Has anyone had a dryer repaired or bought a new one recently?

[jess_g]

Just wondering what its going to cost to get a reapiar man out to look at our dryer and see why it does not work. I also am wondering what the replacement cost would be. Are there hidden fees like a fee to take the old one out? We ended up buyijng a $400 dishwasher a few years ago and the total came to $800 with all the extra fees and such. I am wondering if this will be the case with a new dryer too.

Thanks for any advice on this,

Jessica.

[C99]

Jessica,

Check ConsumerReports.org. They actually give you a recommendation on whether you should replace or repair your dryer given its age. In any case, our 10-year-old dryer died last year and we bought a new one. We bought through GE and there were no hidden fees -- we knew upfront that it would cost $75 extra for delivery and $25 extra for them to haul away our old dryer.

HTH

[katerinasmom]

I live in NYC. We needed service on our one year old Whirlpool Duet gas dryer (just out of warranty). It cost $150 just for the repairman to come out and diagnose the problem plus $60 per hour to repair plus the cost of parts. (I managed to get Whirlpool to cover the cost of parts but it still cost me $270. The repair service told me over the phone before scheduling the appointment exactly how much it would cost to come out and once the guy came out they were able to give me an estimate of the total cost to repair.

[egoldber]

Around here its in the $100 range for a repair person to come out to look at your dryer. Given that we just bought a brand new Maytag dryer for $500, it wasn't worth it for us to even spend that $100 plus whatever the part cost was to fix our 10 year old dryer.

[JTsMom]

Any idea what the problem is?

We bought a second hand w&d to tide us over while we are renting (long story, but it was cheaper than renting one). Anyway, it was a 7 yr old bottom of the line Fridgedair set. We've had a couple of problems with both the w&d. DH and I just looked up the problem online, and tinkered a little, and we were able to fix them every single time. Neither of us are very handy, so if we can do it, I'd bet anyone can! So far we've dealt with the washer not draining, the dryer not drying and a bad hose, broken knobs, an obnoxious squeal and a crack in the tub! The parts were not expensive, so we're still way ahead of the game.

[Jacksonvol]

I agree you might want to see if it is something you can fix yourself. Dryers really aren't very complicated (at least the middle of the road ones I have experience with) and you may be able to fix it. We just replaced a thermostat kit and the parts were only $32.00. The hardest part was wrangling it in and out so we could work on it. It really was pretty satisfying to be able to fix something like that without having to call for help.

[o_mom]

If you have Sears repair look at it and then decide not to get it fixed, they will give you a coupon for the cost of the visit that you can use for a new one at their store. We did that when ours died - it was the motor and would have been $200+ to fix it. Te sevice call was $50-60 I think. You can get an idea of what is wrong on this website: http://www.repairclinic.com/0088_8_1.asp

Dryers don't usually have much in the way of fees - usually $100 if you don't catch a free delivery/install sale, including taking the old one away. You have to buy a cord and a new vent (the short piece out the back that connects to your wall vent) since most won't let you re-use the old ones. If you have a gas dryer it is probably more because of the connections.