Fix or replace clothes dryer.

[bkbenjy]

My 20 year old dryer stopped spinning. So I opened it up and found a broken belt. I went and got a new belt, only to find out that the spring arm and pulley are also bad. I already paid $17 for the belt.

The store does not stock the spring arm, I will have to order it. The replacement parts will cost me 42 dollars with overnight shipping to order.

I would just go ahead and fix it but I've been interested in getting a newer model. One that automatically shuts down when the clothes are dry. Would you order the parts? Or buy a new machine? Any experience with newer models with this feature?

 

[2oldtommy]

The timer will be the next system to go. It's like a car, at some point it has outlived it's usefull life.FWIW-- Oldtommy

 

[Seguino]

I would rather spend $59 than xx-hundred, but that's just me. My dryer has the auto dry function and I never use it.

 

[Virtuoso]

Auto-dry kicks booty. I would imagine if you're going to spend more than 25-35% of the replacement cost fixing a 20 y/o dryer..perhaps it's time to replace.


We do a good amount of laundry, so having the dryer shut itself off when the clothes are dry has probably saved us a chunk of kilowatts, as opposed to guessing how long it will take. But that's all assumptions.

 

[doitmyself]

It's really a judgment call, based on what oldtommy said. $42 seems steep. In these cases I would really seek out the cheapest part replacement so that if the machine does kick the bucket, you won't feel so bad about too much invested.

I would nick the overnight delivery and tough it out a few days. Find a vendor closer to you and you will still get it in a few days.

E bay has this stuff too. Is there a "junk" appliance store in your area....maybe go used.

I'm curious what make and model it is.

I recently put a $35 compressor fan motor on our 22 year old Montgomery Ward refrigerator and it's purring like a kitten.

Good luck.

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: bkbenjy
"My 20 year old"

Time to upgrade!

 

[Trav]

20 yrs old is getting a little long in tooth for me to put my money into it.
Any idea how much more efficient the new models are in comparison to this one?

 

[rjacket]

A new one will pay for itself in a few years just on operating costs. Look for rebates also.

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: Trav
20 yrs old is getting a little long in tooth for me to put my money into it.
Any idea how much more efficient the new models are in comparison to this one?

I replaced mine a year ago and it had some nice updated features like cloths dryness sensors and more energy efficient ratings stuff like that.

 

[Trav]

That sounds great! We need a new one soon also,the washer let go a few months back so the dryer isn't far behind.

 

[daman]

Well if you have a wife like mine when one goes you need both,LOL, the dryer went so had to have a matching set so off to SEARS i went,lol.

 

[demarpaint]

2.5 years since I did about a $50 repair on my dryer, 1 year since a put a motor in my washer. I'd do it, ditch the overnight shipping as already mentioned. JMO

 

[mechanicx]

I would upgrade. Since you already went through trouble of taking the dryer apart you might consider fixing it to have as an extra if you have a lot of clothes to launder. You could probably also sell the old one for $75 easy.

 

[tomcat27]

its up to you. $42 is cheap to fix it - but its life is uncertain. kinda an economic question for you. I just bought a brand new Amana dryer for $200 from someone at work. they bought it 4 years ago with the intention of using it in their shop. never did. it was $600 new. bargain for me. I gave my old dryer away - still functioning fine.

 

[bkbenjy]

Originally Posted By: doitmyself

I'm curious what make and model it is.

Its a General Electric (GE) gas powered ddg6580gdlwh.

Originally Posted By: Virtuoso
Auto-dry kicks booty. I would imagine if you're going to spend more than 25-35% of the replacement cost fixing a 20 y/o dryer..perhaps it's time to replace.

Well I guess it then depends on how much money I might spend on a new one. I looked in sears and home depot and they range from $300-1300. What would make a $400 model worse then a $700 model?
The $59 total for parts is 8.5% of the cost of a 700 dollar dryer. Its 15% of a $400 model.

Also, the dryer had never broke down once in its 20 year history.

 

[Bluestream]

My Maytag washer and dryer and dishwasher are all 22 years old. I would never think of replacing them with the Cra-p they build today. Look for a used appliance parts place. I bought a used pump for my Maytag dishwasher for $15 five years ago, and its still going fine. Compared to cars these are very easy machines to fix

 

[Vizzy]

Fix the one you have,

the bottom line is that anything you buy new today is built so poorly that it will be broken within the next few years you own it.

Chances are if you replace the failed parts in that present dryer it will outlast the life almost any new product you buy.

Planned obsolescence by companies has become so brazen today but most people don't want to realize it.

 

[S2500Dog]

Hey bro I agree with Vizzy, You go and buy new applicances and you barely get ten years out of the POS whether it had proper maintenance or not. I would order the parts and keep the Old School dryer kickin until it decides to croak on you someday for good lol.

 

[onion]

All my appliances are ancient and were bought cheap. On average, one of these (stove, fridge, washer, dryer, dishwasher) will break every 2-3 years. I just fix what needs fixing, and keep using it.

A $50 repair isn't bad at all in my opinion. The way I look at it, I AM too cheap to buy new appliances (I easily could... I just won't do it). So I have to consider what the cost would be to find a good used one. And how much time I'll have to spend finding the thing, getting rid of the old one, installing the 'new' one, and fixing anything that might go wrong with the 'new' one. Considering all that, a $50 fix and an hour or two worth of tinkering don't seem bad at all.

IF you're mechanically inclined AND it's a fairly minor fix, you'll almost always come out ahead by fixing what you got. But if you just WANT a new machine- some people just like shiny & new w/ bells & whistles- then by all means toss the old one and get a new machine.

 

[mrsilv04]

If you have the knowledge and ability to fix it yourself, then I'd fix it.

I'd fix it and keep using it until something major fails, like the transmission in the washer. Then I'd be considering a new pair.

$50 in parts is nothing. If you also had to pay for a service call on top of that, then you're talking some real money.

But if you can fix it yourself, then that's what I'd do.