Debate: should you repair a 10-year-old fridge or just tell the customer to replace it?

I was at a job last week in a house out in the suburbs, fixing a Whirlpool fridge that was maybe 12 years old. The compressor was making this weird knocking sound, and I figured it was on its way out. I told the homeowner, a lady named Carol, that a new compressor would run her about $400 with labor, but a new basic fridge is around $700. She looked at me and said, "I want you to fix it because this one has the ice maker I like." That got me thinking... are we doing people a favor by trying to keep old machines running, or are we just kicking the can down the road? On one side, fixing saves them money now, and parts are usually available. On the other, a 10-year-old fridge is starting to waste electricity, and a new one might last longer without issues. I've seen compressors fail again within a year on older units, even after a repair. What do you all think, when do you draw the line and say it's time for a new one?

2 comments

2 Comments

nina_sullivan6117d agoTop Commenter

Your customer wanted the fix, she paid for it, so what's the big deal here? Some people just don't want to deal with learning a new ice maker.

markm2717d ago

But doesn't that depend on what exactly was wrong with the old ice maker? If it was just a simple repair like a clogged filter or a bad valve, then yeah, fixing it makes total sense. But if the old unit was a money pit that kept breaking down every six months, maybe the customer would have been better off putting that money toward a newer, more reliable model. I've seen plenty of folks pay for repairs on a 10 year old appliance that just dies again a year later. It's not always about being stubborn about learning new tech, sometimes it's just bad math on the long term cost.