Buying used dryer

[Beach_Stache]

Hi All,
Do any of you have experience buying used appliances?  Is it worth it, or do I just splurge and buy a new one?  We bought a house 2.5 years ago and the existing old washer and dryer were in there (electric). We have had good use but they are on their last legs and I don't think worth the cost to repair.  They've got to be at least 15 years old.  The same goes for our Fridge, Dishwasher, Water Heater, AC Units, Heater, etc.  The difficult thing that I imagine is that if buying used appliances that are 5-7 years old, it may be tough to find good reviews on them and then how do you test things out?  I only need the dryer right now as it seems to not be pushing out as much heat, so not sure if there is an easy fix to that, but it's taking 2 cycles to dry the clothes.

I went on craigslist and started looking for dryer's and the below link seemed pretty promising.
http://norfolk.craigslist.org/app/5287026036.html
I don't know how to evaluate any used items and whether they are worth the trouble or not.  I imagine plenty on this site have bought used appliances so I wanted to ask for help.  Do the above combo seem worth it or is it better to just buy new from an appliance store and know that they'll probably be good for at least 5-7 years?  Any advice would be much appreciated!

[KarefulKactus15]

The post was deleted! lol.   

Appliances are funny, you really have to make sure you hunt for "value" not cheap.    On craigslist your gonna have to sort through a ton of crap, you really don't want someone elses crap from many years ago.

I have bought all my appliances that the house didn't come with off craigslist, heres what I've found.

So far the BEST VALUE ( not the cheapest) appliances have been when someone remodels, then decides 3 years later they want new appliance colors then the ones they picked 3 years ago.    God bless those people. They waste thousands of their own dollars and then sell me their stuff for less than 50% of purchase price.   


Dryer technology hasn't improved much in the last 15 years,   the thermal efficiency is dependant on the washer more then anything.

My dryer / washer combo is old so I can't really comment on W/D value ( I bought them based on cheap not value, when we first got married).      Anyway If I was to need a dryer or washer today I wouldn't hesitate to grab one of craigslist about 3 years old if the price is right.  The general advice is to avoid front load washers.   Others may disagree but most people spend more money on them overall then the boring old top loaders.

If I was going used something like this would catch my eye http://norfolk.craigslist.org/app/5287357131.html



Wow lot of "rebuilder" type places in your area, I would dodge those, ( the ones where it looks like they are in a warehouse somewhere)  Dodge those, I don't see you finding a real value there.

Your target machine is in someones home who is moving, or remodeling, and about 4 years old.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

We got a great deal on a washer and dryer from Craigslist. Guy said he had moved into a home that already had them, put these in storage for a few years, and was finally ready to part with them. We got a good price and they stood up for 9 months of hard usage (family of 4 with cloth diapers followed by potty training). When we moved to a house, we sold them for $25 less than we had paid.

So yeah, I think there can be good deals. People move around and unload washers and dryers all the time--just be super-selective.

[Olde Stache]

Go to recraigslist.com. He has very good information about used appliances. I used his advice to pick up a used washer and dryer for $325 that were only 2 yrs old on Craigslist. Good luck!