Buying spare parts

The aim of this manual has been to assist in the D-I-Y repair of your household appliances. I hope that you will now not only possess a greater understanding of how your appliances work, but also the knowledge to prevent many faults from occurring. Above all, I hope that armed with this information, you will feel confident enough to tackle most of the faults that may arise from time to time.

All this knowledge and new-found confidence will be wasted, however, if you cannot locate the parts that you require to complete the repair.

This would once have been somewhat of a problem, but in recent years the availability of spares has increased. This is for several reasons.

• The reluctance of people to pay high labour charges for jobs that they feel they can do themselves.
• The general interest in household D-I-Y, coupled with the saving from call-out and labour charges, gives a feeling of satisfaction when the job is complete.
• The growth in size and number of D-I-Y stores.
• The improvement in the availability of pre-packed spares for many appliances.

In the past, many companies were reluctant to supply parts for the D-I-Y market, but the current trend is to expand the number of pre-packed spares available to the public. The range of off-the-shelf spare parts in both retail outlets and from mail order companies is most welcome. Many appliance manufacturers who do not have local dealerships will supply parts by post. Unfortunately this can sometimes be a long process.

By far the best approach to obtaining the parts you require is to find a local ‘spares and repairs’ dealer through the yellow pages or local press. This is best done before your appliance breaks down; you will then not waste time when a fault arises. In many instances you will probably possess more knowledge of your machine than the assistant in the shop, so it is essential to take the make, model and serial number of your appliance with you to help him or her locate or order the correct spare part for your needs.

It is always advantageous to take the faulty part with you to confirm visually that it is the correct replacement. For example, regulators and thermostats look much the same from memory, although quite substantial differences may be apparent if the faulty item is compared with the new one. The casing or mounting plate may be different.

Pattern parts

Certain widely available parts are marked ’suitable for’ or `to fit’. These are generally called pattern or patent parts. These are items or parts that are not supplied by themanufacturer of your appliance but are designed to fit it. Some are copies of genuine parts and others are supplied by the original parts manufacturer to an independent distributor who, in turn, supplies the retailer for sale to the customer. This avoids the original manufacturer’s mark-up because it is not an ‘official’ or ‘genuine‘ spare part. This saving is then passed on to the customer.

Many appliance manufacturers disliked this procedure in the past as the parts were often of an inferior quality. This is not the case today, however, because the supply of parts is very big business and quality has improved dramatically. Although great savings can be made, care must still be taken not to save money by buying inferior spare parts. Check the quality of the item first wherever possible. A reputable dealer should supply only good quality pattern or genuine parts.

Many of the original appliance manufacturers are now discounting their genuine authorized spares to combat the growth in patterned spares. This is very good as it can only benefit the consumer.

Genuine parts

Parts supplied by the original manufacturer of your appliance or by the manufacturer’s authorized local agent are classed as genuine. In many cases they carry the company’s trademark. Many of the parts in today’s appliances are not, in fact, produced by the manufacturer of the finished items, but by a subcontractor. The subcontractor may, in turn, supply a distributor of patterned spares with identical items.

Patterned spares producers will take on only items that have high volume sales and leave the slow moving parts to the original manufacturer of the appliance. This tends to annoy manufacturers who find supplying these something of a nuisance. Obtaining spares direct from the manufacturer may prove a long process, as many are unwilling to supply small orders direct to the public. A system that tends to deter small orders, possibly by design, is to use a proform a invoice which delays despatch of parts until your cheque has cleared.

With the increase in D-I-Y, manufacturers are slowly changing their view of spares supply. This is simply to fend off the increasing sale of patterned spares, by making the original parts more available and competitively priced. Again, this will in turn benefit the consumer.

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