Within the past week both my step-father and my brother-in-law fixed broken appliances on their own. In normal times, I’m betting they would have called up a repairman to take care of it. But these days, money is shorter than time. Luckily, there are many online resources that make DIY work a cinch.
Fixya.com is a site that provides tech support, manuals and trouble shooting for half a million products. You can ask a question, browse recent questions, or search by brand. It helps to have the model number. Answers are provided online via chats or message posting. One user paid a repairman $142.30 to fix a fridge problem that my brother-in-law took care of himself for the cost of the part, $35.
ReliableParts.com has been supplying parts for appliances and BBQs since 1933. They sell parts online and have stores in seven states (CA, OR, WA, UT, NV, AZ and HI). Store credit is offered for unused parts returned with 45 days.
For more than appliance repair advice, RefDesk.com has a long list of sites that offer DIY help on everything from brewing your own beer to making candles and wood working.
BeJane.com has home improvement tips and projects aimed at women, however the site seems to be broken at the moment.
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
My washing machine would not agitate or spin. Via email with Sears, I was able to establish what was causing the problem and was given a part number. I picked up the part for $17.00, my son installed it and the problem was solved. That was a major saving. A month later, my dryer became extremely hot. I entered “gas clothes dryer getting too hot” on the internet and found that the air duct might be clogged. My son unclogged it and Voila! works like new.
Julia, I’ve done quite a few of my own appliance repairs.
My go-to place is called Authorized Appliance Service in Reseda. They sell parts, will get you anything that’s available and will also do the repair for you if you don’t want to do it yourself.
Here’s a blog post about them:
http://valleydays.blogspot.com/2008/01/yep-it-rained-and-i-fixed-dishwasher.html
They also do quite a business refurbishing old stoves (like the one in the picture in the entry above), and they have many other used appliances (“vintage” and the like) available.
I’ve never failed in a repair when I got the part from them.
Thanks for the recommendation, Steve!