Budget Appliance Repair

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This was a great experience and I will definitely use Budget for appliance repair in the future.  Nathan in particular was very knowledgeable and his helper worked very hard as well.  They quickly troubleshot a broken line and also fixed the ice maker, leaving the appliance in full working order.  Well Done.

Price quoted was was $115 service automatic charge to isolate problem.  Once problem found a flat rate will be quoted. If accepted the service charge will be deducted from flat rate, however if not accepted the $115 service charge will apply.
The repairman showed up on time and within a minute said that problem was the lid switch and that it was a common problem.  The flat rate quote was $253 and that it would take about a half hour.  It seemed high but if I didn't accept I would still have to pay the $115 service charge anyway so I accepted.
I called the office the next day to inquire why the cost was so high.  The lady I spoke to was very nice and explained that they follow the Major Appliance Service National Price Guide and even faxed me a copy of the price list. Sure enough it it showed Switch Lid $249.73. The book also suggests Service Charge $99.95 that they don't follow but charge $115 instead.
Overall the workers were very professional, and the work was good, just thought the cost was too high. 
 

They charged $75 to take a look at the problem. They showed up on time and did what they were supposed to do.

The problem was intermittent so was difficult to diagnose. They came out a couple times and were able to troubleshoot the problem with minimal parts replacement. They gave us some tips for what to look for when we experienced the problem. Then they were able to identify the most likely issue. They were right and the problem was fixed.

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technician was prompt, courteous and professional.  Did not have the exact part  - it was on two week back order at the parts place and was able to adapt another part he had and got things up and running.  even though it was more work he still charged the same price quoted before finding out the part was out of stock.

I will definitely use them again, just hopefully not for the fridge, again.

The first time I called they came quickly, got the part and installed it but the second time I called they said that they were not repairing dishwashers.  I guess they were short on staff and had to decide where to cut service.  I was disappointed and ended up calling Sears.  They were expensive,

We are a Property Manager for numerous homes and had used Budget Appliance a great deal for many repairs. The work was sometimes good, sometimes just OK, depending on the technician sent out. Then we had several instances where diagnosis was done and parts were replaced, only to have the same problem occur a few days later. The vendor would not stand behind the repairs, saying the problem was in the parts and not their fault. They would then charge again for another call, with sometimes a different diagnosis and even more costs.

Stove top problem: GE one burner "burned-out". Described problem over the phone, they came with parts. Job required two parts.  He was punctual and cordial. They don't get an A because the heating element (coil) they installed did not fit appropriately.  Moving a pot on that burner was enough to disconnect it from the plug!  I actually went to Sears parts and ordered the part and changed it myself.  Now it works great!  We own another house that had a Kenmore stove, I tried the coil on that stove and it fit perfectly... so, it was a wrong fit.  :(  The part could have been a universal part, but he should have been able to determine if it was a good fit or not - that was his job.  I mean, that's what good service should mean!

I called in based on the reviews here at Angie's List.   I explained that I had some tenants and their washing machine was leaking.  The receptionist took my information then asked for my email address so she could email me to confirm  the appointment (never got an email).  The repair guy was professional and courteous making sure to call my tenants before heading out and confirming the dates/times.  After his first visit he gave a me quote for 265.00 dollars to fix some hoses.  I agreed to the charges and he made another visit to the condo fixing the leak.  Later that day my tenants called to say the washer was not leaking but the dryer as well as the washing machine did not progress through any cycles.  I called the repair man who said he would go back out to take a look at it that same day.  The following day I got a call from the repair man who said fabric softener had leaked into the unit and that was the cause for the faulty timer.  He had to back order the parts and he quoted another 265.00 dollars (if i had known this repair would cost 500 dollars in the beginning, i would of opted to buy new washer to start, oh well).  After the second quote I decided to buy a new washer.  The repair man gave me some information and was very helpful recommending different brands and models.  I ordered a new washer and dryer but decided to email the company asking if there was some way to return the new parts that was installed and which were technically never used. I got no response back or no email receipts emailed to me as promised.  Overall I liked working with the repair man despite the double quotes for repair but I didn't like being ignored by their office staff.

Follow-up 12/30/2013:  After posting this review I received a couple of emails in regards to the poor communication and I'm happy to say that this company really cares about their customers and the customer experience.  In the future I will consider using this company again.

waited 3 weeks for parts...service was satisfactory, price seemed a little high for the labor involved

Technician was professional, friendly and very informative. Completely satisfied!

It took three visits and waiting 11 days total but our washer was finally repaired. I was able to get an initial appointment within two days, but the repairman sent out could not at first determine what the problem was. His training apparently was as an HVAC installer and repairman, not so much working on front loading washing machines, so that he had to make a number of calls for assistance in determining what was needed to fix my washer.

It was decided that the  problem must be with my control panel, which he said would cost me $200 plus $20 shipping to replace and take 3-5 days to order. The rest of my cost would be for labor bringing my total to $350, which I agreed to. 

The same repairman was here three times, once to assess the problem, second to put in the new control board, then a third time to install an additional motor control that he hadn't anticipated would be needed. He claimed he did not charge me for that additional part, however I discovered later that the price I was quoted for the initial repair was padded by an extra $60-100 which i suspect was used to cover some of the additional parts needed, including a door latch that the repairman admitted he broke by mistake.. 

The washer is now running perfectly, better than it ever did, with no shaking at all, which makes me very happy. I had had Sears come another time and they were never able to repair the shaking issue, and their repairman was awful to deal with. Budget also agreed to refund me $40 for misquoting the price for the control board which left me feeling better. 

Upshot on Budget Appliance: 

1) Their repairman was very friendly, smart and professional, even if he wasn't as experienced with front loaders, which I appreciate as many aren't. Their office staff were also very responsive. That goes a long way. They employ good people. 

2) However, MAKE SURE YOU DOUBLE CHECK THE PRICES BUDGET QUOTES FOR PARTS. The price Sears quoted for that control board (Mine is a Sears Kenmore washer) was half what Budget claimed my part cost.  $100 vs $200. However I learned that Budget gets their parts from Reliable Parts on Oahu who it seems overcharge them. ($142 for a $100 part) 

Budget ended up installing two new control boards in my washer, one for the control panel and one for the motor, plus the door latch. Who knows if both were actually broken and needed to be replaced, however I appreciate that Budget stayed true to their original quote while installing both. I probably wouldn't have agreed to pay for two new boards upfront. 

Nathan from Budget Appliance was great.  I called and got a same day appointment and Nathan arrived exactly as scheduled.
Upon examination of the oven, he too was not able to get the oven error codes to reset and thought that the only other fix was to replace the whole ECU.  He tried to continue troubleshooting but was not able to get it working.  He wrote up a detailed invoice which would have replaced the ECU and headed out to his van.  He actually came back about 10 minutes later and asked if he could try one more thing before recommending replacing the ECU.  He tried swapping some parts from the other membrane switch and it actually worked!!!
Nathan's persistence saved me around $450.  This is the second time that Budget Appliance has made recommendations that have saved me from facing a significant repair bill.  Very refreshing to see a repair service that provides a great service and doesn't look at how to replace expensive parts. 
Easy to see why Budget Appliance has earned their top rating...I highly recommend their service!

I called on a THURSDAY to schedule a repair of my leaking washing machine, the earliest available appointment for a technician to arrive was the following TUESDAY. He arrived and spent all of 10 minutes before he determine I needed a new "drain pump" and said I needed to schedule another appointment to have it fixed and possibly would not be able to get an appointment that week. Once I got permission from my landlord to schedule the actual repair appointment, I called Budget Appliance. I was told by the receptionist that the service technician needed to be called in order to determine if the part was available or needed to be ordered; she said I would receive a call back. THREE DAYS later she called back.... - Remember I am without a washing machine this whole time (over a week). I told her I had already called another company who came out the same day to fix it, with the part in hand (this company also charged me almost 50% of what Budget quoted me and provided excellent customer service). I very nicely let her know it was taken care of, appreciated the call back (finally), and advised her that competition does exist! She then proceeded to give ME attitude for not calling earlier to let them know it was fixed so they weren't wasting their time with the work order. I then explained I had tried to called both the main Budget Appliance number as well as the technician cell number to update them on my service needs, both calls went unanswered. With that, I was disgusted and hung-up. I am very happy this company did not get more than $68 of my money... If they continue with this type of horrible customer service and attitude they will loose business left and right; not to mention the fact that it takes days to get an appointment -- there are other companies who want the work & MONEY much more!!

The service technician replaced the cartridge in our shower after having to cut out some of the surrounding tile which was incorrectly placed in such a position that prevented the broken cartridge from being removed and replaced.

The serviceman (Nathan) came to the house, looked at the unit and called me to discuss the cost and reason for the repair (this is a rental home and I am not on-island currently).  He explained the reason for the breakdown and set up an appointment to replace it the following work day.  He showed up promptly, did the work and tested the dishwasher before leaving.  Our tenant said she was happy with the work and commented on her satisfaction with the service as well. 
I am personally thrilled to know we now have an appliance repair business that is actually more interested is fixing things instead of selling us newer, more expensive items.  In these days of "throw-away" society, it feels good to know we saved one less piece of junk from filling our land fills! 
Mahalo to Angie's List for helping us find these guys and to Budge Appliance Repair for doing what they advertise!

eeeefigured out problem and replaced part. cost seamed high.

Budget Appliance provided great service. Nathan provided excellent customer service.  He met me at my rental and he troubleshot the washer isolating the problem down to three components.  The next day he showed up with two of the three components.  The third component needed to be shipped in.  Unfortunately the faulty component was the one that was not available.  He was able to rig the washer so the tenants could do laundry while the part came in from the mainland.