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Appliance Repair

June 12, 2022

(Estimated Read Time: ~15 Minutes)

A comprehensive three step guide for people who are looking to find the best appliance repair service in 2022*

Most homeowners can agree, if your refrigerator stops cooling, knowing how to track down the best appliance repairman can be a big deal.

Did you know many home appliance repair companies specialize between brands & platforms?

Many repair companies only work with residential refrigerators and many other excellent repairmen will only be able to help with home laundry products.

Yes finding the right appliance repair company will require a bit of thought but we are confident our process will work, no matter where you live.

Topics Covered:

Am I having a repair emergency?
Should I repair or replace my appliance?
Building a list of qualified repair companies along with questions to ask them over the phone.

Ready? Let’s get started

Appliance Repair Emergency or Not?

When you find out that your home appliance needs repair, you will likely start with an internet search for something like:

“appliance repair near me”

Brooklyn or Manhattan, East coast or West Coast search terms may vary slightly but appliance repair emergencies should always be addressed immediately.

The following will help you better determine if you’re having an appliance emergency.

Emergency red clock - is this an emergency appliance repair

Emergency Condition 1/4 – Refrigerator

If your refrigerator is leaking from the main incoming water supply hose and actively flooding your kitchen, time is indeed of the essence.

Active flooding is an appliance repair emergency in our book.

Need a repairman right away in Brooklyn, NY? Call Precision Appliance @ 718-266-2545

Note: Floods and water leaks are two different things in our book.

A leak is similar to a cup or bucket of water spilling.

A flood is more like someone turning on a garden hose and not shutting it off.

Emergency Appliance Repair Condition 2/4- Dishwasher

A home dishwasher inlet supply hose flooding the kitchen is also a top priority situation.

The main supply hose to your dishwasher is under constant water pressure.

Flooded rooms can be a problem — flooded room

That means if you or someone else does not shut the water off, it will leak indefinitely.

We advise you should either shut the water yourself or call for service right away.

Dishwashers leak for other reasons, but minor leaks usually stop when the unit turns off, or empties the residual liquid from the cycle.

Emergency Appliance Repair Condition 3/4 – Laundry

If you have a front load or top load washing machine and the hot/cold water inlet hoses are leaking it’s time to act fast and smart.

Locate and shut off the incoming water supply valves yourself or call for service fast.

Emergency Appliance Repair Condition 4/4 – Smell Gas?

Did someone at home mention they smell gas?

If you think there may be a natural gas or propane like odor from the gas oven, gas cooktop, clothes dryer or full size refrigerator built after 2019

Act Now!

In the event of a gas leak always think safety first.

If you are not sure of what to do next – Best practices include:

Safely exiting the home
Contact the local gas utility
You may also call the local fire department
Contact Licensed Plumber or Appliance Repair Pro

Emergency Appliance Repair Recap*

Gas leaks and water leaking from the appliance main supply is serious.

These scenarios require fast action on your behalf.

If you ever experience this sort of appliance repair scenario, we advise you to consider if its possible to shut the water yourself.

Home appliance washing machine hot and cold shut off valves

Hot/ Cold Main Shut Off For Washing Machine

If for whatever reason you cannot successfully shut the water off yourself, or feel you would be in danger doing so, simply get to a safe area and say yes to the very 1st appliance repairman that agrees to come over the same day.

Good News

Most who need an appliance repair service will not have an active gas leak or main supply water leak.

So Far We Learned

How to handle an appliance emergency.

If you’re still reading this we will take that to mean you’re not having an appliance emergency and you really want to learn how to find the best appliance repair company.

“To Repair or Not To Repair –That is the Question.”

What Would Shakespeare Do? If he was around today we think he would consider a cost benefit analysis.

Ask & Answer A Few Fundamental Questions:

Does your major home appliance look like the kids have been playing soccer with it as their favorite after school activity?
How old is the appliance?
What will a comparable appliance cost new or what did it originally cost when you bought it new?

“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.”

Since we’re not talking about people or books, let’s be real.

Does your home appliance look like it has seen way better days?

While you should not base an appliance repair or replace decision completely around looks alone, we do advise to use it on a macro level cost benefit analysis.

Once upon a time a home appliance would last 15-20 years before replacement was a serious consideration.

If your home appliance has passed its terrific 2’s, tremendous 3’s, fantastic 4’s, fabulous 5’s, sensational 6’s and hit or passed the very significant 7th birthday

–Your home appliance has served you well!

If your appliance is or already sailed past lucky number 7, stay tuned for a bit of logic you might not expect to hear from an appliance repair service company:

Combining Dollars with “Horse Sense.”

If your appliance originally cost less than or equal to $500.00 USD new, is a minimum of 7 years old and looks as though “Needs some TLC” is being far too kind, a trip to the sales floor is likely a financially wise decision.

Did an appliance repair service just advise me to buy new instead of repair? Yes, we care about people and not just about a buck…….

(“Truth is not only funnier than fiction but often stranger too.” – Zig Ziglar )

Most well trained, professional service companies around the United States, will have a minimum in-home diagnostic service charge somewhere near $100.00 or more.

@ 7 years old, on a machine that looks like it has seen way better days, with a comp cost analysis for a new machine being at or very near $500, we say it’s time for new and not repair.

“Horse sense is really just stable thinking.” -Ziglar

Entry Level, Mid-Range & Premium Brand Appliances

The major home appliance market is diverse and can be split into 3 categories.

Entry level

Commonly found within the purchase price range of $350.00 – $550.00 USD.

While they can be great low budget work horses, they typically have a higher turnover and shorter life span. (Boooo – landfills)

Mid-Range

These Home Appliances normally range between $600.00 – $1000.00 USD

Whirlpool, Maytag, GE LG & Samsung are common brands of this category.

We think the above mentioned manufacturers are excellent brands, some of which have been around for decades.

Actually the brands mentioned have upper tier models that bring them into the premium category too – (GE Cafe, LG Signature & Whirlpool Gold)

Mid-Range Appliance Rule of Thumb (Sticker price $600.00-$1000.00)

It pays to at least have a service technician diagnose the unit before replacement of a mid-range home appliance. (Unless of course money is not an issue and you’re are excited to update to a newer model)

Reason – Many home appliance repair issues are not a huge deal. Very often repair can be made for less than $300.00.

Unfortunately many forums online would like to scare you into thinking every “no cooling” issue on a refrigerator is the compressor.

Actually a compressor (sealed system component) is on average the last thing to fail on a home refrigerator. By our estimates, it will account for <10% of all repairs.

Premium / Luxury home appliances are typically state of the art, normally go years before repair is needed and can be fixed multiple times without ever worrying about a cost benefit issue.

The following is a list of the most common Premium Home Appliance brands

American Range
Bosch
Bertazzoni
BlueStar
Cove
Dacor
Jenn-Air
KitchenAid
Lacanche
Lacornue
Miele
Sub-Zero
Thermador
Viking
Wolf
And many more….

Many premium appliances, like Miele and Sub-Zero refrigerators cost $12,000.00 or more.

Did you know that brands like AGA and La-Cornue, who make custom built ranges have been known to frequent the 6 figure price tag?

As you can imagine we say it always pays to have an appliance repairman evaluate premium brand home appliances before considering replacement.

Now that we have determined whether or not it makes sense to even search for a repairman, let’s understand how to find the best appliance repair company for you and your specific needs.

Repair Referrals & Going Social

30 years ago most would phone a close friend or family member for advice when looking for an appliance repair company.

While thats still a valid approach, we think the following method will help if and when you don’t have a local resource.

Remember in the beginning of this 2022 appliance guide we mentioned not all repairman offer service on every brand / platform?

Knowing the right company for your specific repair needs is important.

“Start Your Search Engines”

Hop on your phone or computer & run a quick search.

We recommend using the following search terms:

“Appliance repair” or “Appliance repair near me“

Note* Consider including your zip code or city in your search terms

Example: “Appliance repair Brooklyn”

Your search should render anywhere between 5-10 potential companies who can help and possibly even look like the photo below

Make a list of the companies including their phone numbers.

(You may need to visit their website to get their phone number)

Take your list and enter their specific company name into google or your preferred search engine. (We use Google) Include the your state, city or province along with the word “reviews.”

Example

“Precision Appliance Services NY reviews”

Note*** Include the state or city in this search.

We advise you to include a bit of location information here because there may be more than one appliance repair company around the world who uses the same name.

As you can see from the photo above, searching for reviews with the company rendered a bunch of results for that specific company.

While positive ratings online is often a good sign and very encouraging, we do not advise you to quit just yet.

Why?

While our NYC Appliance repair team can help with appliance repair on refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers, washing machines and clothes dryers –

We do not service microwaves.

Some companies may only repair GE & Whirlpool while others may only work on Bosch or the Sub-Zero refrigerator brand.

Interestingly enough, many appliance repair companies won’t service Bosch or Miele because it is a bit difficult to get replacement parts and service literature. (We repair Bosch Washer / Dryers & Kitchen Appliances)

Can you see the issue with stopping your search with the first company you find?

Need More Examples?

Example #1

The Viking Appliance brand is known for their trendy “professional chef like” style.

(Did you know they not only make ovens but refrigerators, dishwashers and microwaves too?)

While we would be thrilled to help with your refrigerator, dishwasher or oven made by Viking, we are simply not a good fit for their microwaves.

Example # 2

Miele is a niche home appliance brand who is well known for their dishwashers.

As mentioned previously we do service Miele, but we simply would not be a good fit to help with a Miele Vacuum repair.

(We have had the pleasure to use the Miele vacuum, it works well.)

Imagine you called the first highly rated appliance repair company that you found online and you asked to set an appointment.

Most well run repair service companies will ask you for the appliance brand & model # on the initial phone call or online interaction. If you answer them by saying “I’m not sure” and set the appointment anyway, could you think of any issues that might occur?

Always try to provide the prospective service company with details.

The right information is key to a quick and accurate repair.

Good News*

You have been diligent so far in reading this 2022 guide to finding the best appliance repairman possible!

You’re almost done, keep reading!

Now that you have a list of at least 3 repair companies in hand, are you ready to know how to finish your search properly?

Call & Ask Good Questions

What are good questions to ask?

We made a list 🙂

Do you service my brand?
Would you happen to know if we are still in any sort of warranty?
What is your scheduling availability?
Do you offer a warranty on your repair work?
Do you work on gas appliances? (Only applicable if you need help with a gas stove, clothes dryer or oven)
I have my model number, would that help you at all? Learn more about appliance model numbers here
There is an error code flashing on the display of my machine, would it help you to know what the code is? (Applicable if there is an error code – Example “OE” or “F:03“)
If you have a stacked front load laundry set ask them if they work on stacked units
Do you work on Electric stoves? (Only applicable if you need help with an electric stove)

(If some of the questions above sound basic to you, please understand many homeowners simply don’t know much about their appliances.

That being said we wrote this guide to help people who need more information and want to make quality decisions.)

Last but not least, explain to them what is happening with your home appliance.

If they ask you questions, do your very best to answer them all.

You may even get a world class representative on the phone who will tell you how to simply fix the issue yourself.

In no way shape or form are we attempting to brag by saying this but we have helped many people solve their appliance issue over the phone without ever going to their home.

Reminder

Most of the time appliances are out of warranty after year 1. Premium brands commonly offer extended limited warranties.

While your refrigerator may be 10 years old and not cooling, as previously mentioned, Sub-Zero has a 12 year warranty on some of their refrigerator sealed system components.

Ask the service company if the think you might still be in a warranty. The best companies know these things!

Quality Questions Matter!

Yes, that means the homeowner in those circumstances can get the work done for free with the manufacturer, instead of paying us to repair the appliance. (Shhhhh- keep that to yourself….)

on second thought – tell everyone you know!

(Oh yeah and if you think any of this is helpful please remember to share this 2022 appliance guide on social media too)

Phone Call Conclusion:

If they seem polite (Don’t settle for grumpy*), answer your questions with kindness and professional insight, have availability, service your brand and have decent reviews online, we think you now have a great candidate who is qualified for the repair.

Repeat the process as needed, (you may not get optimal results right away) but we know believe you are well informed to find the best appliance repairman possible!

Congratulations!

Not only did you complete this 2022 guide to finding the best possible appliance repairman, but the next time you have an “appliance on the fritz,” you will know how to find the right company to help.