$3000 for a washer/dryer with payments

[nawhite]

The other night I went to pick up a washer and dryer set from someone on craigslist. I was paying $550 for a set that was 2 years old and retails for $1600. I feel pretty badass about the fact that I got the BOTH into my Pontiac Vibe. No truck rental or clown car required!

The reason I'm posting this in the Wall of Shame area is because I asked the owner why she was selling the set. Apparently she had just moved into a new house that had this set. Last year she bought a new set for $3000 and was still making payments on them! I didn't even know you could finance appliances! So she was selling this "extra" set so that she could keep the set she was still paying for.

I kinda wish I could see the set she was keeping so I could see it wash clothes with angel tears and dry them with gently wafting angel wings.

[Gen Y Finance Journey]

I'm always so amazed at the things people finance. When my fiance and I bought a new mattress and bed frame last year, they offered us interest-free financing for 12 months. We took them up on it, since we figured why pull all the money out of our accounts right now if we can spread it over a few months and get an extra couple pennies of interest on our bank accounts? So when we accepted that offer, they told us that we could get 18 months at some non-zero interest rate if we needed longer to pay it off. Now, we were not buying a mustachian mattress (I believe with tax it was $1800 for the mattress and frame) but holy shit who needs a year and a half to pay off that kind of money?

On a related note, a friend of ours confided in my fiance that he has been struggling to pay off his $3000 credit card balance for a really long time.

[hedonismFTW]

I kinda wish I could see the set she was keeping so I could see it wash clothes with angel tears and dry them with gently wafting angel wings.

Oh, but nawhite, don't you know you don't really get that angelic quality unless you buy the premium Angel Pre-wash Spray, Angel detergent (one for colors and one for truly heavenly whites), AND the Angel Wing dryer sheets! Lol, good read, and a lucky find for you though!

SO and I live in a poorer neighborhood so we're well acquainted with the delivery trucks for "Rent to Own" furniture and appliance stores that allow you to finance your furnishing for a couple hundred a month...It makes me kinda sad, because you want to explain that logically saving up for used is better, but I can already hear neighbors complain about never having more than a few hundred lying around, and enjoying life while they can. *shakes head*

[bostonmoney]

When we moved into our new house we needed to buy a W/D.

Lowes gives 18 months financing and for someone just starting out with their first house the 18 months to pay it off was a nice grace period.  Even if we did buy open box/clearance set +10% off coupon + any other way I could scam a few more dollars off the price.  Sure we had the money to buy it on the spot, but we figured why not finance something in case we needed the cash on hand.  Costing us nothing.  Almost all appliances can be financed, its the people that go buy 10k financed and are living from bill to bill that are a problem.

[jdoolin]

We just bought our first house, a year and a half after becoming Mustachians.  Made a big downpayment and everything.  We needed a washer and dryer.  We got the washer for free by just giving shout-outs on Facebook and talking to family.  My dad had one that his previous tenants left in his rental home and he gave it to us for free.  We scored the dryer on Craigslist for $70.  Even without the free washer, we could have scored one for about $100.

:-D

[imustachemystash]

Did I just read that the washer and dryer both fit in your Pontiac Vibe?  Wow!  Did you have to make separate trips? 

[poxpower]

Mf gf bought a used dryer for 160$ at a used appliance store. Delivery included... 3000$? lol.

[nawhite]

Did I just read that the washer and dryer both fit in your Pontiac Vibe?  Wow!  Did you have to make separate trips?

Nope one trip. Set them on their backs with bottoms to one side. Granted they didn't have "pedestals" and I had to slide the drivers seat forward and I had to open the rear window in the hatch. But they fit in one trip!

It is less car than my Subaru Outback was, but it is certainly enough car for me and it was cheaper and gets way better gas mileage.

[greaper007]

I 0% a wd from best buy when we bought our house.   I probably could have gotten a used one, but I figure I'll keep these for 20 years and I wanted to get the most energy and water efficiency I could.   Of course then I started line drying (this winter my basement looks like a new york tenement house), and I kicked myself for even buying a dryer.

[greenmimama]

Did I just read that the washer and dryer both fit in your Pontiac Vibe?  Wow!  Did you have to make separate trips?

Nope one trip. Set them on their backs with bottoms to one side. Granted they didn't have "pedestals" and I had to slide the drivers seat forward and I had to open the rear window in the hatch. But they fit in one trip!

It is less car than my Subaru Outback was, but it is certainly enough car for me and it was cheaper and gets way better gas mileage.

Funny, we replaced our outback for a Vibe too, good to know how much it can hold, we plan to drive it to it's death, or maybe pass it on to our 16yo by that time, here's your present an 11yo Vibe :) Hopefully we will raise them right and they would be thrilled with that present.

[clarkfan1979]

My washer and dryer was $330 total at a used appliance store. I see the same models at Home Depot for $450 a piece. I got a refrigerator for $375 that retails for $1100-$1200 at Home Depot. Free delivery and 2-year warranty. You only typically get one year when you buy new (I think). They will also buy your old appliances for $25-$50 even if they don't work.

My dad accused me of being cheap when I bought used appliances. I fired back and told him that he has used appliances (all 6 years old). I asked him if he bought new appliances every year. After that he kept his mouth shut. In the end the appliances were great and he complimented me on a getting a good deal.

[horsepoor]

Ironically, the $200 Craigslist special stove and fridge in our rental have been more reliable than the new appliances we've purchased for our home.  The one new thing we bought for the rental, a dishwasher, died about a month after the warranty expired.

[show me the money]

When we bought our house a couple years ago, we spent too much on a fancy washer and dryer with the stupid pedestals. at least i was able to finance them for 36 mo @ 0%,paid off way before, but still. this was before i was on the path to mustachianism. i have learned much about wasting money like that, and that the fancier the appliance, the faster it breaks. the fridge that came with the house started to die almost two years ago, stainless steel bottom freezer, did some... well a lot of googleing, and found out it was the motherboard in the back of the fridge. called ge and ordered a replacement for less that $70. why the hell does a fridge need a motherboard? there are no fancy screens, or ice thingy through the door, in fact, it didn't even have an ice maker built in for the price they probably paid for it, i bought that and installed it myself for cheap. 

[Hunny156]

We too purchased a house about 5 years ago, and I bought the fancy front loaders and the pedestals, but I had employee discount pricing, so it wasn't too bad.  I am now selling this home to move into a more Mustachian one, and I'm including the fancy W/D in the sale.  A few months ago the rubber membrane that seals the washer door ripped, and thankfully I noticed it before all the water gushed onto the floor!  The repairman told me that these washers require membrane replacement every few years, and I watched as he took the whole thing apart just to replace this piece of rubber.  Cost me $250.  That was it, no more front loaders for me!

I waited till Home Depot had their black Friday sale, and I picked up a basic energy efficient top-loader set w/good reviews, for about $600 after the 10% off coupon.  They gave me 6 months 0 interest, so why not.  By the time my new house is ready, these will be paid off, and I won't even feel it out of our regular monthly budget.  A few weeks ago HD called to force delivery on me, even though I had been clear before ordering that I would not take delivery for 4-6 months.  The customer service rep told me that they dissuade people from buying appliances before they need them.  Yeah, b/c they want you to buy at full price!  I had to escalate it to a manager, but in the end, the store agreed to take delivery and store my appliances until I'm ready, and then they will personally deliver them to my new house.  Not the most ideal setup, but I got my price & my appliances on my terms.

[Trirod]

I picked up a nearly new fridge off Craigslist a couple of years ago.  I can't remember the cost but it was something like half the original price and it was only about 18 months old.  I asked a work buddy to help me pick it up from the seller (my wife had borrowed their work pickup truck and I needed help to load the fridge in there).  My co-worker was amazed I was buying a used fridge - he told me I made plenty of money and why did I need to buy secondhand?  I guess he'll figure it out when I retire 20 years before him!

[Hunny156]

I picked up a nearly new fridge off Craigslist a couple of years ago.  I can't remember the cost but it was something like half the original price and it was only about 18 months old.  I asked a work buddy to help me pick it up from the seller (my wife had borrowed their work pickup truck and I needed help to load the fridge in there).  My co-worker was amazed I was buying a used fridge - he told me I made plenty of money and why did I need to buy secondhand?  I guess he'll figure it out when I retire 20 years before him!

When I lived close to my rentals, I always bought used appliances off CL.  Better quality for the same $$, and in most of the cases, they were nearly new appliances in white, that were being sold to make way for the Stainless steel ones...

[Mori]

A few weeks ago HD called to force delivery on me, even though I had been clear before ordering that I would not take delivery for 4-6 months.  The customer service rep told me that they dissuade people from buying appliances before they need them.  Yeah, b/c they want you to buy at full price!  I had to escalate it to a manager, but in the end, the store agreed to take delivery and store my appliances until I'm ready, and then they will personally deliver them to my new house.  Not the most ideal setup, but I got my price & my appliances on my terms.

Nice. I'm impressed. I'll have to remember this later!

[MustachianAccountant]

The customer service rep told me that they dissuade people from buying appliances before they need them.  Yeah, b/c they want you to buy at full price!

I'm guessing this is less about price, and more just because they don't want to keep merchandise that's already been sold in storage for you (especially something as large as a washer). They'd rather use that stock space for inventory that's ready to sell.

Still, nice find!

[Hunny156]

The customer service rep told me that they dissuade people from buying appliances before they need them.  Yeah, b/c they want you to buy at full price!

I'm guessing this is less about price, and more just because they don't want to keep merchandise that's already been sold in storage for you (especially something as large as a washer). They'd rather use that stock space for inventory that's ready to sell.

Still, nice find!

You have an excellent point!  I suspect it's a little of both though, b/c unbeknownst to me, they had already cancelled and re-ordered my appliances once before, in order to push the delivery back.  So, I suggested they do the same thing again, and they agreed to do so, at today's price, not the Black Friday price.

Maybe next time I'm at the store, I'll cruise aisles and see if I can "visit" my appliances.  ;)