Bosch Exxcel WTE 86304

Dire - avoid - owned for less than 18 months, pump broke twice, door fell off, other handle snapped off. Thought we were buying quality, but will NEVER buy Bosch again.

Have bought more heater elements for this than I would expect. Now on its 3rd. Do not buy this machine it lasts about a year then it needs a new heater element.

Don't know why there are so many negative reviews of the Bosch Exxcel WTE86304 tumble dryer. I find that as long as I put it on to Cupboard Dry, my clothes and laundry come out perfectly. The longer settings do make the clothes come out crinkled but that is because they have been over dried. I also find they come out crinkled if I leave them in the machine for a while after the cycle has finished. If you remove them immediately and fold, then a lot of the clothes don't even need ironing. Perfect for someone like me.

A reverse cycle would help with sheets I guess - they do ball up together on the longer cycles, but I am now used to stopping the machine to take the sheets out and shake them. It gets them dry much quicker and I'm sure with any future machines I will do exactly the same.

Something electrical inside my Bosch Exxcel WTE 86304 has gone ..it won't switch on...and I am in two minds whether to pay for a repair. It does an OK job on small items but sheets and towels ball up and do not dry in the tangle because there is no reverse action.

It was expensive, (I paid £315 on line in Nov 2006) seems unreliable and doesn't do the job. I chose this machine because I thought a Bosch would be robust but it has died after 26 months of light use...two months out of warranty.

I bought a Bosch Exxcel WTE 86304, believing that Bosch products were good. I have owned 2 Bosch dishwashers, both very good, but the first was accidently wrecked by me, and a Bosch drill (which still worked after I tripped over the lead and it dropped into a bucket of water - dried and cleaned with WD40 - pressed the trigger with a stick to avoid electrocution - then it exploded and is still working 20 years later). Sadly I was wrong about Bosch tumble driers..

Despite cleaning the filter and air cooler regularly, it decided to stop working and I'm waiting for the service engineer as I type.

I previously owned a Hoover, bog standard tumble drier for 15+ years which although getting a bit noisy in the bearings went to the scrappy still working.

Dont bother with the Bosch Exxcel WTE 86304. Complete waste of money. Find one with a reverse cycle or you may as well just scrunch up your clean clothes and wave a hair dryer at them for 40 mins or so as the effect is the same.

Sheets & towels ball up because there is no reverse tumbling on the Bosch Exxcel WTE 86304!

Very annoying having to pull all the hot steamy contents out, untangle & place back in the dryer. Also annoying not being able to leave it unattended as you have to keep checking to see if the sheets are just rolling over & over in the drum.

I phoned Bosch & they said take it up with my supplier, they didn't seem very interested.

Bosch's service personnel have been helpful. I'm sure the condenser drier has a design fault. It does not dry clothes. Towels and sheets ball up and the inside is not dry. Bosch have installed design modification called a cone which does not alleviate the problem. They will not admit to design fault, but if there isn't one, why design a modification?