Oct. 1, 2006. Well, the beast finally died. To its credit, it didn't go out quietly. No, this dastardly contraption had the gall to scare us to death before ultimately heaving its last breath. Beware, you unfortunates who bought this particular model. I fear your time is coming. We attempted to wash a load of clothes yesterday (which by sheer miracle the washer actually finished). At the last of it, the beast cut loose with a noise loud enough to raise the spirits in another universe. It sounded very similar to a large caliber firearm with a cold. We don't have any clue what it was. Frankly, we are too scared to investigate. We did what anyone would - after rising from their prone position on the floor - we went out and bought a reasonably priced washer. What did the salesman first try to sell us? Riiiiight... The good old "dependable" Maytag Neptune, even though his has had 2 seals replaced and a motor repaired (sound familiar?). Once we recovered from our laughing fits and threatened the salesman with bodily harm if he mentioned THAT word again (not really), we promptly gravitated to the throng of washers not labeled Maytag. So far we are very happy and NO, I still do not advise buying a Neptune. Not unless you are masochistic by nature.

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Sept. 12, 2006
To the Neptune Owner's Support Group: Weep no more. Thanks to my father's deductive reasoning skills and ingenuity, he discovered a way to pluck the thorn from the lion's paw, at least in our case and, I hope, yours as well. If you happen to own this particular machine, please take note:

1. Do not wash extra small loads of laundry. Make sure the machine is at least one-third full before starting your wash. Otherwise you risk setting off the following chain of highly unpleasant events: Your Neptune washer will get overbalanced, will shut down and refuse to drain. It will require you to wring every garment inside by hand and also require you to (with this model) unplug the machine to reset the electronics, plug it back in then set the machine to the last spin cycle, and start it with no clothes inside. Believe me, this experience is worth avoiding. You don't know how many times I had to restrain the urge to dropkick that Neptune into the next county. The only thing stopping me - I'd not only have to call the Maytag repairman but also visit the emergency room to have my foot set in a cast.

2. Do unplug your Neptune washer after you're done with the day's laundry. In my case, this is probably why the beast still lives. This was my father's idea because he said it will save the electronics from frying in case of electrical surges or lightning. Plus, it saves wear and tear on the electronics anyway - something we dare not challenge with this particular fragile contraption.

The two preceding hints have managed to save many headaches in my house. I'm positive it's saved quite a few colorful outbursts that would've struck any innocent bystander with lockjaw.

Below is my original review:

Maytag should have called this thing the Corvair (no offense to anyone who owns a working Corvair). I’m truly envious of anyone who complains about the Neptune’s noisy spin cycle. Why? Because I don’t even have a spin cycle anymore. This is the second time it’s happened and we haven’t had the machine two years. Let me explain. My husband and I don’t wash every day or every week. We wash every two weeks because that’s the way life is around here. We don’t wash abnormal things like tree branches or bags of sand and there’s been no forgotten handkerchiefs or money or giant balls of yarn left in our pockets. Nothing to monkey up the works. My point being this machine does not have a hard life.

We bought the Neptune after trying an industrial model at a laundromat. It was an impressive sight and it used less water to clean the clothes. Consumer Reports even gives Neptune an excellent rating so how could we go wrong? We actually bought it.

The day it was delivered, it already had a problem. We demanded he replace the unit with another but he refused, quoting, “Maytag doesn’t ‘replace’, it ‘repairs’.” Already we didn’t have a good feeling. Maytag gives you a video to watch when you buy a Neptune (or they did when we got ours) and we watched it like good little children because they make it look like you need a doctorate to run the machine. You don’t, of course. We washed our clothes, careful to adhere to the rules and regulations of manual and video and we still had these problems:

1. The Day of Delivery – Machine was delivered from the warehouse with a bad motor. The motor had a bent shaft. Maytag delivery/repairman refused to replace the unit (citing corporate policy) but replaced the motor instead. If that really is corporate policy then Maytag has more problems than just Neptune, but who am I to judge? I only bought their Corvair.

2. 10 Months after purchase – Machine wouldn’t spin or dump water. We called the repairman and he replaced the water pump.

3. 14 Months after purchase (now) – Machine won’t spin water out again.

After searching the internet, I’ve found numerous complaints similar to ours and even other complaints as the bleach dispenser malfunctioning and bleaching an entire load of colored clothes. There were reports of Neptunes doing the Charleston into the middle of the floor - the Neptune is suppose to balance itself but prefers to overbalance at times. There were many other complaints of Neptunes kicking the bucket to Appliance Heaven only to be revived by the “never busy” ??? Maytag repairman. (Notice how those old commercials with the repairman and dog aren’t shown anymore? I think I know why…)

Lowes Home Improvement stores sell Neptunes but after searching the internet, I found that though they sell Neptune, they discourage people from buying them. Now I’m only quoting what I’ve found – that doesn’t mean every single Lowes discourages it. I, however, encourage anyone considering a Neptune please, please, do a search on the internet first. It will be beneficial no matter what your decision is.

I highly dislike writing a bad opinion about anything but this is one I have to write. In our lives, we both have had wonderful experience with Maytag. My parents had a washer that lasted over 17 years. That’s another reason why we chose Maytag – their previous history. But as for their Neptune washers, I wouldn’t recommend them for use as a fishbowl because the seal would probably leak and there go the fish. Probably an outdoor planter, if a person is so inclined which I am not. For the price they have on these machines, they should last longer without so many problems, especially expensive problems. The motor itself costs several hundred dollars.

I end this opinion with a hunch. In years to come, there will be a support group for Neptune owners, tired of calling repairmen and just wanting a shoulder to cry on.

Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 1,019