Home Appliances: When to Buy VS When to Repair

So often we're faced with this million-dollar question, to buy or to repair? While some of us are able to differentiate right of the butt what is needed, sometimes there's a blurred line of what to do versus the other. For instance, what you might see as a simple damage that can be repaired may lead to spending more money in the long run doing regular repairs than if you had bought a new appliance.

In other instances, hiring appliance repaircompanies to repair your refrigerator, or dish washer, or cooker might be the best option as they will leave your appliance as good as new, thereby saving you some bucks. To that end, here are tips to help you know whether it's time to get rid of that old appliance or just do some appliance repair.

1. Life Span

Not to sound too religious, but everything in this world will come to an end at some point. Not even your appliances are spared from that naked truth. Appliances, like any other thing made by man, has a lifespan. When used for a particular period, they wear down and start malfunctioning. At first, it might seem like it's just the normal breaking down, but if you don’t know your appliance life expectancy, then you might end up spending more time and resources taking it to appliance repair and still end up buying a new one in the long run. To help guide you, here are some appliance's life expectancy:

·         Refrigerator: 11-13 years
·         Freezer: 15-20 years
·         Range: 12-13 years (electric lasts longer)
·         Dishwasher: 8-10 years
·         Clothes dryer: 15 years
·         Room air conditioner: 7 years
·         Hot water tank: 6-8 years.

If your appliance has been in use close to the above years, then it's time you replaced it with a new modern model.

2. Extent of damage

Sometimes, repairing seems like a waste of money. If, say, your dishwasher fell some feet to the ground, internal circuits got damaged, the motor isn’t working, then hiring appliance repair companies to repair it may be futile. You will end up spending more with replacing some parts to equal almost the price of a new appliance. Worse still, you may end up taking it to appliance repair every so often causing you unnecessary inconveniences. However, if your appliance just happen to have a simple malfunction that you can correct, it's not yet time to buy a new one. If it's a problem you can't comprehend, then hiring reputable appliance repair company can help fix your appliance to be as good as new.

3. Cost of repair more than buying

As stated, if you find that taking your appliance to appliance repair companies will cost more than buying a new one, then it's time to buy a new one. This may be the case where some parts needs replacing due to wear and tear or damage. If your appliance repair company is a reliable reputable company, they will advise accordingly and tell you what's best for you.

4. Too many breakdowns

Finally, too many breakdowns means that your appliance is tired of life. It could be because of wear and tear, being used for too long that it can't take it any longer. In such cases, when you find yourself too often calling appliance repair companies to do repairs, then you probably should replace the appliance.

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