[waflyboy]

Hello Folks,

I have a couple of questions about a washer that I recently received from my parents as a hand-me-down. (It's about 11 years old, and has never been serviced before.)

When we moved them from our parents home, we noticed some moisture on the floor under the washer. After getting the units to our home, we decided to call our local Maytag service people, who came out and diagnosed the problem as a main seal. (Appears to be where the transmission and basket connect?) They gave us an estimate of $350 to repair it, plus the $100 it cost for them to come out and look.

Questions concerning this repair:

Should I be concerned about the transmission or other components failing in the near future due to water exposure from the leak? Is it really worth $350 to keep this washer running? Am I getting ripped off by this repair guy? (He says the job is rather labor-intensive.) Is this the kind of thing I might be able to do myself?

Questions concerning possible replacement:

I found a brand new Whirlpool at Costco (model WTW5310VQ) for $350. My first blush is to use the $350 to replace the hand-me-down with this Whirlpool. Any comments on that?

Also, I talked to a sales guy at our local Maytag store yesterday. He has a WFW8500SR (last year's model front-loading Duet) for $549 (less a $100 rebate from our water company since it's an HE appliance). It seemed like a great deal and a tempting proposition until I found all of the negative reviews on that model.... any feedback on that?

Thanks in advance to anybody who can enlighten me with their knowledge and experience.