appliance repair parts

[uniwelder]

I need to replace the drain pump on a washing machine.  I'm curious what people's thoughts are on buying online for something 'like oem' or actually buying an oem part.  OEM will be about $120 and everything else I see is about $30.  The closest parts place will get me oem for $160, but I have to drive 2 hours round trip.  I don't trust reviews on amazon, which are a variety of 'works great' to 'lasted 6 weeks before failing'.  Does anyone here do a reasonable of appliance repair that can recommend a source for decent quality parts?  Is oem worth paying 4x?

[YttriumNitrate]

I've repaired a washing machine with non-OEM parts in the past, so far I haven't had any issues. Risking $30 to save $120-$160 seems like a reasonable calculation to me.

[lthenderson]

I've been burnt so many times with non-OEM parts that I just pay the premium and get the OEM parts to start out with.  It doesn't burn me every single time but often enough that I just don't waste time and money by rolling the dice on non-OEM parts. I should say that it isn't just them working for as long as OEM but often times the form is slightly different and it won't line up or quite fit right. Then you have the decision of what to do with the half torn apart appliance as you return the non-OEM part and try to find something else.

[FireEngineer]

I'm a big fan of repair clinic. Helpful videos, parts have always fit. Sometimes a little more than amazon, sometimes less.

[uniwelder]

Thanks everyone.  I ended up buying an oem pump from genuinereplacementparts.com that had it for $100.  For the price difference, I felt better when thinking about the possibility of water damage if the plastic casing cracks or whatnot.

Repair Clinic had oem as well for $120.

[lutorm]

The question of whether it makes sense to take a chance on a cheap part really depends on how hard the replacement job is and what the consequences of a failed part are. If it's easy to swap out and the thing just stops working, then why not give it a try. If you have to disassemble and entire appliance and a failed part starts dumping water over the floor or starts a fire, then it seems being conservative would pay off.

[Just Joe]

https://www.searspartsdirect.com

Has saved my tail a few times...