Is it worth fixing a washing machine or just buy a new one?

djpleasure

The front??? I thought he whole drum comes out of the top? Lots of things to remove.... Any help would be appreciated. I am pretty handy, but tips save lots of time and cut fingers

You dont take the drum casing out, which is what I think you mean, take the back panel off, front fascia off, door interlock, release that, normally two screws, remove door rubber (Boot) from front panel. With entire front now removed you'll see clips all the way around the drum, remove all clips and the front will come off, with element attached, remove element thermastat wires, now you can completely remove drum front. Now go to rear, undo the big nut in middle if spider, then hold spider still & rotate drum until it is free. remove drum completely. I use a metal rod for the next bit, but a cold chisel will suffice, firstly with a screw driver remove black plastic seal from inside middle of drum, then insert rod, chisel etc through spindle hole in back, with hammer knock old bearings out, return to inside drum and knock back bearings out. To put back together is reverse of above

marybishop

Just had the same thing happen to me. The bearings went on my four year old AEG (I was not happy!). Repair man said it would cost £160 to repair as it was a 3 hour job as the whole lot had to be taken apart. I asked him which make he would recommend and he said Bosch. Decided to bite the bullet and buy a new one - it's the one appliance I can't do without! Got the lowest spec Bosch for £279 from a local supplier with no delivery charge and they took the old one away for £6. (I know someone earlier got one cheaper than this but I was just pleased to have a new one delivered within 24 hours!). The Bosch ones come with a 2 year manufacturer's guarantee (not 1 like most others). Have also decided to take out a further 3 year guarantee for £139 payable over 10 months - unless someone tells me this is a silly idea (do let me know!). By the way that's the second AEG machine that hasn't lived up to my expectations (but perhaps they're too high!) - I just expect AEG machines to last a bit longer than 4 years with normal use (is 1 load, sometimes 2, a day normal?).

HTH

the_optimist

My Hotpoint broke down three years ago and I had it repaired. The repair bloke told me to hold on to this machine as it was one of the better models, the new ones weren't as good.
It's a Hotpoint Aquarius 1000, it's still going strong and I had it for 8 1/2 years.
So replacement is not always the best option.

Hornet

had my hotpoint fixed yesterday for 35 quid and the engineer said the same - new machines are poorly built now and only one he sold was bosch as he hasnt had any problems with them (so far) I was thinking of getting a new one and he said - hold onto the aquarius for now.

N9eav

djpleasure wrote:

You dont take the drum casing out, which is what I think you mean, take the back panel off,

This is where I have the issue.... There is no back panel on the WMA35. That's why the engineer said it cost more to repair as they take the top off and pull the whole drum out..

skintchick

If you want to buy a replacement then have a look here if you haven;t already

http://www.clearance-comet.co.uk/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/CategoryDisplay?cgrfnbr=33652&cgmenbr=37087214&noMoreSubs=N

N9eav

There are some good prices on that site. Any one had any experience of the quality of goods?

Vaz_2

Get it repaired. Ours is 15 years old and was 6 years old when we obtained it free from our neighbours across the street. They were throwing it away.
In the 11 years we have had it, I have replaced the pump which empties the machine and changed the door boot twice. Total cost, £31.00.

N9eav

This thead has been going a while. So has my decision to not do anything!
But the machine is now making so much noise that I fear that not only the bearing is gone but maybe also the bit it sits in. So I will stump up the £89 for the Hotpoint man. At least all the parts are free, and it is beginning to sound expensive.

CrazySaver

N9eav wrote:

This thead has been going a while. So has my decision to not do anything!
But the machine is now making so much noise that I fear that not only the bearing is gone but maybe also the bit it sits in. So I will stump up the £89 for the Hotpoint man. At least all the parts are free, and it is beginning to sound expensive.

Let us know how the repair goes or if Hotpoint try and charge you more?