When do you cut loss and buy new?

benyflyguy

benyflyguy

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benyflyguy
have a Samsung electric dryer. It’s 10 years old. Back when it was still under warranty. I had a heater element go and needed to be replaced. Guy came to do the work and I clearly remember him saying to me, “ this is going to break again. It will be out of warranty. Don’t call me, look up on YouTube how to fix it and do it yourself. This is not hard.”
Sure enough. Something broke. I think it was the element went again. So I did as told. yT in hand and took it apart and replaced the element.
Over the years...drum belt..drums support wheel...two drum seals separately. (Samsung didn’t sell a seal replacement. Bought a bigger one and cut and glued the new one on. They wanted to to replace the whole drum for like 250 bills F that. )...and tonight another drum support wheel.
New dryers run 800-1000 bucks now. Old Phil would have replaced it a long time ago. But flying Phil with kids is nickel and diming it away.
While each fix so far has been 25-50 bucks..I probably have almost half purchase price in parts fixing it...
when do you look at it and cut the losses and just replace the bad boy. I don’t need the videos anymore to walk me through taking it apart. I could take it apart in my sleep at this point. In fact I fix friends/family when it comes up.
 
An electric dryer should work for 10 years without needing anything. It ain't gonna get better with age. It depends on how you value your time researching fixes and time fixing, the trips to the neighbors or laundromat when the thing breaks, and the general urge to just take a sledgehammer to the thing.
 
There are some pretty cheap dryers out there. . .but if the motor is the most expensive part, I'd think the low cost repairs you've done are worth doing - unless/until the motor goes. Then it's lime and old axe; a few new handles, a few new heads, over the years. But still the same axe. . .
 
Find your friendly local Used appliance guy and try to get a deal on a slightly used, older dryer. You can find appliances that were installed in apartments and then sold before they were even used more than five or six times.

I never bought a new washer and dryer until a few years ago, when my wife fell in love with a pair of high Dollar appliances (that were on sale, half price!)

Yeah, that heater element replacement gets to be a fifteen minute job after you've done it five times!
 
My wife goes to Lowe's regularly and looks at the clearance appliances. She never pays the marked price. Just bought a new dryer that was still new in the box but that store wouldn't be stocking that model. MSRP of $1200 and marked at $599. She paid $400 for it
 
Go to a flea market or yard sale and find the oldest machine you can find, without all the bells and whistles. I found one 20 years ago that was at least 12 years old when I got it. I've replaced the belt a couple of times but that's it.
 
Haven't heard anything good about LG and Samsung when it comes to washer/dryer equipment. Have one basic Whirlpool and a basic GE and neither has given me any trouble.
 
Creekrat said:
My wife goes to Lowe's regularly and looks at the clearance appliances. She never pays the marked price. Just bought a new dryer that was still new in the box but that store wouldn't be stocking that model. MSRP of $1200 and marked at $599. She paid $400 for it
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Would she happen to have an unmarried sister?

Rich
 
Unit74 said:
We had the Uber expensive LG front load, pedestal, computer keyboard with a bajillion options to wash and dry......


Sold em and went with a basic set and never been happier doing laundry.
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Yep. There's only so much to swirling clothes around in soapy water and tumbling them in hot air to dry them. Applying too much technology to tasks like those is a classic case of a solution in search of a problem.

Rich
 
I rarely repair dryers....washers seem to dominate repairs. I'd replace when either cost or PIA factors increase. My last repair was a drum bearing replacement ($50 in parts -5 hrs of labor) on a front loader. Dryers for me hardly ever break. They are cheap on Craig's or FB marketplace.

Full disclosure:....we are a family of six and do laundry daily.
 
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I was in a similar boat about a year ago. Our dishwasher started nickle and diming me. I replaced the sump motor, then the chopper, then something else bit the dust on it. It was a $150 part and I finally said "OK.. I'm tired of working on this thing. We ended up shopping around and getting a deal on a matching dishwasher, stove/oven, and microwave. Ended up being more expensive than I had wanted, but it was a relatively inexpensive kitchen upgrade since we were diligent in shopping around.

I haven't figure out the formula for what "don't repair, buy new" is, but it's something like:
if ( Purchase price of part + (hours to repair x $150 (I'm expensive)) + (number of swear words to be spoken while repairing * $10) ) > (.8745 * Purchase price of new) ) {
buy new;
make wife extremely happy;
eat cold sandwiches for lunch for a month to offset cost;
} else {
get tools out and fix it again;
put money in swear jar;
vow to never repair this &*%&(*@ thing again;
}
 
I suppose that depends on usage. If you live alone and do 2 loads a week vs a family of 6 running loads everyday.
 
I have Whirlpool Cabrio W/D set, about 4 years old now, never a hint of trouble under heavy use with 2 youngins. Dryer is gas, significantly cheaper to run here than electric. The electric model is only $570 at BB.
 
GRG55 said:
Hmmmm. And all this time I thought "Checkout_my_Six" referred to a particular model of Piper single engine.
:p
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It does....among other things. But, it's taken on new meanings too.
 

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I have an old stacked W/D that came with the house. I can find almost every part I need online to repair it. When I can't get parts, I'll get new, but not one of the computerized, million option W/D.

My mom has one of those new types and just uses the normal setting. I showed her that putting the clothes in the washer wet will get the job done better.

And showed her that she can use a lot less soap.
 
Most major appliances, I will pay to have fixed no more than once a year. If it breaks down more than that, I put it on the curb with a note about what is wrong and someone will pick it up with a few hours. Then I buy a new one.
 
Jeff Oslick said:
I have Whirlpool Cabrio W/D
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Our Cabrio washer is 7yrs old and getting tossed tomorrow. Both the tub bearings and the water pump are pretty much shot. Question is, what to buy?
 
Bill Jennings said:
Our Cabrio washer is 7yrs old and getting tossed tomorrow. Both the tub bearings and the water pump are pretty much shot. Question is, what to buy?
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We tossed our Cabrio after 4 years. The water pump gave out and the guy said $350 to fix it, and we would still have a 4 yr old washer. We bought a new Maytag with fewer lights and it has dials instead of touch buttons. The only thing Leslie doesn't like about it so far is that it doesn't have the digital readout that estimates how much time is left till it's finished.
 
JOhnH said:
The only thing Leslie doesn't like about it so far is that it doesn't have the digital readout that estimates how much time is left till it's finished.
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That's no loss to me, that timer had no basis in reality. It would say twenty minutes to go, you'd come back in 15 and it would have 20 to go.
 
I buy new when it saves me money, i.e., when the cost of fixing what I already have and continuing to fix it would cost more than the cost of buying something new and maintaining/fixing the new appliance over the same amount of time, adjusted slightly for the hassle of down time and aggravation, but not much. Obviously, you can't see the future and know for sure what repair needs will arise on either an old OR a new appliance, so there's some guesswork involved, but that's my basic thought process.

Regardless of what I buy, I avoid bells and whistles as much as possible. Less stuff to break, easier to fix when it does, and money spent goes towards quality components instead of unnecessary complications.
 
MuseChaser said:
Regardless of what I buy, I avoid bells and whistles as much as possible. Less stuff to break, easier to fix when it does, and money spent goes towards quality components instead of unnecessary complications.
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That's generally the theory I try to go by, but in reality, when they try to reduce the price by dropping the bells and whistles, they usually also drop the quality of other components to get the price down. Unless you go commercial. Then you get great quality and few bells and whistles. The stuff lasts forever and performs well, but it costs a fortune. The Maytag I bought seemed to be a good mix.

Bill Jennings said:
That's no loss to me, that timer had no basis in reality. It would say twenty minutes to go, you'd come back in 15 and it would have 20 to go.
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It really was no big loss to us either. It was just a feature she liked that isn't on the new machine. Ours wasn't real accurate either, but it was actually pretty close most of the time. Especially as it got closer to being finished. It might start off at 50 minutes, and 5 minutes later it would say 30 minutes, and hang there at 30 for several minutes. But then it would be pretty close after that. I had to explain to Leslie, it's not a timer. Its a sensor.
 
We have an extra large top load Kenmore Elite washer and matching front load electric dryer that we bought in 2003. Still look brand new, even after moving them from Colorado to our final resting place, 1890 miles away. ;) Never so much as a hiccup from either one. The enamel on the washer drum is flawless. Dryer drum has signs of use from clothing flipping around in there over the years, but no weird noises or issues. It does hide a sock now and then, but strangely, it returns them with the next load. Go Sears! Oh, wait...
 
benyflyguy said:
have a Samsung electric dryer. It’s 10 years old. Back when it was still under warranty. I had a heater element go and needed to be replaced. Guy came to do the work and I clearly remember him saying to me, “ this is going to break again. It will be out of warranty. Don’t call me, look up on YouTube how to fix it and do it yourself. This is not hard.”
Sure enough. Something broke. I think it was the element went again. So I did as told. yT in hand and took it apart and replaced the element.
Over the years...drum belt..drums support wheel...two drum seals separately. (Samsung didn’t sell a seal replacement. Bought a bigger one and cut and glued the new one on. They wanted to to replace the whole drum for like 250 bills F that. )...and tonight another drum support wheel.
New dryers run 800-1000 bucks now. Old Phil would have replaced it a long time ago. But flying Phil with kids is nickel and diming it away.
While each fix so far has been 25-50 bucks..I probably have almost half purchase price in parts fixing it...
when do you look at it and cut the losses and just replace the bad boy. I don’t need the videos anymore to walk me through taking it apart. I could take it apart in my sleep at this point. In fact I fix friends/family when it comes up.
Click to expand...

Problem is... everything you buy new today comes with "planned obsolescence." So, that new dryer you mean to buy will likely go on the fritz 6 years from now as much as your existing dryer. This isn't the old days, you don't buyer a dryer and have it last 30 years, the system itself is supposed to fritz out after 6. After all, how are they going to get your money if you can just keep using an old washer/dryer. New Phil just understands that there's no escaping that the new equipment you buy is going to be just as flawed.
 
Unit74 said:
Betcha RJM does his laundry that way.
Click to expand...

That's coming up 403, so I can't say.

I have a very simple GE matched set that I bought from Lowes when they were on sale. I think they were discontinuing the line because I got them for about $200.00 each below list between the sale and the veteran's discount.

The dryer did have a problem that apparently had to do with a bad batch of thermostats GE got from one of their suppliers. GE sent a less-than-brilliant tech who, on his second trip, replaced the wrong part. But because the thermostat problem was intermittent, it seemed to work for a while. Then it stopped working again a few months later, right after the warranty expired. That's when I researched it and learned about the bad batch of thermostats.

I'd purchased the dryer with my USAA Visa, which includes an extended warranty. I didn't want to use the same repair company, though; so USAA told me to call whatever shop I wanted to have it fixed, and either have the shop call them for payment or pay it myself and send them the bill.

I wound up loading it on the trailer and schlepping it to a guy over an hour from here who came highly recommended. The guy's a bit of a nut. He takes appliances way more seriously than a normal person should. I mean, this guy is intense. But he's good, I'll say that much. He had the problem diagnosed and fixed in no time flat. He didn't even take the dryer into the shop. He hooked it up to all sorts of top-secret dryer-diagnostic equipment and fixed it in his driveway. The bill was something like $60.00.

I paid him out-of-pocket, uploaded his receipt to USAA Visa, and got a check in the mail five days later. Sweet.

Washers swirls clothes around in soapy water, and dryers tumble them in hot air. No matter how much gadgetry you tack onto the machines and how much money you pay for that tech, it still comes down to soapy water and hot air. Making it any more complicated than it needs to be makes no sense to me.

As to when to stop fixing and buy new, I'd say either when the repairs start costing more than the machine is worth, or when you get tired of fixing it.

Rich
 
There was not one, but three offers of a couple hundred bucks to buy matched sets of older units (better built, cheap parts) on my local online sale groups from affluent neighborhoods this week.

Probably upgrading to computer controlled stuff that’ll fall apart. But yay they can tell the clothes are done on an app over WiFi. LOL.

I can’t think of a two week period when there wasn’t. I know where I’d be shopping if I didn’t already have the old dirt simple models.

Speed Queen commercial models used to be the bee’s knees for buying for life, but I hear rumor they went downhill also.

Commercial stuff will be maintainable if you can find them. I’d love to have one of the old coin op units I worked on at a side gig years ago. Taking the entire guts out was a ten minute job and all of it was overbuilt. People abuse the crap out of coin ops just to save four quarters.
 
Well she is up and running once again. I will probably continue to IRAN and wait for a biggie -motor or cpu board.
Going forward will keep a sharp eye on some of the used forums. Considering I’ve become a self taught expert in fixing these things i night find a pretty good deal on one.
 
If it's out of warranty, the repair isn't something simple I can do myself in an hour or less, and I can just run out and buy a new one for around $500 or less I'm just going to replace it and be done with it.
 
My GE washer was built in 1968. My Whirlpool dryer was built in 1974.

I had them both until 2013. They both worked when I gave them to the delivery guys...

The washer would eat its timer every two years or so and the dryer needed heater elements every five years...

I got really good ant diagnosing and repairing the damn things.
 
We have a 1996 vintage Kenmore set, washer & dryer. I’ve had both apart a handful of times when issues arose. I thought they’d be gone by now.

Once inside I’ve been able to get them going again, leak, belt, ‘dogs’, whatever. I did have to bypass a few things, lid turn off switch & similar.
 
Typically I will keep repairing until parts are no longer available. Had to replace the 28 year old Whirpool dishwasher a couple of years ago. In this case the new one was a HUGE improvement noise-wise, although the electronic control system might be a challenge when/if it needs repairing. The 30 year old GE gas dryer may be next. The 15 year old Whirlpool clothes washer has needed two repairs to date; one motor coupling and one outer drum. Fortunately I live about 30 minutes away from the RepairClinic.com retail store which is open 7am-7pm 7 days a week. They do mail order also and I highly recommend them for major appliance, lawn/garden, and HVAC parts.
 
benyflyguy said:
have a Samsung electric dryer. It’s 10 years old. Back when it was still under warranty. I had a heater element go and needed to be replaced. Guy came to do the work and I clearly remember him saying to me, “ this is going to break again. It will be out of warranty. Don’t call me, look up on YouTube how to fix it and do it yourself. This is not hard.”
Sure enough. Something broke. I think it was the element went again. So I did as told. yT in hand and took it apart and replaced the element.
Over the years...drum belt..drums support wheel...two drum seals separately. (Samsung didn’t sell a seal replacement. Bought a bigger one and cut and glued the new one on. They wanted to to replace the whole drum for like 250 bills F that. )...and tonight another drum support wheel.
New dryers run 800-1000 bucks now. Old Phil would have replaced it a long time ago. But flying Phil with kids is nickel and diming it away.
While each fix so far has been 25-50 bucks..I probably have almost half purchase price in parts fixing it...
when do you look at it and cut the losses and just replace the bad boy. I don’t need the videos anymore to walk me through taking it apart. I could take it apart in my sleep at this point. In fact I fix friends/family when it comes up.
Click to expand...
Buy an old (but in good shape) Maytag. I have a Maytag Over/Under set that I bought new around 1992. Still use them nearly every day. I have had to do a few repairs (always myself) - but they just keep
chugging along.

Dave
 
Jeff Oslick said:
An electric dryer should work for 10 years without needing anything. It ain't gonna get better with age. It depends on how you value your time researching fixes and time fixing, the trips to the neighbors or laundromat when the thing breaks, and the general urge to just take a sledgehammer to the thing.
Click to expand...

We've got over 20 years on ours, and it's still running fine. I'd have to go down and look at it to tell you what brand it is, but we bought it right after we moved here. The washing machine is even older, bought it no later than early 1995.

weilke said:
Haven't heard anything good about LG and Samsung when it comes to washer/dryer equipment. Have one basic Whirlpool and a basic GE and neither has given me any trouble.
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I don't know about their w/d equipment, but based on recent experience (bad and bad) with LG refrigerators you couldn't give me one. Never again. Now, the Whirlpool refrigerator sitting next to the Kitchenaide that replaced the last LG is well over 25 years old and still running fine. And it was a floor model. :p
 
I’ve been wondering the same thing. Our dryer has been giving us yeoman’s service sucks since we bought it. The lint traps let too much longer lint through but some flexible gap sealing around the lint trap pretty much cured that problem. The cycle selector knob on the clothes is washer failed and I replaced the he knob. Our 16 year old Maytag washer has had two repairs. An appliance repairman told me what I’d need for the first repair, and I did the second one on my own. I’m guessing if/when the motor dies, we might get a new dishwasher. I’ve also replaced the dish baskets.
 
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