When our 17-year-old refrigerator started wheezing, I fully expected we\u2019d need a new one. I was shocked \u2014 and frankly a little disappointed \u2014 when a repair technician fixed it for less than $200. I had to postpone my dream of a shiny French-door replacement, but our no-frills Frigidaire is still working fine eight years later.<\/p>\n
Our experience illustrates that the decision about whether to repair or replace major appliances can be more complex than general guidelines may imply. Getting more useful years out of your existing appliances can\u00a0save money\u00a0and keep potentially dangerous components out of landfills, where they may harm the environment. But on the other hand, a replacement could be much more energy efficient, repairs sometimes can be expensive and prices for new appliances have been falling recently.<\/p>\n
All this makes the choice of repairing versus replacing a tricky one, says Dan Wroclawski, home and appliances writer for Consumer Reports, a nonprofit member organization that tests consumer products.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t miss: <\/strong>You may be in for a shock to learn these 13 common risks aren\u2019t covered by most homeowners insurance<\/p>\n Manufacturers have been incorporating more technology and new features into their products, Wroclawski says. Today\u2019s smart refrigerators, for example, might offer an interior camera so you can peek inside while you\u2019re at the grocery store, or it might have a screen that allows you to stream movies while you cook. But more features on\u00a0new appliances\u00a0mean more things that could break, and the fixes may require more specialized knowledge, which can translate into higher costs to repair.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of these appliances have just gotten a lot more complicated,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, consumers\u2019 expectations of how much use they\u2019ll get out of a typical appliance have declined. Previous generations may have anticipated that their washers, dryers and ranges would last for decades, but consumers today think the typical appliance lifespan is about 10 years and many manufacturers agree, Wroclawski says.<\/p>\n The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, a trade group, was a bit more optimistic when it estimated the average useful life span of various appliances in 2019, according to Chris Doscher, director of communications, via email. Those estimates include:<\/p>\n If your appliance is reaching the end of its useful life, here\u2019s some good news: Appliance prices have declined recently after soaring in the pandemic. The cost of major appliances rose more than 22% between 2019 and 2022, while the overall inflation rate was just under 18%, according to the consumer price index. The latest index, though, shows major appliances prices in June 2023 were 10.7% lower than the year before.<\/p>\n Also on MarketWatch:<\/strong> Extreme heat: Proper insulation helps cool your home, and there\u2019s a tax credit<\/p>\n In the past, Consumer Reports advised replacing products when the repair exceeded 50% of the cost of buying a replacement. More recently, though, the organization refined its \u201crepair or replace\u201d advice based on member feedback about 528,000 products purchased from 2012 through 2022, Consumer Reports senior survey research associate Tian Wang said in an email.<\/p>\n Consumer Reports now offers interactive tools that take into account the appliance\u2019s purchase price, age and the cost of repair, Wroclawski says. Baked into the calculator are estimates of the appliance\u2019s \u201cdepreciation rate\u201d \u2014 basically how much useful life, if any, a typical appliance in that category would have left.<\/p>\n In general, the more you spend on an appliance upfront, the more likely the Consumer Reports\u2019 tool will recommend repairing over replacing, Wroclawski says. A costly repair on a less expensive appliance also might be worthwhile if you\u2019ll get several more years of use in return, he says.<\/p>\n \u201cThis appliance is an investment, and sometimes you might need to put a little bit more into that investment to get the full return that you\u2019re expecting,\u201d Wroclawski says.<\/p>\n Also see: <\/strong>Gas stoves: New York is first state to ban natural gas appliances in new construction<\/p>\n Extending an appliance\u2019s life also means it\u2019s not disintegrating in a dump, releasing dangerous chemicals and contributing to climate change. Reducing our environmental footprint wasn\u2019t my primary reason for calling the repair technician \u2014 I mostly hoped an expensive potential repair would justify buying a new fridge \u2014 but now I\u2019m glad we squeezed more life out of our icebox for the planet\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n When the Frigidaire finally dies, we\u2019ll choose another earth-saving option: an appropriate recycling facility. The Environmental Protection Agency sponsors the\u00a0Responsible Appliance Disposal program\u00a0for recycling refrigerators and freezers, while the\u00a0Earth911 Recycling Search\u00a0database can help you find recycling facilities for all major appliances.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll also look for a replacement with a reputation for durability. But I doubt I\u2019ll get the same longevity \u2014 or the huge return on a relatively small investment \u2014 the next time around.<\/p>\n \u201cThat $200 gave you another eight years of life and that\u2019s almost the life of a new refrigerator,\u201d Wroclawski says. \u201cYou can\u2019t argue with that.\u201d<\/p>\nSmarter appliances and shorter life spans<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Even costly repairs make sense sometimes<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Easing the environmental impact<\/strong><\/h2>\n