Are washing machine bearings & seals easy to find generic replacements for?

[AVR2]

We have a 10-year-old Bosch washing machine that has been very reliable, only needing replacement brushes about two years ago. I'm thinking about the bearings being the next thing to fail, and E-Spares have complete kits with the shaft seals for our model number machine for £84.

How specialist are washing machine drum bearings and bearing seals? Is it worth buying the E-Spares kit now to sit on the shelf because I might have difficulty finding bearings and seals to fit in a few years? Or are the bearings, at least, pretty generic and I'd be able to find what I need by taking the old ones to our local specialist bearing supplier?

 

[blup]

IIRC Bosch keep spares for ten years from the end of the model’s production so there might be a bit of leeway. But ten years is a good life for any white goods and something else could go wrong.

 

[AVR2]

That's kind of an answer to a different question, though. Are washing machine bearings special and unobtanium once the manufacturer stops selling spares for a given model, or are they just ordinary bearings that can be matched to something appropriate at a bearing supply shop?

 

[Dereekoo]

Haven't done it for a few years but when I did I would get the bearings from local bearing supply shop, can't remember seals ever coming into it