In a recent post I detailed the need to replace an exisiting coin-op washer and dryer, and the issues we had – a gas leak. Well, that same new dryer had another problem.

Some time ago I noticed the amount of money in the coin box for the washer was lower than that of the washer. Ok, I thought. Maybe someone washed some rugs or what not and dryed them in their unit. Then, the amount of money dwindeled even further. Where we’d collect $50+ from the washer there was $2 in the dryer coin box. Something had to be wrong.

I got the keys and started to look inside the coin box but all the wiring was connected. When I put quarters in and slide the mechanisim it worked. On a subsequent visit, before putting quarters in, I pushed the start button. Well, it worked. The dryer started time and time again without a single coin being inserted.

I put in a service call to the vendor, Advance Maytag, and unfortunately due to the Coronavirus they were forced to close and quarantine their employees. They promised to call back when service was operational – they didn’t. A month later I called again. A tech came out and diagnosed the issue – a bad timer. Unfortuantly, they didn’t have a part in store and had to order it from a warehouse on the west coast.

The following week Advance Maytag returned to swap out the timer. A quick service call and the dryer was back up and operating as expected.

A look at the costs:

• Advance Maytag Service Call – $150
• Parts – Dryer Timer – FREE – Under warranty
• Property Manager Costs: $150 – Multiple trips to property to meet technician (other work performed while on site to reduce cost to property owner).
• TOTAL – $300

I went round and round with Advance Maytag regarding the cost of the service call. I explained that the unit may have been faulty at deliver. Sure, it tested ok with quarters insterted but who checks to see if the coin-op machine works without coins. The technician “took it to the boss” who determined the cost had to be paid. It still ended up being cheaper than another company coming out to service the unit.

While COVID slowed to repair time, service wasn’t hampered for the tenants – they just got the service for free. Now it’s back to business as normal and counting quarters to recoup the dryer costs.

A few days later the technician was onsite. He let us know that he’d never seen this before in a brand new unit. It didn’t take long to replace the gas valve inside the dryer and we’re back in business! Tenants were notified about the repairs and thankfully we’ve had no issues since.

Now, let’s look at the costs here:

• New washer: $944
• New Dryer: $944
• Install and Removal – $128.00
• Gas sniffer (not passed on to owner): $ 24.95
• Service call and work performed: FREE under warranty
• Property Manager costs: $135 for time spent on site

We tried to keep costs as low as possible for our property owners but unfortunately we were given a broad window for the service call. The technician arrived just outside the end of that time.

I’d like to thank Advanced Maytag in Schaumburg, Illinois. They were extremely helpful when searching for units, handling delivery during a pandemic, and promptly servicing the unit to ensure it was in working order. While we had trouble with the dryer, we recognize that these issues happen occasionally and that it’s not the problem of the seller, it’s the manufacturer. That said, we recommend Advanced Maytag and we receive no gain for this post.