I’ve had so much luck with used appliances, the trick is to go to appliance shops that are able to do repairs.
We’ve gotten two different sets from two different used appliance stores. The first set lasted about 9 years and survived several moves. When they finally died we found another (refurbished) matching set, $400 at a used appliance store, they even took our old set away (which I’m sure and hope they refurb’d and sold again). We used them for about 4 months, when the washer suddenly stopped working. We called the place we got it from and they actually came out and repaired it for free due to a 6 month warranty we didn’t even know about, they were super apologetic. It was a pretty positive experience.
We’ve been pretty lucky I guess. You might have to shop around a bit but you can definitely save a ton of money if you’re willing to forgo bells and whistles.
I’m just happy if a nominee deigns to look at a lowely peasant like me.