Nobody rings a repairer for fun. You ring because the machine has stopped and you want two things: a straight answer on whether it’s worth fixing, and a price you can hold us to before anyone touches it.
The short version
- $129 diagnostic ($169 further out), then a fixed tier: Minor $139, Standard $209, Major $299, Complex $459.
- Parts on top, quoted before we start; no second call-out fee if one has to be ordered.
- If you go ahead, the diagnostic is the first line of your repair price, so you never pay it twice.
So here is exactly what a washing machine repair costs with us across Wollongong, the Illawarra and the Shoalhaven in 2026: the diagnostic, the four labour tiers, which common faults land where, a real job with the real numbers, and the point at which we’ll tell you to buy a new machine instead. These are the prices on our pricing page, and a written quote stands for 30 days.
Step one: the diagnostic visit
Every job starts with a diagnostic. It’s $129 in the close-in Illawarra, which covers most of the region from Corrimal down through Wollongong, Figtree, Dapto, Shellharbour and Kiama to Gerringong. It’s $169 further out: the northern villages from Woonona and Bulli up to Thirroul and Helensburgh, and Shoalhaven trips to Berry, Shoalhaven Heads and North Nowra.
The fee covers the drive, the visit and finding the actual fault with the panels off, not a guess from the symptom. At the end of it you get the exact repair price before any work starts. If you go ahead, the diagnostic is the first line of your repair price: you’ve already paid it, so you only pay the balance. You never pay it twice. If you decide not to go ahead, or we tell you the machine isn’t worth it, the diagnostic is all you pay.
Step two: labour, priced by how deep we go
Labour is a flat fee by tier, set by how far into the machine the fault is, not by the hour. Parts are extra and always quoted first.
- Minor, $139: no part needed. A blockage cleared, or a drain filter that was never screwed back on.
- Standard, $209: one accessible part. A drain pump, a door lock, inlet valves, suspension dampers.
- Major, $299: the machine substantially stripped, or a part that sits behind the drum or tub.
- Complex, $459: a full teardown, bearings, a multi-hour job.
There are three add-ons: integrated or built-under machines +$80, a stacked laundry or difficult access +$60, and a second appliance looked at on the same visit +$49 rather than a second diagnostic. No overtime or after-hours surcharges. If a part has to be ordered it’s quoted before we order it and fitted on a return visit with no second call-out fee. You pay on the spot, card or cash.
Which tier is your fault?
The common washer faults, mapped onto those tiers:
- Won’t drain, and it’s a coin or a hair clip in the pump: Minor. Out it comes and that’s the job.
- Won’t drain because the pump has failed: Standard plus the pump.
- Door won’t unlock and the lock has genuinely failed (we confirm the tub is empty first): Standard plus the lock.
- Water on the floor from the inlet valves at the back: Standard plus the valves. One of these we did with the top panel off and both valves replaced within the hour.
- Banging on spin from worn suspension dampers: Standard plus the dampers.
- A rumble on spin that gets louder every month, which is the bearings: Complex plus the bearing kit. At $459 labour before parts, this is the job we always price against a new machine.
- A motor or drive fault on an older machine: it depends on the part price, so we quote first and give you the comparison.
A real job, with the real numbers
An Asko built-under washer in the Illawarra, booked as “won’t unlock”. First visit, diagnostic $129: the door lock had failed. Asko is one of the three brands we’re an authorised service agent for, so the part was a genuine Asko door-lock service kit at $130, quoted on the spot and ordered.
Return visit, lock fitted, Standard repair $209. Total for the job: $129 + $209 + $130 = $468, with no second call-out fee for the return. A new Asko is $1,799 RRP, so the repair came in at about a quarter of replacement, well under the line we use below.
Repair or replace: the rule we use
Repair when the total comes in under about half the price of a comparable new machine, and the machine is inside its expected life. Washers typically last 8 to 12 years. A Standard repair on a five-year-old front loader is an easy yes. A Complex bearing job on a ten-year-old budget machine usually isn’t, and we’ll say so.
Brand matters too. Fisher & Paykel washers are solid and the parts are cheap, so they’re nearly always worth repairing, and Samsung, LG, Miele, Bosch and Asko are built so the parts can be reached. The full reasoning is in our repair or replace guide.
When we tell you not to repair it
Some days the honest answer is no. A cracked outer tub or drum, bearings on a cheap front loader, or a motor that costs more than the machine is worth: each puts the repair past the halfway line, and we tell you on the first visit rather than string it out. You’ve paid the diagnostic and nothing more.
You keep the written quote for 30 days in case you change your mind, and if you’re a landlord or an agent we put the repair-or-replace advice in writing so it’s easy to pass on. One more case: if the machine is still under the manufacturer’s warranty, lodge with the manufacturer first. Once they issue the warranty authority we can do the work ourselves for Fisher & Paykel, Haier and Asko.
After the repair
Every repair comes with 12 months on our labour and 3 months on the parts we fit. The terms are on our guarantee page.
If your washer has stopped, the quickest route to a real price is the diagnostic visit. Most jobs we’re there within the week, often within a couple of days, and we confirm by text, usually within the hour in business hours. Book online any time or call (02) 4288 2824, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. What we fix and how is on our washing machine repairs Wollongong page.
