To repair(appliances) or not to repair.

So, I always like getting opinions...

I have a Maytag washer that is about 10 years old and I've never had a single issue with it, has run like a champ since day one and seen a lot of use until recently it would stop draining water.

I checked the pump it was fine, tested all the sensors and they are fine. Turns out to be a bad control board, these washers are notorious for having bad boards from what I've read. Replacement board runs $250ish new and 80-100 used from what I have seen. The boards are potted making repair difficult or impossible.

I asked a few repair guys and most recommend that I don't dump any money into the machine. That struck me as odd that people would turn away my business on repairs and said they honestly just don't recommend fixing a machine so old. They all said chances are the board will fix the issue but soon after other major things will start to fail and cost even more to fix. I guess its super common for bearings to go on these types of machines and they are an expensive fix.

Being someone who likes to fix rather than throw away I am really torn on trying to repair or just scrapping it. It is amazing that these new appliances are so cost ineffective to repair that people are turning away my business. Makes me want to buy a cheap old machine that has no on board computer and just swap in a new quality motor and drain pump...

Buy a used board, start socking away money on a new one that you want

I bought a used machine(40 bucks) to hold me over until I decide what to do. I don't mind buying a new machine but I am having a hard time deciding to throw away one that cost a grand and can be repaired ha.

Something else to think about, I heard that all the new ones are "efficient" to use less water, means they suck ass for cleaning. You should ask your repair guys

iwannadie said:

Being someone who likes to fix rather than throw away I am really torn on trying to repair or just scrapping it. It is amazing that these new appliances are so cost ineffective to repair that people are turning away my business. Makes me want to buy a cheap old machine that has no on board computer and just swap in a new quality motor and drain pump...

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There is your answer.

Start trolling Craigslist for a Speed Queen. You can find them that were not Laundromat machines (have to feed it quarters every time you do your own laundry) and those things are built to last and are very repairable.

You've got to fix that ($ 1000.00 ) machine.You know you do.It's a "Maytag".There's another decade left in it at least.If it does break again,cross that bridge later.

ehall said:

Something else to think about, I heard that all the new ones are "efficient" to use less water, means they suck ass for cleaning. You should ask your repair guys

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This is the best advice. Repair it.

Anak said:

There is your answer.

Start trolling Craigslist for a Speed Queen. You can find them that were not Laundromat machines (have to feed it quarters every time you do your own laundry) and those things are built to last and are very repairable.

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mmm yes I have one that I got when a local laundromat went out of business. I kept the quarter machine on it and it makes me save money when I wash. Whenever I need detergent or fabric softener, I just pull the quarters out!

We just had to put in a new board in our Whirlpool Cabrio. The first repair guy suggested we replace the board. We had a second guy that did the work and he told me that he would have suggested we get a new machine. He said the lifespan of the machine is 8-12 years and we've got over 7 on it. The day that the washer was fixed the bearing went out. We paid just over $300 for the first repair and will be in about $230 for the bearing repair. However, for less than $550 we've replaced every part on the washer and it should be brand new - less the outer shell which is not consequential anyway.

Because the first repair guy fouled up the board repair (ordered the wrong part) and it took almost 10 days to get the washer back up and running, the repair company gave us a discount on the bearing unit. Regularly it would have been about $450. They gave us 50% off.

Had both repairs totaled over $700 it would have probably been better to replace the unit, but since my wife has her eye on a $1400 washer (what?!?) this was definitely the better option for us.

Cottontail said:

We just had to put in a new board in our Whirlpool Cabrio. The first repair guy suggested we replace the board. We had a second guy that did the work and he told me that he would have suggested we get a new machine. He said the lifespan of the machine is 8-12 years and we've got over 7 on it. The day that the washer was fixed the bearing went out. We paid just over $300 for the first repair and will be in about $230 for the bearing repair. However, for less than $550 we've replaced every part on the washer and it should be brand new - less the outer shell which is not consequential anyway.

Because the first repair guy fouled up the board repair (ordered the wrong part) and it took almost 10 days to get the washer back up and running, the repair company gave us a discount on the bearing unit. Regularly it would have been about $450. They gave us 50% off.

Had both repairs totaled over $700 it would have probably been better to replace the unit, but since my wife has her eye on a $1400 washer (what?!?) this was definitely the better option for us.

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Reading this makes me glad I didn't jump in and repair it. There's still a lot of wear and tear items inside the machine that are getting up there in age. The pump, bearing, board, shocks(price the shocks out on a front loader ugh), belt and tensioner, etc.

If I spent 500 to fix 2 things leaving the others suspect I'd not be happy and rather double down for a whole new machine.

For now though the old maytag that I picked up used has been trucking along just fine. I might be done with front loading machines, too much that can go wrong in the long run.

I'm in the same boat. My 10 year old front loading Frigidaire washer's bearing is going bad. It's going to be $350 to fix it because you have to replace the outer drum with it. Being that it's a smaller unit, and that it's 10 years old I've pretty much make up my mind to replace it. What I am on the fence about is my dryer. It too is 10 years old, and showing its age. I just dumped $50 into it on a maintenance kit that included a new belt, idler pulley, rear support bearing, front upper, and lower felts. My biggest delema is I stack my units so I'm probably going to have to replace the dryer so I can continue to stack them. What pisses me off is dryers are way over priced for what they are, and Ive noticed that the back portion of the drum is no longer one piece to the rest of the drum creating one more wear point to eat cloths as it ages.

Not necessarily true about the drum. Our whirlpool, they were able to just replace the bearing and they reused our outer drum.

scoobyxj said:

I'm in the same boat. My 10 year old front loading Frigidaire washer's bearing is going bad. It's going to be $350 to fix it because you have to replace the outer drum with it. Being that it's a smaller unit, and that it's 10 years old I've pretty much make up my mind to replace it. What I am on the fence about is my dryer. It too is 10 years old, and showing its age. I just dumped $50 into it on a maintenance kit that included a new belt, idler pulley, rear support bearing, front upper, and lower felts. My biggest delema is I stack my units so I'm probably going to have to replace the dryer so I can continue to stack them. What pisses me off is dryers are way over priced for what they are, and Ive noticed that the back portion of the drum is no longer one piece to the rest of the drum creating one more wear point to eat cloths as it ages.

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I had the drum in my Maytag dryer crack(thread on here about it ha) a while back. It was just a poor design, they had a poorly welded seem that split apart. All the weight of the drum(with clothes) was hitting that weak spot and eventually too much. Tried a few repairs and nothing held, had to get a new drum which was not cheap but at least came with new felt!

I usually do the repairs myself after buying all the parts online. It's amazing how much cheaper they are, most of the time I find the best prices on ereplacementparts.com or (for small equipment stuff) jackssmallengines. There are half a million dealers online for small engine and home appliance parts once you have a part number to search for, which is the best thing to use ereplacementparts for even if they don't have the best price or have the part in stock.

Sometimes the manufacturers have their stuff online too. For instance I can order almost any part I need for my campbell hausfeld air compressor off their site directly, or I can enter the part numbers in ereplacementparts, ebay, sears, or most other similar online resellers and find what I need.

kastein said:

I usually do the repairs myself after buying all the parts online. It's amazing how much cheaper they are, most of the time I find the best prices on ereplacementparts.com or (for small equipment stuff) jackssmallengines. There are half a million dealers online for small engine and home appliance parts once you have a part number to search for, which is the best thing to use ereplacementparts for even if they don't have the best price or have the part in stock.

Sometimes the manufacturers have their stuff online too. For instance I can order almost any part I need for my campbell hausfeld air compressor off their site directly, or I can enter the part numbers in ereplacementparts, ebay, sears, or most other similar online resellers and find what I need.

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That is pretty much how I am too. Only when it came to this washer the part (main board) was still 250 bucks. Even buying parts online from the cheapest sources still put the price of repair really high, I think.