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Our 3 year old (AEG/Electrolux) tumble drier just died the other day, i.e. no power gets to it any more (socket okay, plug fuse okay, heat exchanger thingie clean).
The service centre person said a "normal" callout costs £90+, and if there is no hope for the tumble drier, we pay that anyway for the callout, if it needs parts, they are £££ extra.
They also offer a "no fix no fee" service for £180, so engineer comes out, if no hope, get £180 back, if fixable, will be fixed for no extra cost. If it goes wrong again (within xx months), we'll get a replacement tumble drier. Too good to be true?
Which option do I choose?? The fact that no power gets to it is pretty terminal, or is it?
Thanks for any opinions (including how bad tumble driers are for the planet etc ;-))
I always look at how much a replacement is.
If I could get another 3 years (AEG have a 3 year warranty I think?) by buying new for, say, twice the repair bill then I'd buy a new replacement.
from memory a new tumble drier isn't much more than £200.
Unfortunately it only came with a one year warranty (bought it from Boots online) - but as it wasn't one of the cheap ones (it cost £380), I never expected it to die after only three years!!
I guess that's not something I can argue with the manufacturer though - reasonable life expectancy for tumble drier more than 3 years? It's not even been used that much 🙁
we do no fix no fee on boiler repairs..what your being offered really is a fixed fee repair.. check out the price of spares there pennies. your new tumble drier will cost 158 from appliances on line..
If you do have to buy new, then look at costco, they do a 5 year warranty on white goods
There's lots on fault diagnosis and repair on the web (youtube in particular). Chances are it'll be a common fault and you just need to replace a component. You can buy any component for a drier online.
Do it yourself for £20 (probably).
What he said - tumble driers are hardly complicated.
Thanks, I did wonder how the "no fix no fee" thing was profitable for the manufacturer (or service agent)...
I'll check the web for advice - and hopefully instructions how to take the tumbledrier apart and put it back together 🙂
Cheers also for the tip re costco, good to know!!
look for "espares" on the web have loads of videos, be careful if its the capacitor they bite!!
espares & DIY with Youtube videos, it's all much easier than you think
replaced a worn bearing in our just a few months ago. dryers are the simplest things going tbh
empty the hoover ready though, good opportunity to clean it out. you'll be amazed how much fluff is in there
Might well be an easy cheap fix you can do yourself. Mine went a couple of years ago - I googled the problem and it suggested that the thermostat had gone. Bought replacement thermostat from Espares for 20 quid and fitted it myself - and I'm normally pretty useless when it comes to such things.
Mikey-simmo, thanks, link bookmarked for future reference!
As you all suggested, googled the problem and model name and came up with an identical case where it was the pcb. Seems like pcbs are not as easy to get as other spare parts? Is it still worth having a go ourselves?
I'm out.
AEG pcb -> [url= http://shop.aeg.co.uk/product/1120990724/Tumble+Dryer+PCB ]http://shop.aeg.co.uk/product/1120990724/Tumble+Dryer+PCB[/url]
Disclaimer - It may or may not be the right one for your dryer.
Pay the £90. Get a proffessional to look at it and expertly diagnose.
If says it's component X at £X pounds, have a look on t'internet. If it's an unreasonable quote then send him on his way and sort it yourself.
Have a quick look first THEN pay the professional.
Cool, I think first of all I'll phone Boots and argue that a tumble drier in that price range should last more than 3 years and see what they say; in parallel I'll check how to get to the PCB in case that's what's wrong with it.
Ideally Boots will say they'll pay for an engineer to check it and then we proceed as per ScotchEgg's suggestion...
in parallel I'll check how to get to the PCB in case that's what's wrong with it.
TBH judging from title/tone of thread, I think I'd suggest getting a pro in to have a look. Its unlikely they won't be able to fix it, whether you agree with the quote or not is a different matter.
Try an independant repair store - they might charge less than £90 callout.
I've not read most of the above (like atrue STW poster).
I have used a company called repaircare in the past. They are online so just google. The first time they fixed the item - saved me a whole heap of hassle getting an extractor hood replaced. Cost the flat rate fee which was cheaper than the call out fee for the official bloke.
Second time they told me the firdge/freezer was dead. Cost me the reduced fee which was way less than the call out fee from the official bloke.
I would use them again.
The fridge-freezer died in 3 years. We though this was unnaceptable. You can find the expected life of white goods online. I would suggest your drier has met a premature demise. I pursued M+S under the sales of goods act and the fact the fridge freezer was not fit for purpose/defective as you would generally expect a longer life. After a phone call and a letter they agreed and put a cheque in the post. We got 50% of our money back. I was pretty happy with that. I was expecting a fight with no results.