appliance ages, repairing vs replacing

[mistysue]

How long can a washer and dryer live if you do repairs instead of just replacing them each time something goes wrong?

Last weekend I found our washing machine still full of water and clothes from that morning. It won't spin or drain. I've never bought a washer and dryer so I started looking around at stores and every where I go the sales people give me a range around 8-10 years of expected life span for a washing machine. Then I randomly find people who say to fix appliances rather than replace and it seems they all have stories of the 35 year old machine. The girl helping me at Sears, after talking about all the ones her friends and family love, when I asked her what she used admitted that she has a 32 year old machine. My parents have one from the 80's and mine was put in back in '93 when my house was built.

So I know that the expected life if you ask a sales person is fairly short, but has anybody had things happen that really couldn't be repaired so you actually needed a new one rather than just wanting to replace it already? It is a $75 fee to have a guy come out and I'm wondering if I have a 20 year machine is it realistic to think that I can have a $75 repair and use it a few more years, or is it likely that they will come out, charge me $75 and I still need to buy a new one? I had a furnace guy tell me 8 years ago my furnace was 100% certainly on it's last year... and it's still going. It makes me a bit skeptical of anybody trying to sell me a major appliance. The newer ones are more exciting looking, but this thing lives in a closet and does everything I need. Should I be optimistic?

 

[LadyBeBop]

I don't know the answer. However, you're admitting you have a 20 year old washer? To me, that's old.

I don't think they make appliances as good as they used to. We just replaced our washer after nine years. As well as our refrigerator and our furnace/air conditioner. All went out in a matter of weeks. We had repairmen come out to look at them; they all said we needed new appliances. It was a very expensive summer.

I've never seen a washer go beyond about 15 years. It seems like your washer is on borrowed time. But I don't know how well you took care of it, whether it would be a minor or a major fix (sounds like the problem we had with our washer).

I'd probably start looking at the pre-Christmas sale ads on washers in your newspaper. But that's my opinion. Good luck.

 

[Gigi22]

If your washer is about 20 years old, it really doesn't owe you anything. That said, do you by any chance have any babies or toddlers in your household? I ask because the one time I had my washing machine repaired, it had a baby bootie stuck in it; the repairman told me that was a common cause of repairs. I was lucky, I had a Maytag and the repairman was able to pop off a panel and get the baby bootie out without difficulty.

 

[MaleficentRN]

I agree that they don't make things like they used to. There was an old washer in my house when I moved in.The 17 years since, we had it repaired twice (for things like needing a belt or a new timer) until the third and last time I decided to let it go and get a new one. That was 17 plus years.
The refrigerator was also here when I moved in and that lasted another 15 years. This new one, I have already had someone out to look at it an again it's making noise!
Is this the first time it's broken? Can you afford to get a new one right now? If it's really 20+ years old. I think it's time to move on.Do a little online research and see if you can find a reliable model in your price range.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

About 4 years ago my old reliable washer (a hand-me-down from 1985) starting giving me trouble so I bought a new one. The delivery man said, "you'll never get the life out of this new one you did from the old one." Boy was he right. I just had to replace that (to me) practically new one a couple of months ago. The computer on the motor went out and it would have been $300 to fix it. I went ahead and bought a floor model from Sears on a good sale plus a rebate for $500 ($1000 washer ).

 

[tvguy]

I think how you use them makes a difference. I just PAID to have my mom's 30 year old washer and dryer hauled away because the used appliance store didn't want them. They worked perfectly, but got light use.

We just bought a new LG washer and dryer and parts of them are under the basic warranty for 10 years. But EVERYTHING these days has become disposable. Partly because the manufacturers want it that way, but consumers are to blame too because we want new new new. Good lord, the big push in cell phones now is you no longer have to wait 2 years to get a new phone. I had my first cell phone 14 years and only replaced it because they were phasing out analog.

 

[Kellydelly]

Google the issue you are having with your machine, and there will be tons of videos or discussion board posts about what is possibly wrong with it. My machine does the same thing, and my husband put tape around the thing that initiates the spin when you close the lid (the tab like thing sticking down). I also make sure I thump on that side of the lid after I close it to try and make sure the thing will go through the whole cycle. Cheaper than buying a new one. Ours is 16 yrs old and dh has probably repaired two or three things on it through the years. You may be having the same problem I have. Does it totally not work at all or is it intermittent?

 

[supersnoop]

Not draining could just be the pump. Not spinning could be the transmission or a simple bearing. A pump for mine was $70, and the bearing kit was $28. A transmission would have been $300 (so not worth it) but I discovered that my washer had a 10 year warranty on the transmission.

 

[DisneyMaam]

My washer and dryer are over 15 years old. When I had a repairman out several years ago, he told me to have them repaired as long as I could. The new ones with the 'green' attributes, don't use enough water and clothes don't last nearly as long (he works for a small independent appliance shop that sells as well as repairs).

 

[mistysue]

My first response was to google it, then my dad and I played around a bit but didnt want to actually open the thing up. I know it isnt the little button in the hole issue. I've never had the washer fixed before but my concern is that I will replace an older model and go to something made to be disposable. I can replace it if I need to just dont feel like it... not looking for ways to spend money.

If that seems old to others I wont feel like im being tricked if he cant fix it. I told my dad I think I need a new one and he acted like I was crazy. His current washer is the one my sister said was broken years ago when she wanted a new one.

 

[Kellydelly]

If this happened a week ago, what have you been doing all this time with no washer? How did you get it to drain? Is your husband handy? I am lucky that mine is. When our washer stopped agitating he found out what the problem was (a gear had a broken tooth) he only had to spend $8 for a new part to fix it .

 

[FINFAN]

Sorry to hear about your machine breaking, but 20 is really great! Years ago that would be the expected norm but nowadays I believe 10-12 is the sad average life of appliances. Our washer just crapped out the week before Thanksgiving. We had replaced belts on it in the past, it was a Maytag, only 12 years old. Our rule of thumb is if the repair costs more than 1/2 the value of the machine (expected time left in it) to replace it. It hurts. We should have gotten at least another 5 years out of that washer We replaced it with a Speed Queen this time. Made in the U.S.A. Top loader, no bells and whistles, just really clean clothes done quietly and quickly Our garage door opener broke 2 weeks prior to the washing machine....DH got a new one of those for Christmas and I was gifted the washer Not exactly what we had planned for each other but it had to be done.

ETA: to answer your question, I would think you can keep trying to fix a n appliance as many times as you'd like to keep it running, We were flooded back in 2001 when our first Maytag relay switch went out. I am skittish now on doing constant repairs on certain appliances. That said, our oven/range is 21 years old , as is our furnace...so yeah, those will be getting replaced soon.

 

[powellrj]

I use to replace things. Now I have been buying used. It seemed when I replaced with new ones, they were giving me problems just a few years after buying them. Our last water heater lasted over 25 years and we have really hard water. We have already had our new one repaired after less than 2 years.

 

[Swimalie]

20 years for an appliance is great. One thing to consider is that newer machines will probably have better energy efficiency so keep that in mind when you consider buying vs repairing. My dryer died and it was 13 years old. I bought a new one for about $600 that saves me a bunch since it has a built-in sensor to turn itself off. Instead of me guessing how long to go, it knows and saves time running.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Sounds like the transmission. I had my washer for 22 years before replacing. Not to mention a machine that is older also uses a lot more energy so buying a new one will save you some electric.
My water bill also went down by 1/2 when I got my new front load washer which drop my water bill by $13 a month. I used less detergent. So factor the money saved on water, soap and electric I would guess that maybe my monthly saving is $17 a month. times 12 months that is $204 a year and I have had it for 5 years that equals $1020 in savings. Which is just a little more than I paid for the washer!

Oh not to mention my washer spins the clothes so much drier that my drying time has been cut by 15 to 20 minutes a load so there is another cost saving factor on my gas dryer.

 

[laughinplace199]

Our first washer lasted for 18 years. Like the OP, I didn't want to spend at least $75 to be told that I needed to buy a new one. I just figured it was time and bit the bullet.

When the plumber came to install the new washer & dryer, he said to expect about 7 years from the new appliances.

They just don't make things the way they used to.

 

[teller80]

We had the same problem this summer with our washer, I googled it and the most common problem for that machine was a lid switch - you know like if when you lift the lid when it's spinning it stops? So I replaced it ($10), it worked for a few more months but it happened again. I don't know if the switch broke again or not, we went ahead and replaced the machine.

I got it at Home Depot for $399. I used Shop Discover and ordered it online so I saved another 15%, then First Energy has a rebate for buying energy efficient appliances for another $50. Then I sold my old one on Craigslist for $25. So $285! Woot.

 

[dcfromva]

We had a pump go bad recently on a Whirlpool duet HE front loader--that was all that was wrong with it, but it wouldn't spin (or drain) or do anything with the pump not working. (I can't remember the error code, but there was an error code displayed).
We repaired it even though the machine was 13 years old.

 

[mrodgers]

How long before replacing? As long as the repairs are reasonable.

And I'm sorry, but if you have a husband, it is of my opinion that there is no excuse for any male not to be able to do any repair himself with the internet these days. I would call out the girls too, all it takes is a screwdriver and pulling the bad part and reinstalling the new part. It's not rocket science. With the internet, you could go out in the garage and tear down your car into individual pieces and put it back together.

My washing machine showed the same symptoms, wouldn't spin or drain. It had an error code, I don't remember what it was. I took the bottom front panel off (4 screws, again, not rocket science) and the drain is right in front with the pump. I was taking the pump off when I found a pencil in the drain among a lot of other stuff. You'd be surprised at the size of things that can get past the seals (ours is a front loader.) I cleaned out the drain, put it back together (again, nothing more than a few screws and some wire pugs for the pump) and it worked again.

Now the previous washer, the brace inside the drum at the bearing broke. Couldn't just replace the brace or bearing, all that was available was the whole stainless steel drum assembly for $450 (part only.) Yea, at that cost we just bought a whole new one for $500.

You'd be surprised at how much you can save by just doing it yourself with just the tiniest bit of thought. The $300 pump repair mentioned in an earlier post, that was probably a $30 part and $270 in labor. Two minutes with Google and half an hour with a screw driver and that repair would have saved $270.

 

[mistysue]

If this happened a week ago, what have you been doing all this time with no washer? How did you get it to drain? Is your husband handy? I am lucky that mine is. When our washer stopped agitating he found out what the problem was (a gear had a broken tooth) he only had to spend $8 for a new part to fix it .

DH is about as un-handy as they get. I emptied it with bucket and a bilge pump... Not sure if that's really what it is called- grew up boating and it is a hand pump that sends the water up a tube. My parents are a mile away so I've gone over every couple days with a huge bag. They dont seem to mind because my kids want to visit them nearly every day anyways. I wish somebody in my family did mechanical work, we have a bunch of painters, computer techs and carpenters but nobody who works with gears and electricity.