Genuine OEM parts and lead times

4.5.1 What we fit

Genuine OEM parts. That means the component the manufacturer specifies for that appliance, ordered against the model and serial number on the data plate rather than against a description of what it looks like.

This is a practical position rather than a purist one, and it is worth setting out why, because generic equivalents are cheaper and easy to find.

4.5.2 Where a substitute part is a bad idea

Anything that meters gas. Orifices, regulators and valves are matched to a fuel and a burner. A part that is dimensionally similar and functionally close produces a flame that is close, which is not the same as correct.

Anything in an ignition or safety circuit. Flame-sensing and cutout components are chosen for a response curve, not just a resistance. Substituting them changes when an appliance decides to shut itself down.

Anything electronic. Control boards are firmware as much as hardware, and a board sold as compatible may be from a different revision of the same appliance. When a board arrives with a revision requirement we check it before fitting, not after.

Seals and gaskets. A door gasket that is slightly the wrong section leaks heat, and a leaking door imitates every temperature fault in this index.

4.5.3 Where the argument is weaker

Some parts are genuinely commodity items — a lamp, a hardware fastener, a generic hose clamp. We are not going to pretend otherwise. But those are rarely what a service call turns on, and the saving on them is small enough that we would rather keep the whole appliance on specified parts and keep the warranty position clean.

4.5.4 Identifying the part

Every appliance carries a data plate with its model and serial number. On ranges it is usually behind a drawer or on the frame at the door opening; on built-ins it is commonly on the frame revealed when the door is open, or behind a trim panel.

We read it at the diagnostic and photograph it. Ordering against a serial number is what keeps the right revision arriving, and it is why we ask for that number when a customer wants a price quoted over the phone. Without it, any figure we give is a guess.

4.5.5 Lead times, honestly

Some parts are stocked regionally and arrive within a few working days. Others come from a national distributor and take longer. A small number — usually older or model-specific components — are on extended supply, and occasionally a part has been discontinued altogether.

We tell you which of those applies before you commit to a repair, in the written estimate. Nobody benefits from a stripped-down appliance sitting in a kitchen behind a parts order that will not close, and on an older appliance the right advice is sometimes that the repair is not worth doing.

4.5.6 What the warranty covers

Our labour is warranted for 90 days. Parts we supply and fit are warranted for 365 days. Those periods run from the date of the repair.

What that covers: the part we fitted failing, and the work we did on it.

What it does not cover: a different fault on the same appliance, damage from a later surge or a water event, or a part supplied by someone else. If a customer sources their own part we will discuss fitting it, but we cannot warrant a component we did not supply, and we will say so before starting.

4.5.7 The order of a job

Diagnostic first, at a flat fee, credited toward the repair when you approve it. Written estimate covering parts, labour and lead time. Your approval. Then the order. No work begins before that sequence is complete, and nothing is fitted that you have not agreed to in writing.

We service Wolf cooking equipment only.