Cutting Into The Car Budget

[roadking77]

We had bad storms go through the area last Monday. Typically if it just starts to rain our electric will go out. Ironically we must have been in a calm spot as all around us the winds and rain were much worse than what we got. A lot of people not more than a half mile away were without power for 6+ hours. Our electric flickered just a bit, then POP, fire shot out of the gfi and we lost power. Did not really hear a lightning crack, just the electric pop. After only about 5 minutes electric came back, but several lights n such were out. Went downstairs and there were more than half a dozen breakers tripped. Ended up with a bit of electronic damage as it happened to be. Blew out our double wall oven, less than 6 month old clothes washer, dishwasher and one of 3 garage door openers. I have a pretty high ins. deductible so still analyzing if its worthwhile to turn it in. I have talked to my agent about it. Today I went to Lowes to get a pack of AAA batteries and ended up with a new dishwasher So happened they are on sale until Wednesday. Got a Kitchen Aid and I have to say it was about the biggest PIA I could imagine to install. About the only good thing I can say about the bosch we replaced was, at least it was pretty easy to install.
Service guy is coming Thursday to look at the washer. Hopefully it will be covered by warranty.

[5th T/A]

Kerry, sorry to hear about your misfortunes. I guess the only positive thing is it could have been worse. As I recall you were less than happy with your old dishwasher, so there is that.

I have heard a lot of new home construction have surge suppressors installed in the service panel, it's supposed to prevent what you experienced. I think they can be retrofitted to existing panels, but not sure. About 30 years ago we had a tree hit by lightning and it jumped to a gutter and then took out a lot of devices in the house, too much to list. If you end up making an insurance claim, be sure to double check everything that plugs into the wall. My insurance company was eager to settle. Several days later we found additional damaged devices and the company refused to pay for them. I switched insurers.

[scarebird]

...About the only good thing I can say about the bosch we replaced was, at least it was pretty easy to install...

Wife is not happy at all with the Bosch we have   

2/3 load is max if you want stuff to be clean.

[aussieta]

our dishwasher died and i bought a bosch
i really wish i hadn't
so dis-appointed

[roadking77]

My biggest problem with the bosch was on the service end, but my wife hated the thing. She was not happy at all with the way it cleaned. My big beef was that mice had eaten the drain hose not once but 3 times!! In order to change the hose the side of the unit had to be removed, then the main guts had to come out, ALL TO CHANGE A SIMPLE HOSE. After doing so a couple of times I became quite proficient at the job. Then there was the E3 code! Float switch would stick. I learned that fix as well. I feel I am about a half step away from being a bosch mechanic.
We bought it during covid when our other died. It was one of the few dishwashers we could even find. I knew bosch was a quality item, the one we got was a floor demo from best buy. I paid over $800 and the list was something like $1500. Figured for that money it would be the best.
One thing I will give to that thing, it was quiet. With my bad hearing I literally could not hear it running.

[ryeguy2006a]

Sorry to hear that Kerry... That's crazy that it just blew all of those appliances due to a surge.

[5th T/A]

I guess I am the only one here that had good luck with Bosch. Mine is at least five years old, bought the model recommended by Consumers Reports, cost about $800.00. No pre rinsing or washing required, throw the dishes in and the come out spotless. Maybe it’s the detergent or water?

Oh Well, Good thing we can all agree on Firebirds!

[roadking77]

Just finished installing my second dishwasher in as many days. Woke up this morning and the new DW I put in yesterday was beeping and had a flashing light, throwing an error code. Tried the reset according to the manual and the 'net, no luck. So, I called the service centre, did what they said to do, nothing She then said she could set up a service appt. for the end of next week OR I could take it back where I bought it. No brainer, back to lowes. No problem at all with the exchange. I got a whirlpool this time. Made by same co. that does the kitchen aid. Installation was the same, now that I knew what I was doing it went without a hitch. Inside looks the same, underneath looks the same, the instruction manual was the same. Only diff is the touch pad for operation. AND it was $50 cheaper. Ran through a cycle and this one so far seems to be working fine.

[79GoldnTan]

We went thru the same about a year ago. Lighting struck the pole at the end of our road. Blew the washer,dryer, cooktop and all the plug in surge protectors. Washer and dryer were only two years old, insurance company sent out an appliance repair outfit to check them out, simple fix replace circuit boards.  They are a year out, they bought us new units. Nothing works without the circuit boards today. Oh and our Bosch dishwasher survived and still works great.

[FormTA]

Sorry to hear Kerry.  I'm not going to say a word about ours as not to jinx their longevity....

[rkellerjr]

Ouch buddy! Glad the house didn't catch on fire! Being hit by lightning is no joke. My only issue with dishwashers at this point is that the last two we bought don't dry the dishes very well.

[roadking77]

Saga Continues,
Our washing machine was also hit. Being that its only 6 mo.s old it is supposedly being covered by warranty. When I called I was given a date a week out for the service guy. That day being yesterday morning between 8 am and noon. At 8:30 am I get a text message that they need to reschedule for Aug 29 due to the technician having an emergency!! WT&&^&!! Anther 2 weeks! We have limped through the first week without one, but now the trips to the laundry mat are in order. I called the service company and the girl from India (no offense meant at all) was of no help. I then called Maytag direct and was told said service company is the ONLY one in my area authorized to do the repairs. She was a bit more sympathetic and  heard my complaints but still no resolution. I suppose I am in Appliance Jail, not unlike Paint Jail! LOL.

[FormTA]

What was the reply from your insurance company? If they are covering stuff, I would just buy a new one and if they can fix the semi new one great, have as an extra or a shop unit but get yourself back up and running if you can.

We got hit the first year in out new home. It took out a our big flat-screen TV, my stereo, which was around $2500 (yamaha advantage RX series), and my fridge. It was all replace by insurance. I was able to find a used circuit board for the damaged TV and that one is still running in our finished basement 13 years later. I was able to replace a few parts (transistor, capacitor and such) in the stereo to get it half working, the Bluetooth and wifi part were still fried, I gave it to a buddy of mine as it made for a great shop radio. I removed the serial number so no insureance claims could be made on them again but my insurance company said do what I wanted with them. Again, that was 13 years ago now.

[5th T/A]

Saga Continues,
Our washing machine was also hit. Being that its only 6 mo.s old it is supposedly being covered by warranty. When I called I was given a date a week out for the service guy. That day being yesterday morning between 8 am and noon. At 8:30 am I get a text message that they need to reschedule for Aug 29 due to the technician having an emergency!! WT&&^&!! Anther 2 weeks! We have limped through the first week without one, but now the trips to the laundry mat are in order. I called the service company and the girl from India (no offense meant at all) was of no help. I then called Maytag direct and was told said service company is the ONLY one in my area authorized to do the repairs. She was a bit more sympathetic and  heard my complaints but still no resolution. I suppose I am in Appliance Jail, not unlike Paint Jail! LOL.

Sorry to hear this. Not that this is remotely funny but memories of the old Maytag repairman come to mind. The loneliest guy in town waiting for his phone to ring. Surely Maytag must have a service hot line or way to escalate the slow response.

[79GoldnTan]

Sorry to here, brings back bad memories of our ordeal. In the end it worked out, the tech said no parts for at least a year, wrote it up as non repairable. Had new units that week. But what bitc.... dealing with it. Wish you the best

[roadking77]

Have been waiting for a couple of weeks for the ONLY authorized appliance repair guy that does warranty work. Almost a month without a washing machine is a PIA!! Supposed to be here a week ago but canceled the day of the appt. Was to be here between 12 and 3. 3:10 he shows up, Ok, not too bad, took all of 5 minutes to tell me that the board was fried! REALLY!! I said over the phone that it had a surge, I could tell you the board was fried He had one part but not the main mother board that he needed. I am one of the easiest going people any of you guys could ever meet but I blew up!! I actually felt bad afterwards
Said he would order the part and they would get back to me when they can come back. Then said they only come to my area tues and thurs AND when there are 4 other people needing service.  I SURE HOPE HE COMES BACK TUESDAY!

[roadking77]

Repair guy showed up yesterday afternoon. Took literally no more than 5 minutes to make the fix. Washer is good as new, finally!

[5th T/A]

Glad to hear, one less thing to worry about and hopefully repair was covered by warranty.

[roadking77]

Yes, washer was only a few months old so everything was covered. That was the frustrating part because there is only company authorized to do the warranty work. New garage door opener, new dishwasher, clothes washer repaired only thing I am out at this point is the double wall oven, but we have a new built in range that we just started to use. I figure my insurance deductible will almost pay for a new wall oven when and if I ever decide to replace. The reason I did not turn into my insurance. I talked to my agent and because of only one claim in 30yrs I am on the bottom tier of rating (good). She said if I turned this in it could go either way, could be ignored because I do have a good rating or they could use it as an excuse to raise my rates!!!
Should be getting the correct parts for my engine/transmission install today or tomorrow hopefully and all is good again 

[FormTA]

Glad you're getting thing sorted out from that. Can't wait for more car pictures!