Looking to start a new collection. Need help. How?

[warrenkeller]

Hi all I've been intersted in starting my own vintage collection for a while now. Into washers mainly. But dryers as well to have the set. Love the 50s to the late 70s. Like the modern era control panels the most. Love the colore machines. But question is where do I look? I've checked on Craigslist for a while now and never see anything. I live in a small town in Cali so I'm guessing its going to be extra hard for me to find my first machine! I'm excited and ready to start this adventure. I love to clean, and rebuild and make it like new again!

 

[d-jones]

You have to be willing to drive!

If you are, then your odds of finding the good vintage machines goes up dramatically. I live in LA. Good stuff turns up here pretty regularly, but the set of 700 series machines I have were all the way up in Chico, so off I went to get them. It was a very long day, but I enjoy a good road trip so what the heck. Up there in Lompoc where you are, everything from Los Angeles in the south to San Luis Obispo in the north is technically in your neighborhood. Then again, if you can spare the money to pay for shipping, the possibilities are almost endless. The entire country becomes your market place. But even if you choose to forgo shipping and stick to a hundred mile radius around Lompoc, with some diligent searching of the craigslist ads you're sure to find something. Good luck and stick with it!

 

[warrenkeller]

Hi there. Yes I am in the little town of lompoc. I've been lookin through Craigslist but haven't seen anything yet. I don't know if at this point I'd be willing to pay for shipping. Is it an outrageous amount to have a washer or dryer shipped? Also is it pretty easy to get vintage washers to work? Some older sets I've seen say they don't work and when I ask what's wrong they say they don't know. Which I'm pretty sure they do. I'm excited to find my first washer. I love the 50s lady kenmores. Do people on here ever sell their washers?

 

[d-jones]

I've never had a machine shipped so I can't answer that question, but there are many here on the blog that have, so hopefully one of them will chime in. Whether washers and dryers are easy to repair or not depends largely on you and your mechanical aptitude. For me personally, the greatest difficulty is in finding the necessary parts. But to be honest, the search for parts and the thrill of finally finding them is half the fun of this hobby.

As for your other question, yes, people here do sometimes sell machines and they frequently offer them to people here first. But as the members of this blog are spread all over the country, when a machine is offered here it always seems to be someplace well out of reach for me. So for the most part I concentrate on Craigslist, and it's worked out well so far. I recently found a very rare Apex washer listed locally, only the second one known to exist. It's now in very good hands as part of Kevin's private collection.(RevvinKevin here on the blog) So keep checking Craigslist, and not just the appliance section. Kevin's Apex turned up in the antiques section, and I recently found a nice Maytag A502 that I gave to another member in the free section. So keep looking, and with a little patience you'll find what you're looking for.

 

[warrenkeller]

Do you have to be an upgraded member to see the classifieds on this site? A free machine. How much better can it get! I am very handy and already have a thrill/rush when I think of my first find.

 

[rberryiii3]

you have to be will to ship

I also live in California and I am convinced that all the good find are hiding in a barns in rural New York or New Jersey...I have found 2 easy spin-driers one in New York and the other New Hampshire. Also a 1965 Frigidaire Washer and Dryer in Florida all to be shipped to Calif. I of course have gone a little overboard. Good Luck collecting.

 

[maytaga806]

Maytag is the way to go! The maytag a806 washers last forver. you will find a bunch of videos on youtube of the maytag a806 washers. It doesnt have to be a a806 either. all older maytag washers will last generations. Maytags today dont last 5 years unlike these older maytags

 

[warrenkeller]

I'd love to find a maytag. I'd actually love to find anything right now! Lol. Anyone got a machine they don't want anymore. To donate I don't have a truck or any transportation at this point. But I'm 28 strong and very handy. My grandma had Jenn-air appliances that were from the late 70s. They were black. The dishwasher stood out the most to me. I think it was like green on the inside, push buttons on the control, you push one in the others popped out. It was neat. When she passed her sons sold the house and everything in it. Really sucks because I would have loved to have the appliances and her stuff! Went buy a few weeks after it sold and the owners gutted the kitchen and trashed all the appliances. That really sucked to see

 

[maytaga806]

i dont have any maytags but that will change in the next few years.