Guest post by Shannon from Mrs. Moneysaver
My washing machine hasn’t been working so well lately. When it runs through the spin cycle, it doesn’t spin fast enough and the clothes are still pretty wet when I take them out. This is especially true for loads of towels and jeans. It’s a good thing the weather here has been decent enough for me to use my clothesline or I would have worn out my dryer as well!
So, I contemplated buying a new washer. I’ve seen the front load washers and they look really nice. Plus, they can hold a larger load than what I can put in the machine I have now, which means less laundry time.
And then I found this deal at Surviving the Stores and would have made the purchase but the price was $450 each when I checked. And, when you buy a new washer, you’ve got to get a new dryer too if you’re getting a great deal, right? But, I missed out on the sale.
So, I started checking Craigslist. There were lots of front load washers in Denver which is about a 4-hour drive from here. But, driving all that way to pick it up? Nope, don’t want to do that.
Then there’s the dilemma of what to do with our old set when we buy the new set. The dryer still works fine and the washer does work — it’s just that spin cycle. It’s still worth something, isn’t it?
That got me wondering: If the washer is good enough to sell at a garage sale, isn’t it still good enough for me? We haven’t had any credit card debt for awhile, did I really want to start that again?
I started doing a little research online. I found out that the spin cycle problem could be one of a few things:
1. The pump isn’t working
2. The motor coupling is worn out (which is common because it works just like a belt)
3. The basket drive/clutch assembly has worn out
I knew the pump was working because it was draining the water out. The spin cycle just wasn’t spinning fast enough. I read that the basket drive/clutch assembly was expensive to replace and I would be better off buying a new washer. But since the motor coupling was only a $10 part, I decided to start with that.
I ordered the part online and it arrived yesterday. My husband (the great DIY’er that he is) replaced the motor coupling last night. It worked!
Just like new. Only $900 less.
Shannon is a wife and mother of six kids. She is also “Mrs Moneysaver” and has a blog sharing coupons, coupon match-ups, freebies, daily deals and money saving strategies.
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The clutch went out on our 7 1/2 yr old washer last year. It would have been a $375 repair. It was better to get a new washer for $425. Our dryer probably has another 15 years of life in it so I will put up with the mismatched set.
I agree w/ the original post – if you can DIY fix – it can save hundreds of dollars. But a note to those who do go bargaining for a new front loader -
Be careful of the cheaper end front loaders – many of them have plastic bearings (spinning the drum) which break frequently. This was told to me by a Lowe’s appliance manager!
Here’s how we got our $1200 Bosch front loader for $ 658. We have a friend who works for Lowes & gets an automatic 20% discount. At certain times of the year, employees will get additional discounts on special order appliances. He and I researched various machines (both low and high end) and I chose the one that had the biggest savings and the options that I wanted. I ended up with the 800 series from Bosch because our store didn’t have it in stock so it ended up being special order. I have noticed hugh savings in electricity (roughly $20 monthly) and since I have a well – there are no water costs. But it does a fabu job cleaning, using less soap & also cut my line dry times down significantly. I also love that Bosch machines have water hoses that when a leak is detected automatically shut off the water supply!
I am now on the savings path for a Bosch dishwasher in 6/7 months and will do the exact same thing again.
Here’s to all of us saving our dollars!
Thanks for the great post. The internet is a great resource to research issues like this! Years ago we had an old washing machine whose agitator stopped working. After some research, we discovered that underneath the center agitator piece, there were some plastic ‘teeth’ pieces that had worn with age. We found a local appliance store that sold the parts we needed and paid about $5 – $10 for a package. We easily switched them & the machine worked/agitated just fine for many years!
Does anyone have any suggestions on fixing a refrigerator? The freezer side was not getting cold enough and then the refrig side was not cold. So we have unplugged it until we can see about getting it fixed. It is a $1200 frig from Sears and I am pretty sure the repair man will charge alot to fix. I would us to fix it ourselves if we could get some advice. Thanks
We had a similar problem last fall, Our washer would work, but it wouldn’t spin (It would agitate during the wash and drain). It started making a very loud grinding noise. Instead of just tossing it and buying a new one, I did some research and found the same thing as you, the coupling might be bad.
So I tore it apart (what a mess), Turns out it was perfectly fine. I did some more research and came to the conclusion that some of the gears in the transmission had gone bad, the cost to buy a new one was about $250.
We then started searching for a preferably new washer for no more then $200, Couldn’t find one. (ABC Warehouse’s employees are pushy, they offered us a $320 model for $240, after we started walking out the door)
We ended up buying a used washer that Rent A Center was selling for $150, it was their biggest model washer they offered and only 25$ to have it delivered and installed. It was well worth the $175…
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