Family-run Fareham retailer launches “Fixit Fox Finder” to help households repair appliances by confirming the exact model variant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fareham, Hampshire, UK — 5 March 2026
Family-run Fareham retailer launches “Fixit Fox Finder” to help households repair appliances by confirming the exact model variant

Spares2Repair, a family-owned UK appliance spare parts retailer based in Fareham, today launched Fixit Fox Finder, an AI-assisted chat tool designed in-house to help customers identify the correct spare part by confirming the exact appliance model variant, a step that often determines whether a repair succeeds or fails.

The company says the issue isn’t a lack of parts, but the difficulty of accurate identification: model numbers are frequently misread, incomplete, or missing key suffixes that change which parts fit. That can lead to wasted time, incorrect orders, and avoidable replacement of appliances that could otherwise be repaired.

Fixit Fox Finder guides customers through model identification in plain language. If a rating plate is hard to read, customers can upload a photo; the tool extracts key identifiers and checks them against Spares2Repair’s internal model/parts catalogue. Once a model is confirmed, customers can describe the fault (for example, “won’t spin” or “not draining”), and the tool surfaces parts compatible with that specific model.

From Smart Search to Fixit Fox Finder

“People don’t plan for a washing machine to fail at 10pm,” said Thomas Broad, Managing Director of Spares2Repair. “We saw a pattern of customers trying to solve it out of hours, often with an incomplete model number, then either giving up or ordering on a hunch. Fixit Fox Finder is built to get customers to the exact model variant first, so they can buy with more confidence and avoid wasted purchases.”

Broad added that the launch builds on Smart Search, a tool Spares2Repair introduced in July 2024 that uses image-based optical character recognition (OCR) to help customers identify appliance model numbers from a photo of the rating plate or model sticker.

“Smart Search helped customers get from a photo to a matched model number and search results,” Broad said. “In 2026, we’re still not aware of another UK appliance spares retailer offering an equivalent consumer-facing image tool. Fixit Fox Finder is the next step: it combines photo upload with model-variant confirmation and model-specific parts matching through a guided chat interface. It doesn’t just read the label, it helps customers move from correct identification to the right compatible parts.”

The company said the assistant can also help with routine customer-service queries, such as explaining policies and, where possible, helping customers cancel orders that have not yet been dispatched.

Why model-number precision matters

A single character difference in an appliance model number can indicate a different production run or internal configuration, meaning two machines that look identical can require different parts. Spares2Repair says this is one of the most common causes of failed DIY repairs and incorrect orders across the sector.

Fixit Fox Finder is available now at spares2repair.co.uk and is free to use with no account required.

Designed for clarity, not guesswork

Spares2Repair emphasised that the tool is designed to be transparent about what it can and can’t do: it can confirm compatibility against a specific model, but it does not promise a guaranteed diagnosis from symptom text alone.

“We’ve built the business around being honest with customers,” Broad added. “If we’re not certain, we say so. The tool follows that same principle, confirm the model, show compatible parts, and be clear about the limits of symptom-based suggestions. ”

Daniel Greene, Customer Service at Spares2Repair, said: “When customers can get to the correct model and compatible parts faster, it reduces frustration and lets our team focus on the genuinely complex cases where human help is still needed.”

Broad continued, “Ultimately we want customers to get the right part first time and quickly, our customers face genuine need when a key appliance fails, if you can’t cook dinner of clean clothes it is a time critical problem to solve.”

Accessibility and what’s next

Spares2Repair said the tool is being developed with accessibility in mind, influenced by feedback from customers who struggle to read small rating plates or type detailed model information. The company is exploring voice-based interaction to make the experience easier for more users.

About Fixit Fox Finder

Fixit Fox Finder is a conversational assistant that:
• helps customers locate and confirm the exact appliance model variant
• can extract model identifiers from an uploaded rating-plate photo
• surfaces parts compatible with the confirmed model
• provides fault-related prompts while clearly indicating that symptom-based guidance is not a guarantee

Fixit Fox Finder is available now at spares2repair.co.uk.

About Spares2Repair
Spares2Repair is a UK-based, family-owned appliance spare parts retailer supplying genuine and compatible replacement parts across major appliance categories. The company develops in-house tools to help customers identify parts accurately and keep appliances in use for longer.

Press Contact
Thomas Broad, Managing Director
Spares2Repair
press.enquiries@spares2repair.co.uk
spares2repair.co.uk