Consumers struggling with hard-to-fix appliances
Survey finds less than half of Kiwis think it's easy to find someone to fix an appliance.
Research by Consumer NZ shows people are frustrated by how hard and pricey it is to get their appliances repaired.
The consumer watchdog’s latest survey found only 45% of respondents thought it was easy to find someone to fix an appliance, while 24% thought it was easy to find spare parts. Two-thirds said appliance repairs cost too much.
It’s time this changed.
Kiwis expect their appliances to be repairable – 98% of respondents think they should be able to get their washing machines and dishwashers fixed.
“It’s clear people want it to be easier and more affordable to get broken appliances repaired. Just 24% of Kiwis would sooner replace something faulty than get it repaired, while half felt bad when they’ve had to junk an appliance,” Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said.
“That’s why we’ve launched our #BuiltToLast project. Our aim is to make it easier for people to buy more repairable and durable products. This means we’ll be doing more durability testing and more research. We’ll also be encouraging manufacturers to address the problems we find in their products,” Duffy said.
Consumer NZ also asked about what should happen with appliances once they reach end-of-life. Two-thirds of respondents think manufacturers and retailers should be responsible for recycling the dead appliances they make and sell.
While 40% of Kiwis don’t mind paying someone to recycle their dead appliances, only 20% think it’s easy to find somewhere to recycle them. This shows New Zealand has a lack of appropriate recycling services.
The Consumer NZ #BuiltToLast campaign and associated e-waste project are made possible by partial funding from the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund. As part of the wider plan to reduce the amount of harmful rubbish ending up in landfills, Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage recently announced electrical and electronic products as one of six priorities for a regulated product stewardship scheme, under the Waste Minimisation Act.
Member comments
Everything should be repairable, often it's just a small part needed.
Our washing machine and dryer lasted for about 25 years.
In 1993 we bought a new washing machine, dryer, dishwasher (our first), and fridge/freezer. All Fisher & Paykel.
Our Smart Drive washing machine had the control panel replaced under warranty.
In 2013 the pause/wash switch broke. I figured if I couldn't get a switch I would take one from a function we didn't use and swap it.
But the helpful gentleman in the parts/repair dept. at the Hornby (Chch) Branch said go to Jaycar and see if you can get a 'tact switch' switch, otherwise perhaps swap another switch on the panel.
For a dollar I got a new switch at Jaycar and managed to replace it without melting down the control panel lol.
About a month later I replaced the the hot water solenoid - $25. I said it was getting noisy when spinning. He said probably needs new bearings and a seal. $50. He gave me a photo copy of the parts breakdown of the machine.
A few weeks later when I had a spare w/e I bought the parts and spent about 8 hours on Saturday repairing it. The time was spent carefully and patiently pulling apart what I needed to. I didn't know how it came apart and didn't want to break something else in the process.
Success! A nice quiet machine.
2018 one day it just wouldn't turn on. 25 years. (probably control panel).
I bowed to wife pressure. We bought a new one, same make and newer version of similar. I gather we may be lucky to get 10-15 years.
Unfortunately the helpful gentleman and the parts dept. at Hornby are no longer.
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