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Had to decide between fixing my ancient washing machine or just buying a new one. I went cheap with a $40 part for the old one and it broke again 2 weeks later leaving me with a flooded laundry room and a bigger mess than before. Anybody else ever pick the budget option and end up paying more in the long run?
I spent an hour on YouTube watching a guy fix a similar model, bought the part from a sketchy website, and now I'm waiting for the plumber to show up and bill me $150.
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kim1912mo ago
Oh man, I did almost the same thing with my dryer last year! I watched a bunch of repair videos and ordered a cheap motor online for like $25. It worked for exactly one load then started smoking. That little experiment ended up costing me a new motor plus a service call fee because I fried the circuit board too. Now I just save up and buy the better parts from a real appliance shop. My neighbor told me she always does the same thing and it saves her headaches. I figure peace of mind is worth the extra money.
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kelly.nora2mo ago
Heard a friend try this with her fridge and the compressor blew in two days.
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piper_reed1mo ago
Read a Consumer Reports thing a while back that basically said cheap replacement parts are a gamble nine times out of ten. They tested a bunch of generic appliance motors and most of them didn't last even half as long as the OEM ones. It makes sense when you think about it, those $25 motors are made with cheaper materials and worse tolerances. You really do get what you pay for with this stuff, especially when there's electronics involved. Your neighbor sounds like she learned the same hard way. Have you ever had any luck with a specific brand of OEM parts?
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