Some of you guys have some cool old appliances. My wife wouldn't like that because the kitchens look dated. She doesn't share my interest in retro styling.
Remember the commercials with the Maytag repair guy sitting around bored because he has nothing to do? I've learned that it's not because they never break, but because they're so expensive to repair that nobody bothers. The previous owners of our house bought all new appliances, all Maytag except for a Kenmore microwave/range hood, shortly before they sold the house.
We have a Maytag Neptune front loader clothes washer. The first time the bearings went bad (failed seal, water contamination) I called Maytag and they wanted about half the cost of a new machine to repair! So I went on eBay and got a bearing and seal kit for about $50 and fixed it myself. It failed again this past winter and I had to do it again. So about every 6 years it costs me $50 and a couple evenings of work, but for the typical consumer it would probably mean buying a new washer.
Similar story with our Maytag side-by-side fridge. The circuit board that controls the defrost cycle went bad. The first time I got the Maytag guy in to replace it. I watched him the whole time to see how everything comes apart. The SECOND time it failed, I bought an aftermarket replacement board from eBay and replaced it myself. They weren't that expensive so I bought two at the same time. The first board I installed has never failed yet though. So Maytag COULD have designed it to last but didn't.
Our Maytag dishwasher is on its second set of racks because the coating splits and then they rust badly. Those racks are almost finished as well. We'll probably just replace the dishwasher instead of replacing the racks again. Meanwhile, my mom has a ~25 year old Maytag dishwasher and the original racks are still in good condition. So they USED TO make racks that last....
, they have left it from the day he passed away.
