Buy a new tumble dryer or get old one fixed?

hollyh

Hi I have a small Hotpoint tumble dryer which i've had for about 5 years.

At the moment it's playing up.

There are a couple of things wrong with it
1. It doesn't stop turning when you open the door.
2. It's no longer pumping out hot air only cold. ( this has happened before and cost about £50 to fix.)

Now do I get it fixed or buy a new one?

frankiep_2

I'd definatly buy a new one as they are improving on fuel economy all the time. I replaced a 23 year old Creda model ,which was still working earlier this year, with a Hotpoint condensing drier and have definitly seen my energy use go down. I'm disabled so find hanging things on the line quite difficult, so do use it most weeks, it's also larger so takes bigger loads. I resisted the retailers insurance offered, and Hotpoint offered me a much cheaper deal for 5 years, it works out at £4.20 for ten months, Zanussi and Bosch also offer good deals on their appliances. Good luck

squeaky

Hi hollyh

I'll move your post across to the In my Home board which would be the best place to ask this question.

Good luck

tr3mor

You can pick up the smaller tumble driers on ebay in good condition for around £40. I'd buy one from there and put yours on freecycle for someone else to have a go at fixing!

youngie

if its 5years old cut your losses get a new one if one parts worn out the rest will soon follow

m4rky

My washer/dryer packed in earlier this year. It was a six year old machione that cost £450.

So I contacted a Washer/Dryer repair man from the local paper.
He had a £50 call out charge that covered the first hour.
He said its probably this and will cost around £50 for the part but it could be something else as well and cost even more.

I decided to cut my losses and buy a new one from John Lewis that came with a 4 year warranty. Cost me £400 for a new one plus £50 for the repair man.

What I am trying to say is: If your current broken machine was a good machine and cost a bit in the first place it may be worth getting a repair man in to try and diagnose the problem. It may be a simple fix like the belt has gone and could cost only £50-£100 to fix and may last a few more years.
In my opinion if it could cost mre than £100 your better off buying a new machine that may be more efficient and have a warranty.

HugoSP

The actual problem you describe is probably an easy DIY repair.

Haynes do a book on Washing machine and Tumble dryer repair. The faults on the OPs model could be:

1)Interlock stuck in closed circuit
2)Heater element or thermostat open circuit

A cheap multi meter for around £8 plus the haynes manual and an hour or two could have it diagnosed. Parts could cost around £20.

Or go and spend £100 on a new one.

benood

I'd buy new, but do make sure you never make the mistake I made once which was to get rid of one without checking the fuse on the plug - ever since I realised I was sure that was the problem - of course I'll never know