Many times when we have old appliances I am simply not sure if I should repair or simply buy new. How do you usually make that decision, it depends on the problem, on the price of the repair or your first choice is to get a new appliance or piece of furniture?
I will always consider a repair first. If the repair is quick and simple, or only requires a cheap part then I'll happily attempt it myself. There's a YouTube video for just about every type of repair these days so help is easy to find. I'll only replace if the cost of repairing the item is too high. Then, it makes sense to just buy a new one.
Depends on how old the appliance is. Any appliance that's older than 15 years should be replaced because they use up too much energy. Such appliances need to be replaced with energy efficient ones which will save you a bit of money off your energy bills. However if the appliances are less than 10 years old then repairing them would be the better option.
I'd say that it would entirely depend upon the situation. As it has already been mentioned above, the age and model of whatever I am considering replacing or repairing, would be a main factor. How much money I had in the bank account would also factor in. I do like to replace items, but money doesn't always allow for them, and I have to settle for getting things repaired.
The maintenance man of our airconditioner said that most appliances today are not repairman-friendly anymore, they are more of the disposable type. And I believed him because when our old Sony TV broke down, the technician estimated the cost of repair to reach 5,000 pesos. Considering that a new TV of the same size and model can be had for less than 10,000 pesos, why not just buy a new one?
I think most appliances today are not good for repair as the above post states, appliances have a shelve life that has been determined before they are put on the market. The cell phones are a good example of the amount of time appliances will last or how easy it will be to repair them.
You are right. I also noticed that appliances and electronic items are not fit for repair anymore. In fact, early this year our microwave oven gave up followed by the oven toaster after a month. They had rendered good service to us so they are worth their cost. We just bought a new one and didn't even bother to look for repair technician because we already had a sad experience with our broken television.
It depends how much it would cost to repair, in comparison to how much it would cost to replace. If it costs too much to repair then I am more likely to buy a new appliance, particularly seeing as I don't really have the necessary skills to repair things myself anyway, to be honest with you. You do have to weigh up the overall cost of both options, though, as this is the only way that you're ever going to be able to get true value for money.
I have experienced this just this week with our washer (Whirlpool). Luckily, I had did my research online. I decided to get it repaired by a reputable service. The main thing that I considered was the cost of the home visit. I read customer reviews as well. I was able to get prices for parts and then estimated how much the total repair would be. The repair was less than what I had anticipated. I think that another determining factor in deciding whether to repair or replace would be the appliance. A washer as opposed to a microwave would be well worth repairing.
My first option would be to post a request for one on Freecycle / TrashNothing, and see if anyone had one I could obtain for free. I was able to do that at my last place. The washer died, and it belonged to the landlord, but I knew he wasn't going to replace it, so I asked for one, and someone had one they didn't need. The washer worked great, and I was really happy I didn't have to go to the laundromat anymore.
I will ask for the price first for repairing the appliance. If it is cheap and the materials are easy to buy, then I will go for it. If however, the repair price is too high, then I will just buy a new appliance. Most of the time though, repair costs are as high as new appliances prices.
After repairing my heater 3 times in the last years I think that this last repair I've made was the last one because most likely I should be investing in a new one instead of making repair over repair...
If I think I have a chance to fix it on my own -- or with the help of those around me -- then repairing is an easy first choice. Otherwise, if I see a replacement for cheap (usually on craiglist or ebay or other discount places), I might be swayed to go for that (especially if the replacement is some sort of "upgrade").
I make it a point to replace an appliance if we have already repaired it twice. We have this aircondition unit that we bought a couple of years ago, we have already changed and repaired it twice. We decided to just let it go and buy a new one as it seems to not be as cooling as before and it has broken down many times. Just buying a new appliance can be probably the answer sometimes. It is tiring to have to repair it many times then having it fail to do its job. At least when buying new, we can be sure that it is more efficient for the modern times.
To be honest, those were not major repairs, just a piece that doesn't last more than 2-3 years, what doesn't make much sense. This last time it was totally cleaned, so I am expecting it to last longer.
Our tv and rice cooker was repaired for a cheap price by qualified technicians, so I think that if repairing an item would be a lot cheaper than the cost of a new item then I would certainly go for repairing the item first.
Repairing is always my first option. It is cheaper to do most of the time. But if the damage is unrepairable then I will replace the item. It is important to have someone who is really qualified to do the work to avoid further damage.
Yes, I always consider repair unless the repair is really expensive. The quality of the items produced today is hardly as good as it was, so buying new these days mean we will have something for 5 or 6 years and not 20 or 30, a big difference!
