How long should a washing machine last, and when is it worth repairing?

The repair-or-replace question is answered badly when it is answered generically, because washing machine faults are not evenly distributed in cost. A pump is an inexpensive part fitted from the front in under an hour. Bearings on a sealed drum mean replacing the entire drum assembly, which on many machines approaches the price of a new machine. The same age of machine can be well worth repairing or clearly not, depending purely on which part failed.

What you'll need

• The machine's age and model number
• The fault or error code
• The original receipt, if it failed early (optional)

Step by step

1. Establish the machine's real age.From the receipt, the delivery record or the serial number, which usually encodes a manufacturing date. A machine you think is six years old is often nine.
2. Get the fault properly diagnosed before deciding anything.Note the error code and the model number, and pay for a diagnostic visit if necessary. Deciding on a symptom rather than a diagnosis is how people scrap machines that needed a twenty-pound part.
3. Recognise the faults that are almost always worth repairing.Drain pump, door interlock, drive belt, heating element, carbon brushes, inlet valve, and a blocked or damaged waste hose. These are inexpensive parts, accessible without dismantling the machine, and typically an hour or less of labour.
4. Recognise the faults that usually are not.Drum bearings on a sealed drum, a cracked drum spider, a failed main control board on an older machine, and a corroded or split outer tub. These are either the most expensive part on the machine or a job of several hours, and often both.
5. Apply a rough proportion rather than a fixed number.A reasonable test: if the repair costs more than about a third of a comparable new machine, and the machine is more than about half way through its expected life, replacement usually wins. Adjust for how good the machine is — a well-built machine at eight years may deserve more than a budget one at four.
6. Factor in the running cost difference honestly.A machine from the mid-2000s uses noticeably more water and electricity than a current one. That difference is real but it is small per cycle, so it tips a marginal decision rather than making the case on its own.
7. Check whether it failed earlier than it should have.Goods must be of satisfactory quality and durable. A mid-range machine failing at eighteen months to three years may well not be, and the claim is against the retailer rather than the manufacturer, regardless of whether the warranty has expired.
8. Check parts availability before committing to a repair.Manufacturers commit to holding spares for a stated period. A machine whose parts are no longer made is not repairable at any price, and finding that out after paying for a diagnostic is annoying.
9. Consider what caused the failure.Bearings that failed at six years on a machine that walked across the floor for three of them will fail again. If the underlying cause was overloading, an unlevel machine or a springy floor, fix that as part of the decision.
10. Weigh the independent engineer against the manufacturer.Independent engineers are usually cheaper and often more willing to quote before attending. Manufacturer service is more likely to have the part on the van for a current model. Both are usually cheaper than the extended warranty that would have covered it.
11. Dispose of the old machine properly if you replace it.Retailers must offer to take the old appliance when delivering a new one, and councils and recycling centres accept them. It contains recoverable metal and should not simply be left out.

Tips

• Ask for the quote to be broken into parts and labour. A high labour figure on a simple part is worth a second quote; a high parts figure usually means the part is genuinely expensive and the answer is probably replacement.
• A machine that has had one significant repair is not automatically a bad bet for another. A machine that has had three is telling you something.
• If the fault is bearings and the machine is otherwise excellent, get two quotes. Some machines have serviceable bearings and some do not, and the difference in cost is very large.

Common mistakes

• Scrapping a machine on a symptom rather than a diagnosis — No spin, no drain and no heat all have both cheap and expensive causes. Without knowing which, the decision is a coin toss with a machine's value riding on it.
• Assuming the expired warranty ends your rights — The manufacturer's warranty is an extra. The legal right to satisfactory quality and durability sits with the retailer and lasts considerably longer.
• Repairing a machine whose failure cause is still present — Bearings killed by an unlevel machine on a bouncy floor will die again. Fix the installation as part of the repair or do not bother with the repair.

Questions people ask