Why we quote a lead time, not a promise

Every repair on a built-in cooking appliance has two clocks: how long the diagnosis takes, and how long the part takes. The first is ours to control. The second is not, and pretending otherwise is how customers end up angry at people who were doing their best.

Why we only fit genuine OEM parts

There is a market in pattern parts — components made to fit, sold cheaper, with the original part number in the listing title. We do not use them, for three reasons that are practical rather than principled.

Tolerances. A gas orifice is a hole with a specification. A pattern orifice that is close is not the same as one that is right, and the difference shows up as a flame that will not settle or a simmer that drops out.

Materials. This matters more here than almost anywhere. A part’s corrosion resistance is part of what you are paying for on a coast like this one. A pattern electrode bracket that rusts in two seasons is not cheaper; it is the same job twice.

Warranty. We warrant parts for 365 days and labour for 90. We can only do that on parts whose provenance we know.

What actually drives a lead time

Whether the part is a stocking item. Common consumables — igniters, electrodes, gaskets, filters, lamps — are usually available quickly. Control boards, valve assemblies, steam generators and cavity components are not always.

How old the appliance is. Parts availability for a built-in cooking appliance is generally long, but it is not infinite, and a superseded part number sometimes means a slightly different component with an installation note attached. That is worth knowing before you commit, not after.

Where it ships from. A part crossing the country on a ground service takes what it takes. Expedited freight is available for most things and it costs what it costs; we will quote both if the wait is the deciding factor for you.

Whether it is one part or two. Some faults are honestly diagnosed as “the board, and probably the sensor that killed it”. Ordering both at once is usually cheaper than two visits, and we will say so plainly rather than book a return.

What the written estimate contains

Before anything is ordered you get, in writing: the fault we found, the test that led us there, the part or parts required, the price of each, the labour, and a lead time. If the lead time slips because a supplier’s stock position changed, we tell you the day we know, not the day you call to ask.

The diagnostic is a flat fee, credited toward the repair when you go ahead. If you decide not to proceed, you have paid for a diagnosis and you own it — take it to whoever you like.

When we tell you not to repair

Occasionally the arithmetic does not work. A part that costs a substantial fraction of a replacement appliance, on a unit that has other components close to the end of their life, is not a repair we will push. We will lay out the numbers and say what we would do.

That conversation includes the cabinet opening, because on a thirty-year-old kitchen the replacement question is never only about the appliance. It is about whether the hole will take a current model without carpentry.

While you wait

If the appliance is safe to use in a limited way, we will tell you exactly how. If it is not, we will tell you that instead, and we will not soften it. A gas fault is not something to work around for three weeks.