Dryer is Fixed

[help!]

I figured that you'd all be sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear what was wrong with "my dryer". A very nice man came out; he even had clean clothes and a nice truck. I always peek out the window, making sure that Jack the Ripper isn't going to be ringing the doorbell. You know, someone posted yesterday about not having to like the guy....From my frame of reference; yeah, I do want a person with somewhat of a personality (no, they don't have to be a comedian, although that would help as I'm writing a him a check for 400.00 dollars or good looking) but seriously, I"m giving you my input, as a woman and a person who values a kind, caring and competent and reliable professional. It's a package. In my profession, being personable is as important as being good at what I do. Being clean, not wearing muddy shoes through my carpet and cleaning up your mess is even nicer. No one asked, so sorry for sticking in my two cents.

Okay....he replaced the rear bearing and shaft kit and is returing next week to repair/replace? two front glides. $228.69 Did I get ripped off? If not, (I'll rely on you experts), I will pay him to install a new garbage disposal next week when he comes back to do the glides. He told me what kind to buy (to upgrade the peice of crap that the builder "spared no expense" on) and said he charges $125 to install and about

50 more if he has to play around with new pipes for it. He suggested that I get a 1/2 horsepower; either a Kitchen Aid or Insinkerator (sp?)

Thanks in advance...you're a fun bunch :-) And my dryer is so quiet that I'm afraid that it's not going to really work!

[Doug Kanter]

Did he wipe his feet?

My first house came with an ancient GE dryer that needed a belt and a bearing kit. I installed them, and it's still running 20 years later. You could've gotten a new dryer for around $400, or more if you wanted digital with speakers and other doo-dads. But still, $228's not bad, and it'll probably last a long time. Plus, you met someone who can do other stuff.

Insinkerator disposals have always been OK for me. I have no experience with KitchenAid.

[help!]

I didn't look to see if he did or not, but at least his shoes weren't muddy.

I know, I've been pricing them; watching the ads that keep coming weekly. Here's how my brain works. I'd have to go to the store, pick a brand, model and a good price, pay for it and figure out when to have it delivered. Sit around and wait for them to show up and switch dryers and mess up my house (the W and D are upstairs). Time is money. Then I'd think....I should just get a new washer too, so that they're both new. Then I thought, hopefully we'll sell our house in a few years and we'll sell the washer and dryer with the house and buy new ones whenever we move.

But still, $228's not bad, and it'll

That's the part I like. And I think he's just a one person operation and I support the small guys instead of the large corporation BS.

I'll check this Sunday's ads at Home Depot and Lowes for an inexpensive disposal. Then I can finally remove the plastic trash can that fills up with water weekly from the borken disposal. Yep, my husband doesn't even notice water under the sink :-) He thinks it's a trash can.

[Bob]

For all the work he did, you probably didn't get ripped off. Remember, "Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten."

[Bob]

Home Depot or Lowes is probably where your builder got the garbage disposal.

guy....From

[Doug Kanter]

Buy larger. There's simply no reason not to. And, I've found a few big-ticket items that were actually cheaper at independent appliance stores and kitchen & bath design places. Moen faucet, for instance. Got it $20 cheaper than HD, special ordered, from a ritzy snazzy kitchen place. Quite a surprise. Do your research online first, get model numbers, get on the phone and say "I'd rather buy this from you blah blah blah...."

[George E. Cawthon]

No you didn't get ripped off, but you made a bad decision if the $400 check is just for the dryer fix. You could buy a new dryer for that amount.

Yes, you will get ripped off if he installs a new garbage disposal for the costs you mentioned. Insinkerator is ok but why buy a fancy one, even the cheapest will last 10 years, so don't pay more than $70 no matter what. Replacing the garbage disposal shouldn't take more than 1/2 hour if he has any experience and you clean out under the sink first. Play around with new pipe? He shouldn't have to change any drain pipes and if he does it wouldn't cost him more than $5 for parts and take more than 10 minutes. The only other thing that possibly hooks to the garbage disposal is the hose from the dishwasher and just requires a boot and a small clamp.

[help!]

IT cost 228.00 I made up the price of 400 hypothetically.

Maybe I'll try to do it myself.

[Doug Kanter]

In all fairness, there *are* repairs where you run into surprises, and things go terribly wrong.

[buffalobill]

if you like the experienced repairman because he returns your calls and shows up when he says he will and actually will do a third visit for additional work, he's easily worth $50-100 per hour plus parts plus hourly travel from when he leaves his house to when he gets back home in buffalo ny.

[George E. Cawthon]

Good idea if you have any natural mechanical skill. Bad if you don't. Get a book and ask the dealer/salesmen how to change it. It will take you a lot longer than the guy you would hire, but you will learn something and gain experience and confidence. One problem, the thing is heavy so you will need to build a platform up, wooden boxes, wood blocks, etc. so you won't have to wrestle with the weight or worry about dropping it.

[George E. Cawthon]

Sure there are, but apparently she was going to buy the unit and have the guy install it. So what if she gets in the middle, runs into a big problem, and decides to let the hired guy do it. If she works through any problems or has none, then great, saved money and gained experience. It's not like she actually needs to use the thing in the next hour or day or even a week.

[buffalobill]

[mm]

That is a good question. Is it spelled correctly if the hyphens are not there?

How much noise does the sun make?

Appliance repairman don't get too muddy. Especially if it's not raining.

I wouldn't care so much that they were both new, but they have to match. My girlfriend got a new washer and she didn't seem to care if it matched her dryer or not. What a philistine.

I live alone and don't use my appliances much, but the time will come when one will break seriously. Don't know what I'll do. And they're white. If one of the harvest gold appliances in the kitchen breaks it will be a real problem. I hear they don't sell those anymore. I'll probably have to buy something used. The dishwasher has 3 sheets of metal in the door, with 6 colors, so keeping it and matching other things won't be a problem.

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let me know if you have posted also.

[Keith]

Not ripped off, but at over half the price of a new unit I'd not repair the old.

The $125 isn't bad, since he has to come out. It's usually a straight-forward job, but you never know. I'd suggest looking at Sears. Their disposers are ISEs (InSinkErator) with the Kenmore badge. I found them a little cheaper than the ISEs at the BORG and even the mid-grade models came with the auto-reverse feature. The Sears mounted right to the ISE flange so I didn't even have to replace it and all the pipes were in the same place; piece of cake.

Throw some bolts in the drum. ;-)