly feel you shud buy it from the brand shop, saves you the haggle.
Dont know long term performance, but going by the brand, shud be good.