Thought those 'universal' washer door lock parts were junk until a job in Tacoma

Had a Samsung front loader with a busted lock and the OEM part was backordered for weeks. A guy at the parts house sold me a generic one for 15 bucks, said it would work. I put it in expecting to be back in two days, but that was six months ago and the customer hasn't called. Still works. Anyone else had a generic part surprise them like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

fiona3322mo agoMost Upvoted

Ever think you just got lucky with that one part? Most of those cheap fixes fail fast and leave the customer mad at you.

jake_walker2mo ago

Read a study showing cheap parts fail twice as often.

fox.jesse16d ago

Ugh, yeah, that's the thing that worries me the most honestly. I get where you're coming from, it's not really about luck - it's more like I'm constantly crossing my fingers and hoping I didn't mess up someone's day. I've been burned by cheap parts before too and it's the worst feeling when you have to go back and explain to a customer that their fix didn't last. I try to balance it out by warning people upfront that the cheap option might not be the best long term choice. But sometimes they're just set on saving money and you end up doing what they ask. It's a rough spot to be in because you want to help but you also don't want to be the one they blame later. I don't think it's totally random though. Some of those cheap parts actually work fine for a while if the usage isn't too rough. But yeah, the failure rate is real and it's a gamble every time.