Ask Yourself These 5 Questions to Decide
Is it under warranty?
If your appliance still has a warranty, the manufacturer should cover the cost of the repair or replacement. If the appliance is out of warranty, there still may be an option: a Home Warranty. If your home purchase included a home warranty, it’s worth it to investigate to see if you are covered and thus save yourself out-of-pocket dollars.
If you’ve ruled our warranty, then ask:
How old is the appliance?
If you repair it, how much more life can you expect to get out of it? Check out our Appliance Life Expectancy chart to see where your appliance falls. If your appliance is halfway or less through it’s expected life cycle, it may be worth repairing it. The best way to get the most out of your appliance is with regular maintenance. Just like you get regular oil changes for your car, your refrigerator, dryer, dishwasher – all of your major appliances – will benefit from regular checkups. Even if you’ve been neglectful thus far, it’s never too late to get started on a regular maintenance plan.
How difficult is the repair?
If the door seal on your fridge isn’t working properly, that’s something you may be able to fix on your own, or something minor for a professional to handle. If your fridge all of a sudden isn’t keeping cool, you may have a bigger problem on your hands and certainly not a DIY problem. Consider just how broken it is, can you fix it yourself, and is it going to be a major repair to help decide. The typical rule of thumb is, if the repair bill is half or more the cost of a new appliance, replacement may be the more cost effective option.
How do the costs compare?
Sometimes it’s cheaper to just buy a new one. If your washing machine is approaching the end of its life cycle, and the repair won’t be too costly, then perhaps it makes sense to just fix it. However, if it’s going to break again in two weeks and you have to repair it again, now you’re just throwing good money away. Sometimes it makes sense to let it go and just replace it.
Is it costing you money?
Sure that old fridge runs just fine, but how much is it contributing to your energy bill to keep it plugged in? Older appliances are far less economical to run compared to today’s energy efficient appliances. If you’ve gotten plenty of good years out of your appliance and it has outlived it’s usefulness, it may be a smarter move to just buy a new energy efficient appliance. And, quite possibly, it may just pay for itself with the the money you save operating that new refrigerator.
Still not sure? Give us a call and let’s discuss your specific problem. Appliance Doctor can then either repair your appliance or set you up with new installation, if that’s turns out to be your best option.
And, regardless of whether repairing or replacing your appliance solves your problem, a good maintenance plan can ensure proper functioning of all of your appliances and help avoid the situation in the first place. Ask us about our Maintenance Agreement and let us worry about your appliance care so that you don’t have to.