I had been a member of this board but forgot all about it - wish I would have remembered.

Anyway, just had a Maytag S/S compressor relay/capacitor/overload replaced by a serviceman. I had the frig empty, postioned in the middle of the kitchen with the backing plate off for immediate access to the compressor before he arrived. After watching what he did and being charged $235.40, I decided to research how a DIYer would fix this problem. I don't want to condemn the man because I don't know much about refrigerators and I'm glad he fixed it (between half an hour to 45 min), but the cost seems a bit high considering the part is maybe $45-$60, from what I can tell.

The reason I'd like your opinion is for future problems (which I will be accessing this board for advice on and try to repair myself). If you consider this price too high I will look elsewhere next time if I can't fix it myself with your all help. Thanks.

With the correct model # we can help you fix it in the future.If you add a 1000 joule surge protector to the wall outlet, that should protect your compressor, I use the Belkin F9H620-cw available on Amazon, $9.95

From the description of what you were quoted it seems dodgy to me. but it could be how everyone does it in your area.

All depends on how the $30.00 was explained to you.
If it was get them through the door (travel cost) and then they told you what the per hour rate was and what if anything the minimum per hour was then that is OK.

Also by the sound of it you did not get a bill that even showed what the part cost.
Many places show a low travel/labor cost and then jack their parts prices up to make a profit.
Not illegal but in my opinion dodgy.

I think it is just a matter of customers not asking enough questions and this allows repair shops to get away with loss leader (low ball) quotes.

So if you need service again find out what the $30.00 is for, what is the hourly service rate, what is the minimum service rate.
Also what approximately their parts mark up is compared if you bought it directly from the manufacturer. You should expect to pay more as they are delivering it and have to have it in their stock. This info will probably be hard to pull out of them.

We used to charge a set travel cost in town, a 1 hour minimum service rate and then after 1 hour to the nearest 15 minutes.

I found this forum a little too late also. I had a serviceman out today and he replaced the Compressor relay on my Maytag Imperial Series. He charged 298.00 and wasn't even in the house more than 10 minutes. Well, everything was cooling down and now after 4 hours it's stopped working again. I can't hear the fan and no cold air is blowing in the freezer or the fridge again. It's now close to 11:00 at night and I'm stuck with a new batch of food that is going bad as we speak. I'll call them in the morning but, any suggestions on what happened or what to expect when they come back out tomorrow. (I'm sure he's going to try and tell me I need a new Compressor based on how high they charged for fixing a $30-$50.00 part). Thanks for any help!

DonnaE

You may want to add a model number to your thread.

Check so you know for sure what is not running re: the compressor and the evaporator/freezer fan and the condenser/compressor fan.

If all 3 are not on then you may have a defrost problem or a control thermostat problem.

When in defrost all 3 of the listed parts are shut off.
Defrost usually lasts about half an hour, then the unit goes back into cooling mode.

If it comes out of a defrost cycle but your freezer gets too warm during defrost you may have a defrost thermostat problem.

Also it might be helpful if you let us know what the original problem was and the symptoms you noticed.