Jon-Bxl

Hi our dishwasher (not me ) has broken down. Zanussi

I did the usual checks leccy, door interlock etc. No luck.

Can anyone recommended a GOOD technician who doesnt charge the earth, with contact details, please?


Thanks in advance

Jon

Pulaski

How old is it?

Jon-Bxl

Hi it's about 9 years old, with non-continuous usage in that time....lets say roughly 3 years of equivalent use

Jon

Pulaski

Some parts decay/ deteriorate as a function of time, not usage. At nine years old you should seriously consider just buying a new one as you may easily end up spending most of what a new one would cost just to end up with one that is still nine years old, and only as reliable as a nine year old machine.

Jon-Bxl

Thanks I think that's a good point. It's actually my normal policy. Last night I decided on it. I once had an expensive dishwasher and microwave. Once the problems started it was expensive! I bought a far cheaper washer, that cleans better, for our place in Brussels, with many recyclable parts for a third of the price. So basically I moved to disposable kitchen equipment! If it breaks after a few years, change it. No extended warranty either.

Then the micro went, just a small plastic rod that activates the safety switch when you close the door, they wanted 70 quid just for the part! So I bought a new machine.

If both give 3 years life, keeping changing makes sense.... And Im not particularly bothered about brand names.

The great thing here in Spain is that they will quickly install, remove the old one and tidy up too.

Thanks
Jon

MikeCol

Hi Jon, when we bought our apartment (like you) in 2006 we also equipped it with all the usual white goods. We decided against expensive models and went for the cheaper brands. Now, after nearly 11 years (including 7 1/2 of living there permanently) we have only just had to replace the dishwasher & dryer. I think, after all that time & usage, we have certainly got our monies worth & replacement is probably the best route. Just like to add, if you decide on replacement, we like the little electrical shop opposite the post office 😊

Jon-Bxl

Decision made thanks Were going for new! We will check out the little shop, we know you like it and you recently kindly recommended it for a replacement glass shelf for our fridge, that broke. We went there, they had glass shelves, but unfortunately not one our size. We took it to a 'cristalleria' SP yesterday to have one made up.

Thanks again
Jon

Pulaski

Some things I can fix myself, but I reluctantly came to the same conclusion after twice paying for a service technician to look at fridges, and another once to look at a washing machine - they charged $65 on each occasion to tell me it wasn't repairable! ..... I sometimes think that's a good business model - visit people, tell them their appliance isn't repairable, and charge them $65.

Jon-Bxl

I decided to stop buying expensive brand name white goods, when the technician came with a 75eur call out charge, fixed my machine in less than 2 minutes and I had to pay a minimum 30 min labour charge.

Next time it had a problem - I bought one at a third/quarter of the price. It cleans better and I can change 3/4 of them for the same price, and so I reckon I will have a longer use of my money, more effectively by just using these machines as 'disposable' ones.

A little later that plastic rod about an inch or so long specially shaped broke. It activates the safety switch to switch on the microwaves. 70 quid! I have these built in appliances with a matching panel at the front, and one can buy them at a far cheaper price and still keep the look of the kitchen.

I found a built in micro in a shop in the UK fully (+more) featured for about £150 I think. So I bought that. Once things start failing, it can carry on.

With special tools often needed, stopping us fixing things, and planned obsolescence etc, this is the best way for us.

However from a environmental POV this may not be best, but nowadays more and more machines take this into consideration... and even if I have to change every 3-4 years, each generation gets more environmentally friendly. So I change up more effectively. In Belgium we also have an environmental charge that is used to more effectively dispose of the old stuff..(I hope) so I hope I am still somehow 'doing my bit'!

Thanks
Jon

Jon-Bxl

We made a really 'quick-buy' yesterday. Popped into one shop - where we bought all our white goods. Then as promised we went to the one by the post-office, recommended by Mikecol, attached. They had the best deal so we did it. Probably all done in 5 mins!

We would never go to the mega stores for this stuff, the local guys are reasonably priced (or similarly priced) and locals give some excellent service (one of the highlights of Spain for us). They were prepared to deliver, connect, test and remove the old machine and clear up that afternoon. We chose the first morning delivery, today, as they could be delayed with previous work, yesterday. Came on time and all sorted.

Another great thing is that you only pay if you are satisfied, so they asked us to come in and pay after. But we had confidence in them and paid up front.

for the Spanish service and also thanks for the advice on this thread

Jon

MikeCol

Glad it went well 😊👍

Jon-Bxl

Postscript.

The installers left with the old machine.

We went out a bit later for lunch with litter, stopping at the bins for a sec.

2 guys were looking at our old machine which was dumped there. I walked over to have a look to check it was actually ours. So perhaps they thought I was also interested! They were not comfortable having me look at it.

We then left and noticed that they were hiding it behind the bins! They had a pretty fancy car, much better than ours! Probably planning to come back.

After lunch (in Sao Bartolomeu) we went back curious, it was stripped, broken open, the old shelves, pipes and the front controls all gone.... and whatever was inside when they unscrewed the side and ripped back the panel, and took whatever gubbins was inside!!

Our 9 yr old broken machine has only given up some of its 'ghost'!

We also have a water leak to get the shop back to fix -but I am sure its minor.

Jon

olivia

There is a recycle centre on the industrial estate on the right opposite ferrer. I think that is where scrap machines should go. Its on their way back to Ayamonte not out of their way. Strange they chose to dump it. We see complete house clearances by our bins. I wonder if trade have to pay like UK. We take all our dead machines there and are never asked to pay.

Pulaski

I take old appliances, and any other scrap metal I have laying around, to the scrap yard and receive payment for it, currently about 7p(USequiv), per Kg. Which works out around £8-£10 for a cooker or dryer, and £10-£20 for a washer or fridge. It is quite easy to get £30-£50 worth of scrap metal in my pick-up truck.

Jon-Bxl

Good to know about the recycle centre. Thanks.

Its amazing what people will dump at the bins, and how they don't separate all the time, I see all sorts of 'wrong' stuff in the bins. Annoying. Its worse here than many other places in Europe.

We had another workman come in to install some stuff earlier. I noticed he chucked the packaging over the fence! The bins are directly on the way out of our development - with a container for cardboard!

Jon