Is it worth repairing a dishwasher

WLM21

I bought a dishwasher about 30 months ago and it is now flashing, with an overflow problem indicated in the manual.

I've checked for blockages etc, but nothing is obvious.

I didn't take out any insurance, so was wondering whether it's worth fixing, or maybe just as easy to buy a new one. It was only about £220 when I actually bought it, so that's only £7-30 / month which is probably OK.

I have never used an appliance repairer, but i guess they don't come cheap and there is no guarantee that everything will be fixed.

EssexExile

A repair will probably cost something approaching £100, whether that's worth it or not is up to you.

GDB2222

Which make is it? Some manufacturers do a fixed price guarantee. 

DullGreyGuy

Have you googled the make/model and fault to find out likely causes?

2.5 years is fairly short even for a budget appliance, it really depends on if you are talking about an expensive part or something unfixable or something that just needs some effort to unblock an internal pipe or a cheap part and how good you are at diy. 

We gave up on our washer/dryer recently a 5 years old after its second fault in 9 months but that was in part also because it was really bad at drying even when brand new. 

WLM21

GDB2222 said:

Which make is it? Some manufacturers do a fixed price guarantee. 

Bush DW9SLSAEINTW Slimline Dishwasher 

Lorian

Probably means the drain is or was blocked and it will sit with that error until you tip the machine forward and empty the water out of its base  Very wet floor and mess ensues. Needs lots of towels as it will flood your floor. There is generally a float in the bottom of dishwashers that clicks a switch when the bottom tray fills with water.

casper_gutman

Instinctively I'd want to repair it. There is no way to be certain whether this will be worthwhile financially in your specific case, unfortunately. But when ours broke down recently we got it repaired and were very please with the results.

We had an issue with our basic Indesit dishwasher (came with the house). We paid for a fixed price repair. I couldn't fault the service, to be fair. First the chap replaced the pump. This sorted out the problem which prompted us to want a repair. That would have satisfied me, but he also replaced the main control circuit board, which fixed the fact the detergent compartment didn't open - we'd always worked round this by chucking a tablet into the bottom of the dishwasher, and would have been happy to carry on this way as it seemed to work just fine. To top it off he replaced a couple of facia panels which were cracked - just a cosmetic problem, no impact on performance. It's like new now. The service wasn't cheap especially cheap compared to the value of a four-year-old budget appliance, but it left the dishwasher looking and working like new - and with two of the most expensive potential sources of failure replaced with new ones.

baser999

We’ve had a Bosch dishwasher many years, not one of their dearest, and it’s used several times a week. Error message a couple of weeks ago suggesting it was a dodgy heat valve or thermostat? Called out a local white goods engineer, part replaced in less than half hour, about £100. Well worth the time and trouble. Fortunately the machine threw up that error message so it did save the engineer looking for the problem, running off for parts etc as he could just pop in and swap out the part

WLM21

Lorian said:

Probably means the drain is or was blocked and it will sit with that error until you tip the machine forward and empty the water out of its base  Very wet floor and mess ensues. Needs lots of towels as it will flood your floor. There is generally a float in the bottom of dishwashers that clicks a switch when the bottom tray fills with water.

Thank you for the information.
The dishwasher is actually in a property I rent out, so I've agreed to meet the tenant tomorrow so we can take a proper look. Looking inside the machine, there is no standing water .. and the filter is clear and in fact rtegularly cleaned. Is the water you mention below and out of sight?

mexican_dave

Oh I think I can see the problem here: "white goods" in a rented property not a good mix! The tenants are probably putting absolutely filthy dishes into the DW and letting the DW grind it's way through the resulting soup which collects in the pipes! Fat is a particular nasty!

Lorian said:

Probably means the drain is or was blocked and it will sit with that error until you tip the machine forward and empty the water out of its base  Very wet floor and mess ensues. Needs lots of towels as it will flood your floor. There is generally a float in the bottom of dishwashers that clicks a switch when the bottom tray fills with water.

If you take Lorian's advice a step further, if possible get the DW outside and open it up a drain it where it can't make such a mess, before attempting any repairs.
If that doesn't work take the hit and offer the T a new DW. You can either sell them the new DW for £1, or give them the money for a new DW, but in either case you MUST amend the inventory to remove the DW via an email note to tenant, referring to the transaction. No need to literally adjust the inventory so long as the amendment is covered by the "paperwork" (e-mail).
The e-mail noting the adjustment to the inventory is to protect both you & tenant.
In my opinion the fewer white goods that are included in the property (see inventory) the better! They generally just get abused, as the tenant has no stake in using them carefully.

Ozzig

WLM21 said:

Lorian said:

Probably means the drain is or was blocked and it will sit with that error until you tip the machine forward and empty the water out of its base  Very wet floor and mess ensues. Needs lots of towels as it will flood your floor. There is generally a float in the bottom of dishwashers that clicks a switch when the bottom tray fills with water.

Thank you for the information.
The dishwasher is actually in a property I rent out, so I've agreed to meet the tenant tomorrow so we can take a proper look. Looking inside the machine, there is no standing water .. and the filter is clear and in fact rtegularly cleaned. Is the water you mention below and out of sight?

If it's like ours, it's a sump underneath with a float valve so it stops if it thinks there is a leak.
We just unscrew ours, pull it forward, then tip it up a bit. Now much water usually comes out, maybe a hand towel's worth if any. 

Main problem with ours was last time we did it, we split the drainage tube as after 8 years it had become a bit less flexible.