Eventually, we all have to decide if our appliances need to be repaired or replaced. When your major appliance breaks down, you need to determine if you want to buy a new one or have your existing one repaired. Is it better to repair or replace appliances? Let’s review the two choices: Appliance repair vs. replacement.
Appliance Repair vs. Replacement: How Do You Decide?
You may wonder if you should proceed with appliance repair vs. replacement. This is an important decision because sometimes, time may not be on your side. For example, if your refrigerator goes out, you need to get it back online to start bringing food back into the house. You also run the risk of having all of the food that is in the unit going bad as well. Public laundromats are expensive and time-consuming if your washer or dryer doesn’t start. If your dishwasher is not working, handwashing the dishes is messy and cumbersome.
Diagnosing the Appliance Problem
When an appliance stops working, the first thing to do is to find out exactly what’s wrong. The manufacturer’s manual for the appliance is a good place to begin looking for answers. This guide often contains basic troubleshooting information to help you pinpoint the primary concern. If you don’t have the owner’s manual, you can often find similar information on the Internet. If your appliance is covered by the manufacturer’s warranty or an additional home protection plan, contact the warranty company before you attempt any self-repair work.
Is Your Appliance Under Warranty?
If your appliance is fairly new or you purchased an extended warranty, your appliance repair may be covered by the warranty coverage. To make sure, give the manufacturer a call with the model and a serial number of your appliance. If your appliance is under warranty, then your warranty options will make it much easier to decide to repair it. However, if your warranty has expired, you’ll have to decide on appliance repair vs. replacement.
When to Replace Your Appliance
Sometimes appliance repair vs replacement is a matter of semantics. If your appliance is 20 years of age or older and is no longer enough to support your growing family, you will want to replace it. For example, that old refrigerator you and your wife started with before the kids came along was the perfect size for the two of you. But as the years have gone by, the capacity of the refrigerator is no longer enough to allow you to provide food for your family. That is when it is time to allow the old appliance to be replaced. Many major appliance sales organizations will take away your old appliance for no charge when they deliver your new one.
When to Repair Your Appliance
But what if your appliance is only 10 years old and still does the job? You may not want to replace it because you and your family have gotten used to it, and when it works, it does the job you need. The best place to start is by paying for a service call from a certified technician. These service calls are an insignificant investment compared to the potential cost of replacing your appliance. If you pay for a $90 service call to find out that your appliance only needs $200 in repairs to work like new again, that was well worth the investment. But even if you discover that the repair bill will be more than a new unit would cost, it was still worth finding out.
When deciding whether to repair or replace your major appliance, the decision can hinge on several things. Ultimately, you need to make the decision that makes the most sense for you and your family for appliance repair vs. replacement. Give Appliance Repair Specialists a call for fast, professional service for appliance diagnosis and repair!
