I had been wanting to purchase a 6.5 kg LG 6 motion machine, but was also considering a Bosch initially, but changed my mind to consider a Siemens machine (since Bosch wasn't DD). I was so confused and coudn't gather the required information despite extensive research, and was about to give up, till I found this post a few days ago. And I'm really thankful to know that this could be the place that could alleviate my predicament.
blr_p, I have to say I'm really impressed with your knowledge about all that you've mentioned in the posts above, and hope you could assist me too.
I was slightly tempted towards the Siemens, because of German technology, but sadly, I have, till now, heard only horror stories from many disgruntled customers about Siemens' pathetic after-sales service. The customer service personnel at Siemens never answer the phone initially, and one has to try several times to get them to answer the phone. Once connected, they say they would send an engineer on a particular day, and the person, invariably, doesn't show up. Apart from that, the spare parts are not easily available, and have to be imported (time taken would be around 15 days), and are very expensive, probably because they are imported from Germany and there is that dreaded currency conversion from Euros to INR. In addition, there almost always seems to be a problem of drum breakage for most customers, before or just about when the warranty period expires. I also read that Siemens reported multiple drum breakages / breakdowns for machines, about a year or two ago. When I enquired about this with the sales representative displaying the machine in their showroom, he said that it was because of problems due to improper transporting, which I find hard to believe. Even the service engineers charge a bomb, for just a diagnosis, without confirmation whether they can solve the problem (the amount charged by Siemens is about 2-3 times more than what LG charges, apparently). The parts are imported from Germany, and are therefore expensive. Are the service engineers imported from Germany too??
I had heard that LG machines too were suffering from load sensing and support breakage problems about a year or so ago. But I didn't seem to notice too many problems with LG's customer service.
This made me tilt towards the LG a bit, But regarding 6 motion technology, it is a pity that nobody knows about the technology comprehensively. After some research, I found that 6 motion is applicable only to one particular wash (as also mentioned by blr_p above), and also would come into action only after atleast an hour or two. But the supposedly "educated" sales representatives say this is not so, and that as soon as the machine starts to wash, one can see all the different motions. When enquired about how it was applicable to one type of wash cycle only, they have no idea about it, or maybe they feign ignorance. You would think LG would have provided some information related to this on their website, or educated their dealers, distributors or service engineers, but...not a thing.
Now I can't decide between Siemens and LG. The only thing going in favour of Siemens is that they are German manufactured (though I think machines shipped here are from Thailand or some other place in Asia, and I don't know if they are comparable to those made in Germany), and they have a very robust and strong design and construction, and their electrical / electronic circuitry are very professional, designed to last long. The LG machines, on the other hand, supposedly have poor electrical / electronic circuitry and components, which are flimsy, unprofessionally designed, and therefore unreliable. Their PCB's supposedly conk out often.
Also, because the machine is DD (motor directly connected to the drum), if at all any problem occurs in that "connected" part, the entire drum has to be changed. Are all of the above true?
Also, if 6 motion technology applies to only one wash, could you specify how many other wash cycles are there, and are there atleast 3 or 4 motions associated with these wash cycles, if not all 6? If not, then the 6 motion would probably be just a marketing gimmick. Is it really better than hand wash, as LG would like us to believe?
Finally, the one last thing that still makes me want to consider Siemens is their new IQ drive machines. Are these similar to LG's DD motors, or better?
I must have visited LG's website endless times, in trying to decipher the 6 motion technology, and also gather other relevant information, hoping that they would have added "new" updated information about their existing products, but in vain. I have nothing personal against LG or Siemens, but I only wish that they would show some genuine concern for their customers - existing as well as prospective - in providing comprehensive information about their products, and satisfactory customer service, thereby assisting the customer to make an informed purchase. Maybe asking for the moon is easier.
I hope either blr_p or someone could enlighten me on all these topics. This is, without doubt, my last attempt to gather some information which, unfortunately, a prospective customer like me has to struggle to the ends of the earth, to find answers to.