Don't they make all these machines with "built in obsolescence" nowadays, a repair man told me that years ago (actually that was about our fridge which was almost 10 years old then and is now the best part of 20 years old

). He reckoned they were all meant to give up the ghost after about 10 years which sounds about right for your washer, WM. Manufacturers do not want you to repair and keep using, they want you to buy a new machine, so they make the parts extremely expensive (if you can even get them). For that money you should definitely be able to get a cheap and cheerful washing machine I would have thought.