Our Money's worth

[WV Sawmiller]

   Last week our old Maytag washer started smoking and we shut it down. Finally got an appliance repair guy out today to check it and he found the gearbox/transmission was leaking on the belts causing them to slip and smoke. Parts are not available for it and would cost more than a new machine anyway. The repair guru looked at the data plate and told us it was over 40 years old. My wife wanted to disagree but we got to thinking about it and he was right. We bought it a year or so after we first got married while stationed at Parris Island SC during my USMC days. I guess we moved it at least 4 times before we settled here with it. Seems like we replaced the belts about 15 years ago and maybe a mixing valve 8-10 years ago but other than that I can't think of anything we did to it. We went to Lowes and spent over $900 on a new one (My wife quilts and it takes a big machine to wash a king size quilt) but I bet we don't get the service out of it we did our last one. I am sad to see the old girl go but I guess it was time.  :( :(

[Ed]

When loml's hunk of junk washer finally self-destructed...I retrieved my late grandmothers 35 year old Maytag from the basement at the farm.

It had only ever done 1 load of laundry. 

Grandma wanted a new washer.....had to be a Maytag! Mom got her one, showed her how to use it. Grandma promptly went back to her Maytag wringer washer. She had 2, one to use and another for back-up because they quit making them.

Ed

[mike_belben]

Theyre havent overprinted land, good engines or maytags but they sure have printed them dollars.  

Many of my cars have been in the $900 range. 

[thecfarm]

The next one won't last that long.  :  
But saying that, the replacement parts are so pricey now. 
I've had ours worked on a few times, 20 years old. We bought a good one, or that's what the repair guys tell us. Keep putting parts into it. Has just been normal wear items, so far!!
I call them guys, they can tell me what's wrong with it and put new parts in it in under an hour. 

[Ianab]

Thing that fails on many modern washing machines is the electronic control board. 

Our 15+ year old Australian Simpson machine would have been consigned to the scrap heap many years ago, except I decided to open it up and see what was actually wrong.

Turned out it was cracked solder joints on the control board where the mains power went to the motor... Soldered them up and good as new. 

A few years later, it wont spin, 

Ahh.. I didn't resolder those connectors. So I went over every serious solder connection on the board, and it's still going. Vibration + heavy parts soldered to a cheap circuit board is doomed to fail. 

Now the average person would be told they needed a $500 controller board, plus labour. So may as well buy a new one. Actually took about 60 mins to get the card out. resolder all the suspect connections, and put it back in the machine. 

[btulloh]

I've had three similar experiences to Ianab with appliances in the last year.  Ten year old maytag washer with error code and no-worky.  Repair guy came out, punched a few buttons, said I need a new control board which was NLA.  Charge me $79 and left (5 minutes).  Couple days later I dived into the washing machine myself.  Turned out it was one of the motor brushes that was stuck on a piece of grit in it's housing.  Cleaned it up, reassembled, good as new.

Ten year old fridge, compressor still working but no lights or ice or widgets working.  Repair guy said control board bad, NLA, time to buy a new fridge, $79 please.  I went into it, found a trace that had vaporized because it was too small for the amount of current it carried.  Soldered in a jumper.  All fine.  Still fine.

With new appliances, the game has changed.  Seems like repairs are just a fond memory from days gone by - unless you do it yourself.

[stavebuyer]

Speed Queen. Still USA made with a transmission and no electronics. Your choice of colors as long as you pick white. Designed for function instead of fashion. And no I don't sell them or own stock

[Magicman]

Our ice maker stopped "not making ice".  What?  Yup, continually churning out ice, filled the hopper, and threatened to push the door open.  $38 thermistor, but finding out the part number took some serious Googling. 

Their preference is to send out the $175+ guy.  Either that or remove and haul it to the shop for a week's stay and probably the same $175.

[Old Greenhorn]

I haven't called a repair guy in 30 years. Not gonna pay somebody to tell me to replace it. A lot of times I can fix it just as you guys have already done, sometimes it is beyond me or beyond help and I let it go. A year ago the dishwasher quit. I opened it up and the entire control board and the stuff around it had just melted into a plastic glacier. It needed too much stuff besides the control board to fix it. We had the money and got a new one, BUT we changed brands to avoid the repeat issue. When I was installing it, I took off the panel and looked at the control setup. You guessed it, exactly the same board, part numbers and all. DanG. >:(
 SOmetimes I think I should bring a screw driver when we shop for these things and pull the panels to check them out. But then I would probably never buy anything.

[moodnacreek]

Those Maytags from 40 or more years ago where the cheapest in the long run. We had one for 30 years and bought the same [we thought] again but it rusted out. The Maytag dealer in town stocked all the parts. Now we have the box stores.     Today people like a new washer every few years and they are never out of style.

[gspren]

A few years ago our entire neighborhood got a huge spike of current as the result of a car knocking a power pole into another power line. At our house nearly all appliances were damaged, washer, dryer, fridge, dishwasher. Two were repairable and two were not while the "old" fridge in my man cave wasn't hurt, talked to one neighbor and same story only appliance spared was old fridge in their garage. At their house they had whole house surge protectors and they were also fried.   

[Old Greenhorn]

Back a couple of years ago, we had a snowstorm and in the middle of it, a structure fire call. I knew most of our department was out plowing snow, most were 10-20 miles out of town. I wound up being the single crew driver of the first engine on scene. The roads were really bad. We had us a 'worker' and as I was alone I could not go in. So I grabbed a 20# dry chem off the truck, tapped out a hole in a small window and stuck my arm in and sprayed the whole room down. It went dark quick.  I got on the radio and gave an update to slow folks down because I had it knocked down. No sooner had I done that then the whole room lit up at the same time again. I knocked it down again and could see a red glowing line about 2' above the floor that went around the whole room and the whole room went up again. I could see that wasn't working but bought some time. Got back on the radio, called a second alarm, and started getting the truck ready to pump, pulled the pre-connects and began planning where the trucks would fit and how we would setup a tanker relay team. We saved the house, but barely (it was balloon construction built in 1880) and the fire ran up the walls.
 I told you all that so I could tell you this:
 The rest of the story is that a tree branch fell on a primary wire and pushed it onto the house feed. There was a live 10KV feed into the house while I was 'playing hero'. Had I gone in with a hose and hit that wall with the panel I might not be sitting here writing this. We got lucky because one of the first Chief officers to arrive from another department was a supervisor with the power company and had a hot stick. He pulled the pole breaker before anybody made entry. It took a few hours to pull walls apart and get the fire out in those timbers. The panel box had the entire back wall blown out of it. I never found out how the appliances fared. :D

[WV Sawmiller]

Ian,

   Thanks for the reassurance. You really know how to hurt a guy. : The Lowes guy told us all their washers have the electronic control board so that is what I have to look forward to in our new machine.

MM,

   While he was here he did replace our ice maker. It had been overflowing and dripping onto the cubes in the bucket freezing them together preventing the screw from turning. $78 rebuilt maker. Next time I will order and install that one myself but he had it with him and good to be done with that hassle.

[Texas Ranger]

My wife made a decision to buy a "HOME warranty" for us, I thought a ridiculous expense.  Well, paid for an ice maker, leaking water line, dishwasher something or other, washing machine gear box, and who knows what else.  The woman is a genius.

[btulloh]

My wife made a decision to buy a "HOME warranty" for us, I thought a ridiculous expense.  Well, paid for an ice maker, leaking water line, dishwasher something or other, washing machine gear box, and who knows what else.  The woman is a genius.

Interesting. I always thought home warranties were a con. Maybe it's time to re-evaluate. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   These guys (Sears) were trying to sell us one but for what they charge/offered I can buy a new appliance every year so I declined.

[Jim_Rogers]

I've had an insurance plan on our fridge for 22 years and it has helped us twice, by paying for everything.
I suppose I could have bought another fridge with 22 years worth of premiums but when it breaks down we never have the money for the repairs.
Jim Rogers

[farmfromkansas]

My daughter has a speed queen. Her old electronic wash machine was screwing up and she got tired of that.  We have worn out several wash machines including the Maytag, think it is just a name now.  Best story I have is about a refrigerator, bought from Sears, and it quit just over 10 years old.  I knew the repair guy from Sears, the store was going to charge my wife for talking about the fridge with her, and I said I'll call Monty.  He said there was a model that had a compressor that looked like a "hot dog", and to look inside and see if it had one.  It did.  Sears had increased the warranty on those refrigerators an extra year, so ours was covered.  Monty came out and fixed it, and then about 15 years later, my wife started going on about wanting a new fridge.  The rubber on the handle was worn off, and she wanted new.  My daughter has the old fridge in her garage now, still going strong.  The new one is not as good, does not cool as good. Ice cream is soft.

[samandothers]

The new one is not as good, does not cool as good. Ice cream is soft.

But is the handle still nice? ;D

[WV Sawmiller]

Well, the Lowes delivery guys just left with our old washer after putting the new one in. Sort of leaves a tear in my eye. I am wondering what genius sent them out in a 24' box truck to deliver on our winding county roads. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Well now we know what you got for your birthday! :D