This past week, we had a LESS THAN FOUR YEARS OLD Whirlpool washer FAIL ON US.. We had purchased it from a local owned appliance store we have been patronizing for some 3+ decades. We used a repairman that they recommended – didn’t know at the time that this guy had worked for a local Whirlpool service center until it was closed and he went into business for himself. He told us that it was one of two boards – there was no error codes that would display and each board was $300-$400 each.. I contacted Whirlpool company customer service… they kept me on hold so long that I was able to search expected life span of such equipment – under HEAVY USE – EIGHT YEARS — under light use – 10-12 yrs… take a guess – TWO SENIOR CITIZENS is the only ones using this machine since it was purchased new and the anticipate life expectancy we should expect.
I was hoping that Whirlpool would provide the bad control boards and I would pay the labor… NOPE… I was told that I had to have THEIR APPROVED REPAIR SERVICE TO ASSESS THE MACHINE… I had already paid $75 for an evaluation from a person who use to work for Whirlpool – and working on appliances for FORTY YEARS – and I was going to pay for another service run with NOT EVEN A PROMISE/HOPE that they may provide some compensation on this machine or credit on getting a new Whirlpool washer…
The CS person seemed to be totally unconcerned… and my closing statement to him was that our new washer would not be a Whirlpool… I don’t know if he was chuckling under his breath, because after I went on line and found out all the different washing machine labels… they make… Maybe he sensed that I would not be “smart enough” to find out that information..
We contacted our locally owned appliance store that we have been using for 3+ decades and our NEW LG WASHER WILL BE DELIVERED TOMORROW !
NO MORE WHIRLPOOL APPLIANCES FOR US !!!
Filed under: General Problems
Oh and forgot. Congratulations on selling your beach condo. I dont blame you one bit. And besides its too damn crowded down there anymore. I know I won’t ever live in Florida ever again. We’re really enjoying the peace and quiet up here in the mountains. No one around. Lol Though that does make it kinda lonely at times but we’ve gotten used to it now too. Our kids rarely come up, only about once a year but I’d rather be where its cooler. Cant take crowds or hot weather anymore. Lol I’m sure you and Barb can relate to that. I did spend 3 months last winter in fl but couldn’t wait to get back home and wont be doing anymore winters down there that I know of. The place has absolutely exploded with northerners and Ugh the traffic is horrendous!
When I got my Indiana taxes for 2021 …and the amount that I owed IN for the entire year was LESS than just the property tax on the condo. and that was just about 25%-30% of the entire cost of keeping the condo – not counting any repairs. The association condo fees were about FOUR TIMES the property taxes… I recently checked Zillow.com and the condo we sold a year ago is estimated to be worth about 25% more now – property taxes down there are going to go thru the roof. One of the couples that we had known since 1994 when we both bought our condos… and they sold theirs just before we sold ours – but they were going to continue come to the beach for the winters and rent … he is early 80’s and is dealing with post polio syndrome – another chronic pain pt… their “other home” was in Michigan somewhere… they asked what we were going to do when the cold weather hit… simple response – turn up the thermostat… shedding all those expenses of the condo… we could make our Indiana home real toasty and still be money ahead. I think that I have finally got myself down to my ideal financial retirement weight… one wife, one house, one dog, one Daughter, one Grandson and two vehicles. I just turned 75 and Barb is 73 – I robbed the cradle – she is 16 months younger than me 🙂 We are going to do our best to age and die in place… We built this house in 1974 and it is our Daughter’s problem to deal with EVERYTHING here… thanks for reading my blog 🙂
I have Kenmore Elite washer & dryer, both front loaders. These aren’t that old and the washers mother board broke so my son spoke to repair guy and a little solder to the circuit board fixed it. So I’m still using it but holding my breathe everytime. And now the dryer just decided to have no power. We have had this set but about 10 years and bought new. They’ve been gently used.
But damn, I remember when washer, dryers especially Kenmore, Whirlpool and Maytag lasted almost forever. I only got rid of the old style because I liked the front load option and wanted an upgrade. I’m in the same boat as you Steve. From my online searches seems these brand washers and dryers all get the same issues. The computers break. They just dont make them or anything like they used to.
Its the computers that are the main problem and they cost a whole lot of dough. So I’ve decided to try and look for a refurbished set of those types without computers, don’t need a smart appliances at my house. You know the kind where you pull out the dial turn to your setting and then push in to start. Yes that type. They’re simple to repair and last a long time.
This Kenmore Elite set, I know they were around $2500 and now junk. I hope to not have to spend that kind of money this time.
Good Luck with your new LG’s.
https://airlinklimo.com/who-makes-kenmore-front-load-washers/
Whirlpool
The majority of Kenmore cleaning makers are made by Whirlpool. Whirlpool likewise makes KitchenAid as well as Maytag home appliances.
But in reading this… it would appear that Kenmore was made by many different companies – maybe whoever offered the lowest price for the Kenmore Contract.
Sorry to hear of your bad experience!
On the bright side we’ve had our LG W/D set for 8 yrs, it’s still going strong. We are also an older retired couple, but have had several long term guests – our Grandsons who work in industrial settings. This LG set does their laundry too. 4-5 months, in Winter, we go to AZ, & our oldest Grandson moves in , with his 2 elementary children. The LGs don’t get a rest. Sleeping bags & blankets get clean & dried.
Hope you also enjoy LG
our previous Whirlpool washer – same model – lasted at least 10 yrs.. we sold our FL condo last year after Hurricane Michael CAT-5 took part of the roof off the complex and our top floor unit was under that part of the roof. Found out the hard way… Condo associations in Florida have no liability for damage to a owners unit for failure of the common property – like the roof – the BOD was like dealing with either Abbot and Costello or keystone cops… then they decided that they like to be micro-managing and dictatorial… All the friends we had made at the condo had either died or moved or both… there was 134 units and 12 +/- were full timers and they were like the in-crowd in Jr-Sr high… We bought it in 1994 and in 2000 we decided to move there full time..had done a total rehab on the condo – toss out the beach/rental furniture.. there was a lot of ZEROS on the final cost.. Barb got sick and admitted into the HCA hospital in Panama City, FL and I don’t know if the right phrase is that they almost killed her or almost let her die… consulting with our PCP back in Indiana most days for the 7-10 days she was in the hospital… we live in metro Louisville, KY and there is world class health care. Got her well enough to get her back to IN and ended up with some surgery to get her back to “her normal”… We had already switched our tax domicile – no state income taxes… I just locked the place down – wasn’t going to rent it with all the $$$ I sank into the unit… a lot of it would have been destroyed by renters in a few years. We had built our current house so we had the knowledge and I had the tools go do most of the rehabbing on the unit… loaded up my F-150 bed with tools and headed to the beach… after we got everything back together… we looked at each other and I said I’M DONE … Barb agreed… We sold the place last year.. Here we are one year later and neither one of us has any regrets about no longer having a beach condo.