Yes, life is about compromise, but some things are necessary to discuss and some are simply not important.
And I think maybe I was not clear about the washing machine and clothes dryer. The problem in her mind was that they were not a combination machine, which she was used to having in Ukraine and not separate machines. It is very uncommon to find a combination machine in the US that both washes and dries and it is most definitely less efficient.
But my point was about the perception of what was a good machine. I could have bought top of the line new machines and she still originally thought that the combination machine was better.