Repair or replace that broken appliance?

Technician explains what to consider when appliances break down

APOPKA, Fla. – Appliances can cost big bucks, and with so many in each home, the spending doesn't necessarily end  once the purchase is complete. Mike Mannino, from The Appliance Doctor in central Florida says each time he gets a call, the big question is, should the customer repair or replace?

"I tell people to roll the dice, and they laugh at me," said Mannino.

But he's not kidding.

"Twenty years I had my last refrigerator, and now, they're going bad in 20 months," said Mannino. "Not to the point that they can't be repaired, but nevertheless, you have another repair bill in a very short amount of time."

He said it's a big problem, one that could really cost you. It's happening largely because everything is so high-tech now.

"You have water, you have ice through here on the fridge dispenser. The kids have their glasses and they can splash through here," said Mannino. "It's like having a laptop. You have a laptop all day long shaking, getting hit with water, a lot of vibration, a lot of moisture, how long is that laptop gonna last for?"

But he said there is a general rule for repairs.

"Half the cost of the new appliance-- you really don't wanna go over that amount of money," said Mannino. "For another few dollars, you can just go out and buy a new product."

According to a detailed study by the National Association of Home Builders and Bank of America Home Equity, the life expectancy on the most common home appliances are as follows:

  • For washers and dryers, you have about 10 years unitl you may want to consider replacing depending on the cost of the repair.
  • Dishwashers get about 9 years until it's a toss up.
  • For the fridge, it depends on the type, but 13 years is the norm.
  • With wall ovens or ranges, it's 15 years.

When it comes to your water heater, Consumer Reports says not to spend more than $50 per year of what's left in the warranty time. If the warranty is expired, trash it and get a new one. (Additional information from Consumer Reports.)

Mannino says the other thing to consider is that manufacturers are discontinuing parts for newer units much faster than ever before, even for units just four or five years old.

"Imagine going to a customer's house that has a built-in fridge, that are anywhere from $8,000 to $12,000 and telling them a $150 board is no longer available," said Mannino.

He said even if you can get the parts, they're seeing more and more defective parts being shipped out to customers.

"We used to get maybe one, two, defective parts a month, and we run a ton of calls each month, so you gotta take that in stride," said Mannino. "But now, we have some weeks where we have five, six, seven jobs in one week that the parts are broken right in the box, or we don't know that they're bad until we put them in. Those electronic boards are bad and we get no response out of them."

That's why he said he recommends holding on to older, trusty appliances that just need quick and easy repairs, rather than trashing them.

"You have a 10-year-old washer, you have a 10- or 15-year-old fridge, hang on to them for life," said Mannino. "People are thinking, 'Well, we will buy a new one and it'll last 10 to 12 years, but we don't see that."

If you do have to replace a product, he said you may want to consider skipping the bells and whistles next time around.

"Because whether you spend $400 or $1,000 on a dishwasher, you're really not going to get that much more life out of a $1,000 dishwasher," said Mannino.