When do you fix vs replace appliances

[lolalolalola]

My 10 year old range is acting up. How much would you pay to have someone look at it or fix it? I want to upgrade to an induction range but it’s so wasteful to think of this one being trashed if it could be fixed. On the other hand, I don’t want to put money into something that’s going to have to be replaced soon anyway.

[Leeham Rimes]

I look at the life span of the appliance and the cost to fix it. According to An HR block article on google, a range has a life span of 13-15 years (another site has it broken down by type and the overall range is 10-18 years) I’d have to weigh the cost of the repair and how much life it would bring me vs using that as a down payment on an upgrade that would last longer.

[Leeham Rimes]

We currently rent but I owned previously and my mom recently went through fixing her dryer, throwing good money after bad. Once we sat down and added up all the little fixes over two years, she could have bought a new dryer instead of having a constantly repaired but still dead one.

[wanderingback]

I pretty much use things until they're on their last leg, mostly because I think it's wasteful to get rid of something if it still has some life in it.
My SO can pretty much fix everything, so so far he's been able to trouble shoot and buy a part if needed for things. I guess if the call to have someone come out was a lot of money, then I would reconsider, but I would certainly want their opinion if I couldn't fix it myself to find out how much the fix would be.

[puppyluv]

I would probably pay a repair person to come out and diagnose the problem and give me and estimate for the repairs, then decide based on that. A new stove would be over $1k so I would prob put around $300 into fixing it before replacing it.

[alleinesein]

Depends on what is wrong with it. Our oven was having issues and it was under $300 to fix it or $5000 to get a new one and reconfigure that section of the kitchen to fit a new one since they no longer make that size and we would've had to tear out cabinets and resize them just to make it fit.

If it's something that can easily be replaced and fixing the broken one costs a little less than buying new one, just get a new one. If fixing it is cheaper and will extend the life for another 3-5 years, fix it.

Our current oven and rangetop are 28 years old. We've only had 1 issue with each one. They are gas so that might be why they have lasted so long, less things to break and they can do be used without electricity.

[minzy]

I would absolutely try first to repair, but I’m fresh off of reading a book about how much scrap metal Americans generate (Junkyard Planet by Adam Minter). Can you try troubleshooting on YouTube to somewhat diagnose yourself before calling the pro in to fix? Maybe you call and say, “we think it’s the x, what would the cost be to replace that?” to get a ballpark idea on cost before actually throwing too much down.

[Aloe Vera]

What is the issue? Most often, you can Google the issue with the brand of your range and you will find a solution. I've fixed a lot of appliances this way. On average, the part costs $20.

[CrazyLucky]

Our oven died last weekend. We have a repairman coming tomorrow. It's about 14.5 years old, so it may be time. When we're deciding whether to replace we consider the age of the appliance, cost of repair vs. cost of new, and repair history. It looks like a highly rated range is in the $1000 price range. So if the repair is $200 or less, we'll definitely repair. If it's $500 or more, we'll definitely replace. If it's in the middle, we'll talk about it.

[DotAndBuzz]

I'd pay for the repair person to come do an estimate at least, and then consider the cost of repair vs cost of replacement with what you actually want. I'd probably pay up to at least half of the replacement value on a repair, as long as it was a major operational part being repaired (that would extend the functional life of the appliance).

[mich1]

Our appliances are well over 20 years old and as long as they are fixable, they will be fixed.

[nomad100]

Jan 29, 2020 22:47:44 GMT -5 Leeham Rimes said:

I look at the life span of the appliance and the cost to fix it. According to An HR block article on google, a range has a life span of 13-15 years (another site has it broken down by type and the overall range is 10-18 years) I’d have to weigh the cost of the repair and how much life it would bring me vs using that as a down payment on an upgrade that would last longer.

This is where I am too.  

I just replaced my Washer and dryer.  I likely could have repaired both of them but they were 18 years old and had been limping along for months.  Dryer lost one of the "fins" in the inside when ExH's son jammed too much stuff in a couple years ago.  Washer has been having issues for about 6 months.  It was time.  I also making plans for replacing my hot water heater because it is 19 yo.   It could be fine for a couple more years but I am not taking the chance since it failing in that part of the basement would be a big mess.  

Now in my kitchen, I would fix before replacing because I hope to totally gut and redo my kitchen in 3 years.  Don't want to get any appliances that won't work in the new space.  

[lolalolalola]

Thx. We have a repairman coming tomorrow so we will see.

I am a little wary just because we spent $1000 repairing our A/C unit last spring. The repair barely lasted through the summer and we will be spending $5000 on a new unit this year regardless. So that experience is fresh.