Once you have a new appliance, pretty soon you realize beneath that hefty price tag it's still only doing what your old appliance did. It's part of what keeps your household working.
So when it needs service, how do you know when its best to repair vs. replace it?
That answer is called Cost of Ownership, and it's figured quite simply- original cost of the appliance divided by the years you've owned it. So let's say your fridge now needs $300 worth of repairs and you paid $1000 for it eight years ago. If you go buy a new one instead your cost of ownership is 1000 divided by 8, or about $125 per year. Now, suppose you go ahead and have the fridge fixed for $300 and you get 5 more years before another repair is needed. Your cost of ownership after 5 more years becomes 1000 plus 300, divided by 13 years, or about $100 per year. So you've lowered your cost of ownership by having the appliance repaired. And fridges often have a 20 plus year life span.
This easy formula works for all your appliances. But remember, it's usually not a good idea to repair any appliance if the cost to repair is 1/2 or more of the cost to replace it, especially on an older appliance. So if your washer is 10 years old and its going to cost $350-$400 to replace it, our advice is to consider buying a new one.
Today's appliances are really expensive and have lots of technology built in. To keep our ecological footprint from junking up the planet, we hope you'll consider repairing your appliances when it makes sense to do so and I hope this formula I picked up from a Consumer's Report article helps you make your own decision. It's what we use to advise our customers because we just want to be sure you're happy with whichever path you take!
