Amana Appliance Repair

Amana is Whirlpool’s budget line, and both parts of that matter. Budget means it's built to a price, it's made to last around ten years, and everything inside is simple. Whirlpool means the parts come from the same huge shared supply as Whirlpool, Maytag and KitchenAid. They're cheap, they show up in days, and they're rarely discontinued. Put that together and an Amana is one of the easiest appliances we work on. The problems are simple, the parts are in stock, and figuring out what's wrong rarely takes long. What limits an Amana is the machine, not the parts. There's only so much life in something built at this price, and we'd rather tell you that straight than sell you a repair that costs half a new unit.

We quote a flat rate before starting, and nobody here works on commission. So a cheap repair stays a cheap repair, not a pitch for a new machine.

• Top-freezer refrigerators
• Side-by-side refrigeration
• Top-load washers
• Gas and electric dryers
• Electric and gas ranges

1. The coils matter more here than on better fridges

   Amana is built to a price, so it can't take as much heat as a better-built fridge. Dust-packed condenser coils in an Arizona garage will kill the compressor years early. Vacuuming the coils twice a year makes the difference.

2. Cheap problem, cheap part, worth fixing

   Fans, dampers, drains, defrost heaters and thermostats are all cheap Whirlpool parts. If that's what failed, it's worth fixing at almost any age.

3. Past eight years, think twice about a big repair

   When the sealed refrigerant system fails on an older Amana, replacing the fridge usually makes more sense. We'll tell you that straight instead of quoting the job.

4. A warm fridge with a cold freezer isn't the compressor

   One evaporator cools both sides. So that symptom means the cold air isn't getting where it should. It's the fan or a damper, not the expensive part.

5. Water under the crispers? Clear the defrost drain

   Same as the Whirlpool-built fridges it's related to, and just as cheap. It's a plug of ice, not a broken part.

The math on an Amana is simple, so we'll just say it. Cheap problem, cheap part, worth fixing at almost any age. Expensive problem on one past eight years, usually not worth it, and we'd rather tell you that than take the job. Parts are easy to get, so the limit is how long the machine itself was built to last, not whether we can find parts.

• Who makes Amana appliances?

  Whirlpool. Amana is their budget line, so the parts come from the same shared supply as Whirlpool, Maytag and KitchenAid. They're cheap, they show up in days, and they're rarely discontinued.

• Are Amana appliances worth repairing?

  For a cheap problem, yes, at almost any age, because the parts cost very little. For an expensive problem on one past eight years, usually not, and we'd rather say so than take the job.

• Are Amana parts hard to find?

  No, they're some of the easiest. Since they use Whirlpool parts, most show up in days, and very little has been discontinued.

• Do you repair Amana in Pinal and Maricopa County?

  Yes, in both counties. You'll find them in a lot of rentals and starter homes here, and they're easy machines to work on.