UKC

Ok, here’s a little challenge..

I need to get a washing machine from Worcester to Leeds, as cheaply and safely as possible. Obviously I could drive there and put it in the car (with help!) but it’s a fair cost in time and fuel. Can you get such things couriered? Any advice on where to look? Thx

In reply to minimike:

Try Shiply

In reply to Ciro:

For a washing machine??! Ok, I had no idea!

In reply to minimike:

Sell it to someone in Worcester and buy one in Leeds. I'll be surprised if there's a cheaper and safer way.

In reply to Longsufferingropeholder:

Have you ever tried selling white goods? I'd be impressed if you can someone to pay anything at all for a used washing machine.

In reply to minimike:

I'm not sure if Longsufferingropeholder was joking or not, but I agree with them. Getting a washing machine in and out of a car without damaging either (or your back!) is going to be pretty difficult, regardless of how much help you have. You really need a van. Any company that is going to take good care of what they are delivering will probably cost more than the machine is worth.

The cheapest way would probably be to put it on a pallet and send it via a pallet freight company. Of course you've got to find a pallet from somewhere, pack it well (do you still have the transport bolts?) and it'll probably still arrive with some dents. 

In reply to Hooo:

Well, yeah, exactly. So if you get buttons for it and buy one for buttons you'll struggle to make a loss that's costlier than the round trip petrol and two weeks off work with a bad back and broken toe.

It's a 150 mile trip. Any courier is going to want more than the machine's worth; I wouldn't be surprised if they asked for close to the price of a shiny new one. Unless it's the very unlikely combination of both a family heirloom and with a lot of warranty left, or you have a van load of other stuff to move with it, it's probably not the best option.

In reply to Longsufferingropeholder:

Not quite an heirloom but it’s pretty new, decent quality and free to me from a family member. So worth paying a reasonable amount to transport. Shipley came in good… thx for that suggestion!

In reply to minimike:

(Shipley is always good, but usually for bouldering! 😂)

In reply to Longsufferingropeholder:

Put it on a pallet and the cost will go down (make sure it’s a Europallet). Palletised shipping is cheaper than you might think - how do you think it got to the store and you in the first place? If sending them was prohibitively expensive they would cost much more.

In reply to ianstevens:

Thanks but I can’t really ask my 80yo mother in law to palletise freight.. 😉 

In reply to minimike:

had a flashback to when I had to move a large UPS from Dorset to Aberdeen. Had to construct a ramp just to load it into the back of the hire car, an Austin Maestro I seem to recall. Then drove through the night with the headlights illuminating the clouds! It was a different age!

In reply to minimike:

Stop giving her excuses, what next? you'll let her off carrying it out to the van? 🤣

In reply to minimike: Just make sure you install the drum locking bolts before transporting. I had one moved from Ireland to UK by a reputable moving company and on arrival it was un recognizable! Turned it into a pile of junk!

In reply to minimike:

I use a company called Farsley Transport. It costs me about £80 plus vat to move a machine the size of a washing machine 

There are cheaper ways but these guys are good and haven't lost or broken anything.

In reply to Hooo:

One used washing machine, in clean condition !

In reply to Stephen R Young:

This.

If you don't have the bolts, don't bother. The drum (and frequently a lump of concrete) is suspended from the frame on springs, this works to dampen vibration as the drum spins... but in the back of vehicle will result in unscheduled disassembly.

In reply to minimike:

Seeing as it's your Mum, wouldn't it be nice to go and visit, take her out for the day and then come home with the machine?

In reply to Stephen R Young:

Yes.

And take them back out when you install it!

When my sister moved house, she took the machine with her (new build house didn't have one and it was quite new anyway) and got a plumber - who came to fix a leak on the snag list - to install it. Unfortunately, he didn't take the bolts back out, so the first time she used it, it blew itself up. And then Bovis denied all responsibility, etc, etc!

In reply to LastBoyScout:

Mother in law..