Hold Out When Replacing The Important Tech Appliances

I know I've probably said this a thousand times, but saving money is important to me. I don't have a ton of it, and I know a lot of you don't either. So when it comes to big, important everyday appliances, the decision is going to weigh on you.

Let's look at something NJ and I had to deal with recently.

I'm sure you know what that is, but to be sure, that's my washing machine.  It's been in the same spot for... decades.  Literally.  I wanna say the machine itself is just about that old, as well.  I'm not sure, but Dad says he thinks he bought this in the 90's, and it always just stayed there.  When I moved in, of course it didn't go anywhere.

Because it still worked.   I mean, sometimes it was used as a washer, and sometimes it was used as a hidey hole, but I digress.

For a while, my washing machine has been showing the signs of a broken, or almost broken, lid lock.  I've had to push down on the lid of the washer to get it to run, and it's been getting harder and harder.  So yeah... the part finally broke.

So the debate began between me, NJ, and my father.  My Dad and NJ were Team Replace.  I, meanwhile, was Team Repair.

via GIPHY

Team Replace said we've had the machine for decades, it's old, and it's time we upgraded to something more efficient to save water and electricity. It was also pointed out to me that in general, these machines only make it about 12 years, and this one is looking down the barrel of 30. We might be pushing our luck here. And who knows how much water and electricity an older machine like this is wasting? That cost has to add up. And, who knows, maybe our washing machine could be a little unrefined, maybe it would be nice to have something with more than a knob.

Team Repair (me), however, cited NJ's Mom and our now retired appliance repairman (Happy Retirement, Gregg's Appliance Repair), that "they" don't make washing machines like this anymore.  NJ's Mom got a new Samsung washing machine last year, and she has told me at least three times she wishes she still had her older model.  Gregg also told me to hold on to this machine for as long as I could, because again, "They Don't Make Em to Last Anymore".   And when a repairman tells you that?  I listened.

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And to me, I'd rather pay a hundred bucks for a guy's labor and have a machine I'm familiar with, rather than plop down a grand for something I can't be sure will last me another twenty or thirty years, at the rate this machine is going.   So Team Replace let me call a guy first, and he came and fixed the dang thing in ten minutes for about a hundred bucks.  Done.  At least for now - until we have a problem again.  But, we haven't had a ton of issues over the years with it. And if that means we have an issue in ten years, okay. But now, it works.

So where do you stand on this issue?  How long do you have to use an appliance before you start to think it's time to replace it?  Do you even bother with repair?

Teamingly yours,
Behka