Washer service?

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

My washer broke. I called Sears because something deeply ingrained in my genetic makeup says that that's Who You Call. (Also, my washer says something like "If I break, please call Sears!")

Apparently, 'tis the season for washers to break. They are booked solidly for the next month.

Can anyone recommend a non-Sears washing machine repair person or company?

If you repair washing machines, feel free to suggest your own services. In case you do, and you're curious: it fills, and drains, but neither spins nor agitates.

Comments

[laynamarya.livejournal.com]

Hmm, ours just broke too. It also didn't spin, but started pouring smoke into the basement instead.

We called Mark from ABC Repair Services, who came for more of a "consultation" ($45) since we didn't want to fix it if it were going to be over a certain threshold of money ($200) at which point, it makes more sense to just get a new one.

It made more sense just to get a new one.

But Mark was very helpful (if absurdly late with no explanation), and showed me everything that he was doing and why, and didn't even mind when we said, thanks, but we don't really want to spend that much money to fix it.

Good luck! $200, by the way, is what most repairmen say is the cut-off for what you should spend to fix a washing machine, since new ones only cost $400-500 and come with guarantees and whatnot.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

I'll second this.

Sadly, I found most washing machine service calls start at about 50% the cost of a new washer.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

Not to mention a new appliance may be much more efficient and cheaper to run.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

True, that.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

I don't know if they go as far afield as Somerville but I had a good experience with Belmont Appliance Repair when my dryer broke. Don't have the phone number ready to hand, unfortunately.

FWIW Sears usually contracts out their in-home appliance repair service to local contractors anyway.

[ron_newman]

I hope Sears contractors do a better job with repairs than they do with deliveries.

[nungnung.livejournal.com]

Not too likely. I've been reading a lot about Sears here. (http://www.consumerist.com/) Pretty grim in the Customer Service Dept for deliveries AND repairs...

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Belmont Appliance Repair just came to fix our stove, and although they aren't cheap they did a great job. 617-484-7300 is their number.

[nomacmac.livejournal.com]

I've never needed to use them, but I've heard great things about Dell's Appliance on Highland (near City Hall) http://www.dellsappliance.com/

[fefie.livejournal.com]

I used Dell's Appliance for refrigerator repair a year ago (where situation is similar to washing machine in terms of assessing whether to repair or replace) and I can can vouch for their good, prompt, reasonably priced service.

[ceo]

I just called Dell when I had the same problem with Sears that you did (dryer spins but makes no heat), so I'm glad to hear recommendations for them.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_meej_/]

Yet another vote for Dell's, here.

Also of note, in case the washer predates your residence in the house (or in case someone reading this later is in the same situation) - they store records by client name, not address, so if you know the previous owner's name they can find old service records. (Our kitchen came with appliances that had a history with them. Thus, quick diagnosis of what might be wrong to look at first.)

[abilouise.livejournal.com]

Dell's Appliance was a great help to us when our refrigerator wasn't working. The repair guy replaced a fuse or other small electrical part for a reasonable price and besides that, was nice and able to show up fairly quickly.

[303-5.livejournal.com]

One more vote for Dell's. A couple months ago, they made several different repairs to one of our dryers, and I recall the cost being just over $200. They've always been quick in diagnosing and repairing any problems.

[gmpe.livejournal.com]

Dell's did a great job fixing our washer at a very reasonable price. They have specialists for each appliance category and they brought parts with them, so they didn't have to go out and come back and charge extra for that. Literally, the repairman reached under the washer, said yup, that's your problem, pulled out the old part and put in the new part. I think he was in the house less than 15 minutes, and that was with lots of schmoozing, writing up the bill, etc.

[tolchocky.livejournal.com]

The same thing happened to my parents' washing machine a few years ago, and the agitator was just shot. They got a new machine. Hope this helps...

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

I've used Dell's many times. In fact, I had Sears come out twice to fix a dryer. The guy had parts strewn all over the basement, but didn't fix the dryer. Then I called Dell. The guy fixed it in only a few minutes, and I've never had a problem since.

The people at Dell know their stuff. And they can give you good advice on brands to buy should you decide to go that route.

[syntheticnature.livejournal.com]

When we called Sears on ours a few months ago, we got ABC Repair and had an unsatisfying experience. I wound up driving out to Atlantic Appliance Parts (www.atlanticappliancepartsinc.com) in Needham to buy the necessary part myself - they were good guys. Then we asked them to recommend a repairman that wasn't ABC, and they suggested After Hours Appliance (781-767-3424). We talked to Fred, and he was great. Very informative and helpful. We didn't actually have him come out to the house, but we would not hesitate to call him in if we need someone.

Some suggestions from Angie's list

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

There was just a news bit a few weeks ago about Sears and busted furnices I think. They are getting a bad reputation for themselves. I checked angie's list and here are the top hits:
The numbers and letters underneith the company name are as follows:
Current Grage, # current reports, overall grade, # overall reports, miles from somerville. Good luck!

BOSTON APPLIANCE REPAIR
BOSTON, MA 02114
(617) 262-5757
www.bostonappliance.biz
A 52 A 102 3.32 mi


MCPHAIL APPLIANCE
ARLINGTON, MA 02476
(781) 646-4818
A 18 A 40 3.20 mi
Servicing: CONCORD-MAYNARD, PORTIONS OF CHEL-SAU, BURL-N READING, METRO WEST, CHELMSFORD-HA...

SAME DAY SERVICE CO
WOBURN, MA 01801
(800) 800-1866
www.sdsco.biz
A 58 A 124 9.02 mi
Servicing: ENTIRE AREA EXCEPT CONCORD, FITCHBURG-LEOMINSTER, MANCHESTER-NASHUA & WORCESTER

BELMONT APPLIANCE SERVICE
WATERTOWN, MA 02472
(617) 484-7300
A 10 A 24 4.13 mi
Servicing: PORTIONS OF METRO WEST

AMERICAN APPLIANCE SERVICE
WALTHAM, MA 02453
(781) 893-8296
A 10 A 10 6.08 mi

Broken Belt

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

sounds like a broken belt-And I whole heartedly recommend Dell's appliance. They did a similar job on my washer 3 weeks ago of course if you are any bit mechanically inclined open the front up and you will see where the belt fell off

Re: Broken Belt

[red-liner.livejournal.com]

+1 on the broken belt theory - as you note, it's easy to diagnose (though often instead of opening the front, you have to flop the machine over on its back and work from the bottom). I haven't replaced one in years, but back in the day the repair was pretty straightforward - an hour or so with a socket set.

How old is the washer with the problem? If it's more than, say, 10 years or so, you might be better off putting the $$$ towards a new one than a repair.

Good luck!

[whodameg.livejournal.com]

This just happened to me too! The lady at Sears customer service whispered to me at the end of the call, "hun, you should probably call someone else".

Highly disturbing....

I ended up just buying a new high-efficiency washer, since the old one was over 5 years old. I think it's going to be worth it considering all the $$ I will be saving on water, electricity and hot water.