Why is fixing your appliance yourself such a good call? You’ll often hear us proclaim that a DIY fix is so much better than hiring a tradesperson or buying a new machine. But can we back up our declarations? Yes siree! We have here not one but five reasons why it’s better to fix your appliance yourself and you don’t just have to take our word for it, our customers have a say in the matter too.

1. Money Savings

Up first is the most obvious benefit. Buying a spare part yourself is cheaper than paying a tradesperson to source and fit it and indeed cheaper than heading out to buy a whole new appliance. In fact, according to Which, the average cost of a repair when hiring someone is between £69 and a whopping £200 depending on the appliance and the difficulty of the fix.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Colin from Northern Ireland, having been stung in the past with repair call out fees, saved money by fixing his oven element himself. Good job Colin.

2. Convenience

You may think, hang on a minute, it’s far more convenient to “get a man in” than waste time fiddling about with appliances. Not so. In the time it takes to source a tradesperson, check their reputation and arrange your fix you could already have completed some easy repairs like changing your fridge bulb, vacuum cleaner belt or oven element.

These fixes save you time going to the shops and buying a new appliance too; if you order your spare part online you can have it delivered directly to you. Andy from Solihull puts it better than we ever could:

3. Choice of Genuine or Compatible Part

Another downside to booking a repair is that you don’t always have the choice between a genuine or compatible part. Some people prefer genuine replacement parts from their appliance manufacturer, whereas others like to save money with a compatible spare.

If you prefer genuine parts you may find your tradesperson only stocks compatible or universal alternatives and has to order in your part, delaying your repair. On the other hand a tradesperson working for your appliance manufacturer will probably only offer genuine branded parts, bad news if you’d like to buy a cheaper universal alternative.

If you buy your spare yourself you have the choice of all available spare parts for your fix, delivered straight to your door.

Meanwhile the debate rages on. CMH from Norfolk is on team pattern part:

Whereas GDP from Sussex is firmly on team genuine part:

4. Sense of Achievement

If you fixed your appliance yourself, bask in that sense of achievement – you’ve earned it! Every time your previously broken appliance switches on and performs without a hitch you can feel proud in the knowledge you made that happen.

Pete from North Wales is definitely feeling a “warm glow”, following a successful repair of his oven light bulb (although he gets zero points for sharing):

5. Build up Appliance Knowledge

With each fix you perform, you get to know your appliances better. As you build up knowledge about the internal workings of your machines, you’ll get better at diagnosing problems and establish whether a fault is worth fixing or if a new appliance is necessary.

Also knowing more about your appliances will help you save money by maintaining them, ensuring they are running at maximum energy efficiency.

T Harte from Northamptonshire is already seeing the value of getting to know his Dyson vacuum cleaner better:

You may even find once you’ve built up some knowledge about your appliances that fixing them doesn’t cost you a penny. Some common problems, like a coin blocking a washing machine drain, can be fixed with no need for any spare parts at all, just a little appliance know how.

If you’re still feeling a little uncertain about fixing your household machines yourself, visit our advice centre for diagnostic, repair and maintenance help. And if you have your own story about how you’ve benefited from repairing your appliances yourself please do share it with us in the comments (it’ll make our day).

Tags: Appliances, compatible spares, fix, genuine spares, money savings, repair, Spare Parts