Serviceable Home Appliances BER
Discussion
Fridge Freezer: two-years and one month old: internal leak. Had it re-gassed and it lasted a few days. Engineer says it's beyond economical repair.
Washing machine: about three years-old; drum bearing sounds like a worn wheel bearing on a car. Thought I'd DIY this one: parts seem hard to find (or the indexing of it seems like I might end up with the wrong one). Called on engineer. He too says it's BER.
My first real experience of this was 'batterygate' with iPhones. I ditched them and switched to android. I got on with life until a mixer tap in the bathroom started letting by. I took the tap out to see what size o-ring I needed and was faced with a cartridge. So off I went to buy a service kit. "Don't sell them," said the plumbers merchant guy. I asked for a new cartridge and was told it would cost more than a new tap. Really?
It turned out that my circa 10 year-old tap was NLA and nothing really quite the same. This meant a new set. We now have a mixer tap upstairs that is close, but not quite the same as the other taps. It works.
This kind ofdesuetude
discontinuance deliberate obsolescence, is this the way the world works now? Minimal warranty period after which you start counting the days/weeks/months until the thing is borked and then you're forced to replace it. With the washing machine, I expect the bearing to go at some point. Three years? I accept (but older machines were bomb proof). Give me a service kit. But they want to sell me a new machine. I don't want a new machine. A bearing is being offered at £370 - fitted - thus rendering the appliance BER.
AO (from whom I bought the fridge-freezer) have been quite good so far. They recognise that a fridge-freezer should last for about six years and thus, are prepared to offer a depreciated refund based on what is an inherently faulty appliance (on the proviso that the engineer's report concludes so).
My van, a factory spec T6, was great while it was under warranty. I didn't use the heated seats much but literally a couple of months after the cover lapsed, the heated seat stopped working. It's f
ked, and needs replacing. Soon after that event, the swirl flaps threw up an EML and the only cure is to replace the entire manifold as there are no serviceable parts available for it.
It's bks and I'm not buying that I've been unlucky and it's a coincidence.
Washing machine: about three years-old; drum bearing sounds like a worn wheel bearing on a car. Thought I'd DIY this one: parts seem hard to find (or the indexing of it seems like I might end up with the wrong one). Called on engineer. He too says it's BER.
My first real experience of this was 'batterygate' with iPhones. I ditched them and switched to android. I got on with life until a mixer tap in the bathroom started letting by. I took the tap out to see what size o-ring I needed and was faced with a cartridge. So off I went to buy a service kit. "Don't sell them," said the plumbers merchant guy. I asked for a new cartridge and was told it would cost more than a new tap. Really?
It turned out that my circa 10 year-old tap was NLA and nothing really quite the same. This meant a new set. We now have a mixer tap upstairs that is close, but not quite the same as the other taps. It works.
This kind of
AO (from whom I bought the fridge-freezer) have been quite good so far. They recognise that a fridge-freezer should last for about six years and thus, are prepared to offer a depreciated refund based on what is an inherently faulty appliance (on the proviso that the engineer's report concludes so).
My van, a factory spec T6, was great while it was under warranty. I didn't use the heated seats much but literally a couple of months after the cover lapsed, the heated seat stopped working. It's f
ked, and needs replacing. Soon after that event, the swirl flaps threw up an EML and the only cure is to replace the entire manifold as there are no serviceable parts available for it. It's b
ks and I'm not buying that I've been unlucky and it's a coincidence. ARHarh said:
Just strip the washing down, get the bearings out and go to your local bearing supplier or ebay and buy some replacement, you will be shocked how easy it is and how cheap they are. Did my machine, took my 3 hours, but had to wait 4 days for the bearings to be delivered. Cost £22.
This (independent) appliances repair shop's engineer says he would normally have no issue suggesting the same but he said these aren't particularly nice to do and the parts/service kits are expensive. Surely he'd want to make money from servicing it as they don't sell appliances.
It's the natural result of human nature. We buy things on the sticker price. This creates a lot of pressure for ever lower quality and sale price. A reputation for quality can only go so far in justifying higher prices. Repairs are never quite as good as new, and spares always get costly in the end.
You get a little bit of choice in how much and how often but almost everything is "buy cheap, buy twice" now.
You get a little bit of choice in how much and how often but almost everything is "buy cheap, buy twice" now.
grumbledoak said:
It's the natural result of human nature. We buy things on the sticker price. This creates a lot of pressure for ever lower quality and sale price. A reputation for quality can only go so far in justifying higher prices. Repairs are never quite as good as new, and spares always get costly in the end.
You get a little bit of choice in how much and how often but almost everything is "buy cheap, buy twice" now.
Or the sale of something can increase the seller's bottom line with an extended warranty. You get a little bit of choice in how much and how often but almost everything is "buy cheap, buy twice" now.
Glassman said:
ARHarh said:
Just strip the washing down, get the bearings out and go to your local bearing supplier or ebay and buy some replacement, you will be shocked how easy it is and how cheap they are. Did my machine, took my 3 hours, but had to wait 4 days for the bearings to be delivered. Cost £22.
This (independent) appliances repair shop's engineer says he would normally have no issue suggesting the same but he said these aren't particularly nice to do and the parts/service kits are expensive. Surely he'd want to make money from servicing it as they don't sell appliances.
In my machine it was this bearing that failed, 3 years on its still going strong.
https://www.bearings-online.co.uk/item/13745/NSK/6...
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff