Online Appliance Parts

The lower element in our Whirlpool range just went out. The manufacturer's part number is 380180.

Is there a big disparity in pricing for the same units (same quality), or are there good parts and crap parts?

For example, compare

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with
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Why would I want to buy the more expensive part?

Residential grade burglar alarm equipment is sold to the consumer at an extremely high markup. Is the same true with appliance parts? It seems to be an extremely competitive business.

Reply to
mcp6453
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One is OEM & the other is Gemline (aftermarket).

MikeB

Reply to
bq340

Is OEM noticeably better or worse than Gemline?

Reply to
mcp6453

It could be either, or one could be as good as the other.

Reply to
willshak

rt?

Check out repairclinic.com, too. Many of the parts I have bought there are OEM.

Joe

Reply to
Joe

Check out repairclinic.com, too. Many of the parts I have bought there are OEM.

Joe

They may be marked as OEM, but generally you don't know who actually made it. I would wager the Whirlpool does not make the heating elements and buys them from a supplier of these units.

Charlie

Reply to
Charlie

They are WAY more expensive. Again, why would anyone want to pay that price?

Reply to
mcp6453

Repairclinic has good service, it's where I buy most of my appliance parts.

Hard to say whether OEM or aftermarket are better, depends on the part. Often times OEM means that the same company made it as made the original part for the manufacture of the appliance, it isn't necessarily sold under that manufacture.

Reply to
James Sweet

Duh silly. Didnt you see? The 2nd link is from "Pros". Just like it says in their name. Its just gotta be better. :-) NOT !!! Do you think that if you went to 2 different car dealers and asked them both for the same EXACT car, you would get them for the same exact price? Why would parts dealers or service companies or doctors or restaurants or lawnmowers or eggs be any different??? Bubba

Reply to
Bubba

How old is this range?

Of course, some parts are better in quality than others. Buying online makes it difficult to examine, so it makes more sense to buy from your local stores.

More expensive may mean higher profit for the seller, a higher quality item, or perhaps a company that is not too cost effective. You need to determine which one.

Appliance parts can be expensive. When an appliance breaks down, you need to consider the cost of replacing the appliance and its age. Things don't last like in the past.

Reply to
Phisherman

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Just in the FWIW dept- the last parts I ordered were from appliancepartspros.com. I usually order from repairclinic.com. This time they didn't have one of the 2 parts I needed. The other $20ish part was the same price in both places.

As to the original question- 'Who knows' - sometimes OEM is better- sometimes no difference.

Repairclinic.com guarantees all their parts [for a year?]. I had an igniter go bad after a few months and they sent me new one. Still good 7 years later.

Here's the thread;

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Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

It's hard to tell without comparing the parts side by side and actually knowing how to identify "quality" in a part. FWIW, some years ago I started buying here...

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and have had good service and no problems with the parts themselves and have never had to repeat the repair. YMMV

Reply to
NickySantoro

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