Deciding whether to repair or replace your appliance can be a difficult decision. You may be wondering whether you should call a repair technician at all, how much it will cost to fix the appliance if you do, and what the overall lifespan of the appliance should be. These are all important things to consider.

If you are not absolutely sure what the problem is with your appliance, it is probably best to call a professional technician to determine what the problem is and what it will cost to fix it because it can often be something surprisingly minor that causes your appliance to fail. For example, your warm refrigerator may just need a sensor or automatic switch replaced in order to start cooling properly again. If you think that you know specifically which part in your appliance has failed, you can always call a repair company and simply ask for a repair estimate before having them come out in person.

The service call or diagnostic fee that appliance repair companies charge to diagnose your appliance usually varies between $95 – $135. After diagnosing the appliance they will provide you with a total repair price quote which could range from the cost of the service call only, up to over $1000, depending on the cost of the parts and labor required to repair your appliance. However, most repairs range between $200-500, with an average around $275, including the service call.

The average lifespan of a modern energy-efficient appliance that uses electronic control boards and various other complex technologies is about 10-15 years, whereas an older, simpler appliance that used mechanical control timers and more basic technologies may have a life span of well over 20 years. Although it will cost you more in energy costs over the course of the year. So if you have an old top-load washer with a mechanical timer that is 13 years old and just broke down for the first time, it may be well worth having it repaired because it may last another seven years or more. On the other hand, if you have a newer front load washer that starts leaking when it is 8 years old, it may still have four years or more left in its practical lifespan and may also be well worth repairing.

Another consideration that may be an important factor to many people is the environmental impact of replacing an appliance. Due to the complex nature of the technologies used in modern energy-efficient appliances, they do inevitably break down somewhat more often. If they are replaced every time they break down, this defeats the purpose of using an energy efficient appliance because it is not only extremely expensive for the homeowner who could be paying around $1000 to replace a single appliance every 5-8 years, but it also defeats the environmental benefit of using an energy efficient appliance because most of its parts will be sent to the landfill and there will subsequently be increased demand for large manufacturing facilities that consume massive amounts of energy and raw materials to produce more of these appliances. The most environmentally friendly option is to repair your appliance because that keeps it out of the landfill and decreases the demand for the consumption of large amounts of energy and raw materials that takes place in the manufacturing process.

In conclusion, it is best to have a professional technician assist you in determining whether you should repair or replace your appliance by having it assessed. Once the appliance has been properly diagnosed and you have been given a repai price quote, you will be able to determine whether it is worthwhile to repair the appliance or not depending on the cost to repair, and the remaining practical lifespan of the unit.

Oh and one more thing; if you are located in Calgary or Chestermere, Alberta, give General Appliance Repair Ltd a call and they will be happy to assess your appliance and repair it too, if that is what you choose to have them do.