I jokingly say they are designed to be assembled by slave labor so most of the components are plug and play.
So what do you do? Buy new stuff every 5 years?
I get a lot of satisfaction repairing my own appliances and appliances for friends. It saves money AND time. The time it takes to research and complete a repair is way less than the minimum 2 visits during the infamous "4 hour window" while you cool your heels and miss work.
I changed the drum in my 4 year old LG dryer for $100 bucks. When I searched online I heard nightmare stories of the machine unassembled for two weeks in the house waiting for the part and the return trip to install. All for $400 plus dollars. AND some people were on their second repair.
My friend had a machine that would drip/fill when not in use. $12 dollar part and super easy to install a fill valve.
Half the battle is knowing how to get to the part. I would have had no idea how to pull my friends Maytag apart until I watched the YouTube video. I had visions of putting it on horses or laying it on its side. Nope. The whole case body comes off after you flip the control panel up. Easy peasy. Two screws and a hose clamp
My neighbor's parents just had the same problem. I showed her the video and told her where to get the part online. I offered to come by and install it. She texted me "no thanks my husband and I did it"
I just did a main knob/timer on my buddy's washing machine. He called me asking where is the best place to buy new appliances. I said let's try and fix it -- he was happy to try as he was just recently unemployed. We spent more time taking the panel off than changing the part. Super easy.
I agree new appliances are way less reliable these days. That's why I think it pays to learn the basic repairs.
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