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The heating element of my Miele washing machine broke after about 4 years, and a genuine spare part would have cost 100€. I got a 3rd party replacement part tha
by newaccount74 5y ago
The heating element of my Miele washing machine broke after about 4 years, and a genuine spare part would have cost 100€. I got a 3rd party replacement part that looks completely identical for 20€. I'm pretty sure there's still a healthy profit margin on that, since they cost half of that on Ali Express. And if the original part breaks after 4 years, the aftermarket part can't be much worse.
The only reason that Miele spare parts are so fucking expensive is because they make a lot of money with service. They don't want people fixing their own machines for 20€, they want to have a Miele service person come and swap the part for 250€.
EDIT: And don't tell me that logistics for a heating element are hard. All Miele washers have been using the same heating element for 15 years or so, it's a drop in replacement for the previous version of the part, and it's probably also the single part that breaks most often. That part should be easy to stock and the cost to do so should be trivial.
- tpmoney 5y agoLooks identical and is identical are two different concerns though. I bought a (used) dryer from a small appliance vendor that looked identical to the new one right next to it for half as much. It was only a year later when it stopped working and I opened it up that I discovered where a thermal fuse should be there was just a straight piece of non high temp wire that had melted and thankfully not burned my house down when it failed. Which isn't to say that first party parts may not be marked up for profit, just that external looks of things don't tell you anything about the actual internal construction.
- newaccount74 5y agoI agree with your point in general. I have bought spare parts from sketchy websites in the past and sometimes they are not as good as the original. You can usually tell the difference if you look at them closely. But heating elements are very simple parts, and I bought it from a reputable local store, so I don't really worry that I'm getting an unsafe part. It's probably going to fail in a few years due to corrosion just like the original part (we have very hard water), and then I'll swap it again.
- iso1631 5y agoHeating Element sounds just the trick to start a fire
- R0b0t1 5y agoIt's typical to have a markup goal of at least 10x going from place of origin to destination market. It is a scam. Source: involved in electronic design and manufacture.
- robertlagrant 5y agoIt's not a scam - they just don't particularly want to be in the business of supplying parts, so they charge a premium. You can buy an alternative if you like.
- R0b0t1 5y agoNot markup on the parts. The whole product you are initially sold.
- robertlagrant 5y agoThe conversation is about the disparity in pricing between parts as spares and parts assembled into the original product.
- goodpoint 5y agoDifferences beyond 2x are still a clear indication that official replacement parts are a scam. Also, the costs were not so absurdly high 20, 40 or 60 years ago!
- pc86 5y agoMaking a profit, even a large one, is not in and of itself a scam.
- goodpoint 5y agoNice strawman there.
- pc86 5y ago> Differences beyond 2x are still a clear indication that official replacement parts are a scam. How are you not saying that they're making too much money and it's therefore "a clear indication" that it's a scam? I'd love to be told why I'm wrong rather than just "hurr durr strawman"
- goodpoint 5y agoRead my message again and read your reply again then. Selling replacement parts with an unreasonable markup is a form of bait and switch: the customer buys the product thinking that it will have a given TCO over its lifetime. Only after some time the customer learns that the TCO is much higher when a replacement is needed. You twisted my words by claiming that making a profit is not a scam.
- CRConrad 5y agoAFAICS making a profit without providing an equitably commensurate value in return, as consideration for the payment the profit comes from, is the very definition of a scam.
- pc86 5y ago
- VonGallifrey 5y ago> straight piece of non high temp wire that had melted I am not sure if that is what you mean, but to me it sounds like they might have purposefully put there so that it works like a thermal fuse.
- littlestymaar 5y agoThis was responding to a comment saying that the cost was justified by logistics issues even if the part itself was dirt cheap. The fact that you can in fact find way cheaper parts shows that the logistic argument is BS.
- ksec 5y agoAliexpress vendors operate on very low margin. Compared to Miele, considering Washing Machines are such low volume products, and their brand commands premium, selling it at 80% margin gross doesn't sound too ridiculous.
- newaccount74 5y agoTo make it clear, I didn't buy the spare part from Ali Express. The spare part would have cost around 10€ on Ali Express. I bought it for 20€ from a reputable local electronics parts dealer. The part I got for 20€ was a high quality 3rd party heating element compatible with Miele washers.
- traceroute66 5y ago> The only reason that Miele spare parts are so fucking expensive is because they make a lot of money with service. They don't want people fixing their own machines for 20€, they want to have a Miele service person come and swap the part for 250€. Just get a household appliances insurance policy. I have some Miele kit, and I have an insurance policy. If something breaks, I call the insurance company, get a code. Then I call Miele and book a service appointment using the code. As a result, I have never paid a thing to Miele, not parts, not labour. But I still get official Miele engineer and official Miele parts. And for some of my older Miele kit (10+ years), they've been out a lot, because the insurance company still deems it more economical to repair than to get Miele to ship me a new one.
- rootusrootus 5y ago> Just get a household appliances insurance policy. If the goal is convenience, then definitely. Home insurance policies are quite a lot more expensive than actual repair costs are likely to be. Which of course is expected, the product being sold is peace of mind and convenience -- both of which people happily pay a premium for.
- traceroute66 5y ago> Home insurance policies are quite a lot more expensive than actual repair costs are likely to be. Hahaha that's a good one... especially as we're talking about Miele here. ;-) And you're factually wrong anyway. I didn't say "home insurance", I said "household appliance insurance". Different thing, unless your home insurance happens to cover appliances. My household appliances insurance is not expensive. It covers 5 appliances, unlimited call-outs, and you don't get screwed at renewal time if you've claimed on the insurance. As I said, I've had Miele out A LOT over the years and I've never paid them a penny, and trust me on some of my older large appliances they've pretty much replaced 100% of the internal parts.
- throwaway2048 5y agoIn sum, insurance companies are not selling their product at a loss, and if they are operating efficiently, they aren't selling their product to you at a loss either.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- danw1979 5y agoMiele came to my house and replaced my heating element for free on an 8 year old machine ! If it was out of the very generous warranty, I expect it would cost loads.
- newaccount74 5y agoReplying to myself to add another data point: Other manufacturers manage to sell spare parts at more reasonable prices. I just checked a random washing machine from Siemens, and they sell the heating element for 28€. Not quite as affordable as the aftermarket part I got, and they'll probably charge 5-10€ for shipping, but it's a lot more reasonable than the Miele part.
- 1123581321 5y agoThe $20 part outsourced its engineering to the $100 part organization. That’s not to say understanding that means you shouldn’t save yourself money.