(Local note: Call Moran, I’ll bet he can fix you up. If it isn’t worth it, he’ll tell you. He kept my mother’s KitchenAid dishwasher going to age 47.)

It might be worth fixing if it's older. You don't get that same quality these days.

I had a rebuilt gas dryer once.That thing was a beast. I bet it would still be going. I had to replace because the drum rusted and it was getting on the clothes. I wonder if anyone rebuilds dryers now. I think having a repairman look at it is a good idea. Maybe you can keep it going until you’re ready to buy the washer.

I responded to your original post. Call a reputable local repair guy. I'm guessing you have a bad bearing or a bad belt, which should be easy repairs. Call and ask what they charge for a diagnostic visit. It's worth it to see if it can be fixed.

I currently own 5 sets. The one electric dryer needed an on/off switch. Dh put one in for a cost of $3.75, but it took 6 weeks to get the part in. Has a repair man looked at it and said if the part is available? Since the pandemic, it's hard to get appliances or parts. Have you found ANY that are in stock?

The last stove I purchased, a month ago, was from Habitat Restore, used. Look in your phone book....call one. See if they have a washer & dryer.....give your money to a good cause...that's my opinion. But then....you have to be able to pick it up and deliver it, install it yourself or hire a handyman to do it.

Many thanks, KT friends. I'm going to call the guy bpath recommended. Maybe I can get more than my estimated 5,000 loads of laundry out of my old dryer. Here's hoping!

As for a washer, thanks for yet more good ideas on buying 'not new', although it may be harder to find the *small* size that would fit my space.

You could get one of the all in one units. It washes and dries in one machine. I would love to have one in the house. I have one in the motorhome. They are fairly common in other countries. It works so well.

You've had 19 years of service from what you have, you've gotten your money's worth. Why not treat yourself to a new one?

For a second home, two years ago we bought the cheapest gas dryer Home Depot had - it's a who knows the name American brand. It was right around $500 +/-. It works very well, no complaints. Basic service, we don't need steam or anything else. Purchased as an unmatched pair with a Samsung 4 cu ft plus a little front loader. Also cheapest model available of what we wanted (a decent brand front loader). It's also provided excellent service with better than expected results.

Go for it!

PS - compared to the European front loader we have at home, which we never can fill other than with sheets or towels, the Samsung is huge. Never more than 1/2 full and usually less. This dryer is the same size or bigger I think bigger, and its usually nearly empty. .Like you, we're a two person household. .

Looked for used ones. Check the Facebook market place.

Did you get dryer from Abt? I've used their repair service and recommend them.

https://www.abt.com/help/appliance-repair-service

They're inexpensive enough new when buying basic models, why take a chance with someone else's discard?

Local repair guy will look/see tomorrow for $150. Depending on the diagnosis, I'll get it fixed or look at the 'used' market.

Too bad there are no more new 3.5 cu ft front loader washers like what I have, but I think I'd be OK with a 2.2. I do four loads every 7 - 10 days: Towels, king sheets, whites, and cold water (darks and likely 'shrinkers').

At eighty, lengthy warranties have less meaning. haha

Speed Queen front loader is the capacity size you have now. 3.5 cu ft. It's a pricy machine though compared to what you probably paid for your last washer.

https://speedqueen.com/products/home-products/front-load-washer/ff7/

I posted on the laundry forum side that when I had to replace my w/d I got the SQ TL and a cheapie Hotpoint dryer that was also the correct size for my small quarters. The SQ dryer was much more than I wanted to spend.

There is no reason to spend a thousand dollars on a clothes dryer unless you are into matchy-matchy nonsense. I will only buy basic white dryers and I base them on nothing other than capacity and having a hamper door (personal preference). No reason to pay over 5 or 6 hundred for hot, warm and cool air. Maytag/Whirlpool make fine dryers that last decades over the new fangled matchy-matchy stuff.

I have had our used washer/dryer for over 15 years and still going. I bought them for $200.00 and it is a combo unit. We have had good luck with used. Before that unit we had a pair of front loaders and lasted 6 years and they were brand new.

Each appliance I am replacing as they finally die I am replacing for the time that I move or are moved into some type of senior living. Which means they are all of the same or similar type vs white/black/metallic simply because they were within my budget at that time.

We bought son and his wife a set of basic Roper. They have a new baby and needed a washer and dryer. Found a good deal on floor models at Lowe’s. One year warranty.

Ask your repair guy for recommendations. (provided of course, he can't repair it.) He'll know who to buy from and what to get.

We recently bought a new washer, I mean like 2 weeks ago. NONE of the big box stores had anything in stock (due to pandemic) near what we were looking for. Hubs stopped by our local "scratch & dent" store and they had exactly what we wanted.

It has a slight ding on one side -- can't see it at all. They delivered, installed and never came within 10 ft of me. AND it was $250 cheaper than any of the big box stores.

Good luck!!

That's some great advice, the washer & dryers these days are basically junk,expensive junk,and if you could find a used dryer in good shape even if its older you could still have it longer than a new one will last,sad but true.Good Luck with your search.

Based on what? Have you had bad experiences yourself?

I've found it to be the opposite.. The old massive iron that passed for home appliances in times gone by were inefficient and performed poorly compared to what I've bought in more recent years. Newer models (cars too, as with appliances alike) are superior in so many ways.

I see working electric dryers on my local FB Mktplace all the time. Priced from 'free' & up. There is a decent looking one for only $20 today.

What happens is that dryers usually far outlast the washer they are paired with. When the washer goes belly up, people go out & buy a matched set & have a surplus working dryer.

My current dryer is over 20 years old. A Whirlpool bought new but at a big discount because it was a customer return. It has outlasted the washer it was paired with by 10 years with only minimal maintenance & is still going. About 5 years ago, I replaced the felt seal, idler pulley, drum belt, etc. The only part that needed replacement was the felt seal. The other parts were very inexpensive so I went ahead & replaced them as preventative maintenance since I had the dryer torn apart anyway.

Old school electric dryers are stupid easy to work on. Bonus points for not weighing much so they are easy to move out of place & scootch around so you have space to work on them.

I have had only hamper door styles so that is my preference. I fold clothes as I take them out of the dryer so the hamper door makes that easier. In this house, the hamper door is must have because the dryer is close to the wall & left of the washer.

I realize that this post probably isn't of much use to the OP, Chisue, because of the limitations of aging. But perhaps useful for other readers now & future. If you are on a budget & need a dryer, you don't have to go out & spend $600-1000 + sales tax for a new one.

I have gotten decent discounts for buying from the 'scratch and dent' inventory of units that had received cosmetic damage in handling and shipment. Display models too.

Dryers do/did last an incredibly long time. I bought my first one in the late 60's and gave it away when washers got bigger and I had to split wash into 2 dryer loads. Replaced it with the one I have now, sometime in the 80's. Never needed to repair either of them.

Agree that most are probably replaced to match a washer.

Chisue....$150 just to look at the dryer? I paid $80 for the last used dryer I purchased ....just saying.....♥ Delivery was $20 more...

When our guy said our aaaaaaancient Kenmore dryer was going to cost almost as much to repair as replace, DH found a Bosch on Craigslist that matched our newer Bosch washer. Seems the owners’ washer needed to be replaced and they wanted a matching set. So, we ended up with a matching set, too! Except it came with a pedestal drawer, and the washer doesn’t have one. Yes, we could remove the pedestal, or get one for the washer, but we just haven’t felt compelled to.

chisue, let us know what they say about your dryer.

bpath's recommended repair guy arrived this morning with a helper. Guess what happened when they turned on my dryer? Yes, that dryer made a fool of me...turned right on with no complaint!

Still...they opened it up and cleaned and oiled it; are coming back with two small parts to keep it going another decade. They're also bringing a new door gasket for my washer. I can live without the final spin being strong enough to wring out a bath rug; can't live with the stained gasket staining my laundry.

The $150 covered today, and the remaining work is supposedly not costly. I'm ever so pleased! THANKS, all! Especially you, bpath.

(It's a gas dryer, not electric, so no 'plug and play'.)