Anybody here have any experience getting appliance repair (refrigerator, clothes washer/dryer, dishwasher) from either Lowe's or Home Depot. I will be in the market for a low-end top loading clothes washer such as this
in the next year, and I was wondering what happens if it ever needs service. I've never purchased an appliance from them.
Since it's a Maytag chances are it's not going to need any service. As a matter of fact it is very rare that any new appliance will need service for a very long time. Don't waste your money on a service contact...I am sure they will try to sell you one.
You are also wise to get a low-end unit...the fancy ones with tons of features you don't need are the ones more likely to have problems.
My Maytag washer has been working fine for 26 years and has needed no service whatever.
On Mon, 13 Jan 2014 08:45:41 -0600, philo wrote in
Our present unit is an 18 year old Maytag. It never needed service until about 4 years ago when the drive belts needed to be replaced. I _think_ the belts need replacing again. Not sure yet. If that is all it needs, then we won't be needing a replacement washer. I'm just doing preliminary research now in case we do need a replacement.
If it is the belts this time, I'd be wondering why the first set lasted 18 years but this set lasted only 4. Is it cheaper belts or is something else going bad that is wearing out the belts.
I disagree with this advice. In the past Maytag was a fantastic company, it has since been sold and it's products are no longer superior to any other.
Additionally, with the widespread adoption of digital controls and the elimination of mechanical, analog controls, appliance failures are far more common and far more expensive.
I would urge you to buy the simplest appliance you can possibly find, one with mechanical controls if possible. Always purchase the appliance using a credit card that doubles the manufacturers warranty (most AMEX and many Visa and MasterCard) and give serious consideration to an extended warranty. You do not have to buy them from the point of purchase, in fact you can buy them separately, saving a great deal of money by shopping around.
In the past, I always advised against extended warranties, but with the digital control systems being so sensitive, unreliable and obscenely expensive, I seriously consider the extended coverage, depending upon cost.
One last thought, consider purchasing used appliances on Craigslist. I recently purchased a legacy Maytag washer via CL for $75. It had been in a storage unit for years and was in perfect condition. It runs great, looks great and I suspect it will last for many years, not bad for $75.
I have no experience about the service because I've never bought an appliance from them. My local dealer will meet or beat their price every time. They also have better service for delivery and installation than a big box store can offer.
Once the warranty is gone you will do better with a local repair service anyway.
On Mon, 13 Jan 2014 16:12:41 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03 wrote in
Good question. I suspect that the agitator seized up. When the washer stopped mid-cycle there was a loud squealing (like an stuck belt on a moving motor pulley). That's why I'm starting to think about replacing the washer. If the agitator or it's drive assembly is shot, it probably won't be worth being replaced.
I posted this a few weeks back. Normally, I'm against extended warranties. I recently bought a Maytag high efficiency machine. It has a glass top so you can see what is going on. It has water and temperature sensors. It has many cycle variations, all electronically controlled. I saw water run in five different places during the cycle. I saw the tub spin at different speeds and even be stopped with a brake. This is complex equipment.
It came with the option to buy an additional 5 years of coverage for $149. I signed up and sent my money. It is $100 for someone to show up at the door and parts start at $50 and go into the hundreds. Given the complexity of the machine and the cost for even simple repairs, it seems to be a good deal.
Purchased a range, washer and dryer from Lowes last year...so far, so good. I think ANY appliance repair is a crap shoot nowadays. Just had a local appliance repair person come over to work on our ice maker on 7 y/o Frigidaire. Ice maker has quit twice for long periods and then started up again. Couple of months ago, after not making ice for several months, it started up on it's own after power came back on after a power outage of about 2 hours...totally wierd! The power wasn't off long enough to resolve a freeze-up if that had been the cause. We had tried turning it off and using hair dryer to thaw the water line previously to no avail. The water dispenser had been pretty weak, and the ice maker would cycle but not fill...changed the filter and horsed around. When I finally called the repair guy, I knew the water pressure in fridge was low, but they said that would not be the problem. So...repair guy unhitches the water supply on back of fridge, finds no ice blockage, rehangs the supply tubing as it was duck-taped onto the back of the fridge, then went down to basement to check out the saddle valve! Voila! Almost completely clogged little pin-hole; drilled larger hole and installed a new saddle valve. Good water supply, ice trays filling, made ice until the bin was almost full and quit again. Called the repair guy, left message day before blizzard. Got a call five days later, but the ice maker had resumed working and continues to work fine. My theory is that the water tank never filled due to low pressure so the ice maker didn't get enough pressure to fill?? Or it is posessed :o)
CBS news tonight had a spot about appliance repair a la Consumer Reports. Advised to buy new if the repair bill would be more than half new purchase price!! Really? F--- that! My parents bought a Philco fridge about 1955 ... to replace our ice box ... and it was still working in 2005. Something like 40% of refrigerators need repair withing 4 years. Damn crooked mfgs...
In December 2012 our GE freezer died after 44 years. Bought a new Whirlpool from Home Depot. 6 months later the defrost timer quit. Warranty was handled through Whirlpool and they used A&E Appliance to replace the timer. I now have one of the $8 universal solid state defrost timers just in case.
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