How to Save Money--Should Kitchen Appliances be Repaired or Replaced?

We all know that it's time to tighten our belts and cut spending.

Being careful or being frugal means different things to different people.

• If you are rich, you might need to cut down the number of unnecessary journeys you make in your private jet plane.
• If you've always had a comfortable income, you might need to cut down the number of fancy nouvelle cuisine restaurants you go to and give up one of the family cars.
• If you're on a low income, you might need to forego your annual package holiday, and if you are unemployed, you might need to forego clothes with branded labels.

These are the facts of life.

Now I am going to tell you about a way of saving money which might be universally helpful.

Does your heart sink when one of your kitchen appliances breaks down? It could be unwise to spend your money getting old kitchen appliances mended:

Be aware of the average life expectancy of your white goods: But remember, the figures below are only averages, and yours might therefore not fall within this range:

If your domestic appliance breaks down, don't throw good money after bad by paying through the nose to get it mended when it has nearly reached the end of its life. It can cost the earth to pay for servicing and call-out charges and it can be quite a gamble (see my salutory story below). And, definitely, if the cost of the repair bill is likely to be more than 40 - 50 per cent of the cost of a new appliance, don't bother.

I know this flies in the face of all those traditional admonitions to make do and mend, and recycling to keep things out of the rubbish tips, but just don't do it--it is a short-sighted fix, if indeed it is fixed at all!

The above Information was gathered from Which

Some time ago I called what I had thought was a reputable firm, who had been supplying and servicing my appliances for about twenty years, to ask them to repair my Cannon cooker when the gas oven wouldn't light.

I had initially obtained estimates and Cannon (the manufacturers) quoted £134 for a call-out, whereas this firm quoted £65. So naturally I asked them to send round an engineer. He tipped the stove on its side, fiddled around and diagnosed that it needed a new temperature control, a simple part which he said he would order from the manufacturers and then return to fix it. As he left, he asked me to pay £78, which came as a bit of surprise--rather slyly, the firm had not added in the VAT when they gave their estimate. I paid him and got a receipt.

He duly returned a few days later with the temperature control, and even as he was entering the door, demanded that I pay him £84 for the call-out charge before he started work. I was somewhat saddened, bearing in mind that I was a trusted and long-established customer. He took the money but didn't give me a receipt then or ever.

He tipped up the gas stove again, tinkered about for half an hour or more and then said it was the wrong part, and that he would come back once I had obtained the correct part.

During the course of his stay, I was chatting to him and, as he was South African, I asked him where he had learnt how to service gas appliances, and he said he had picked it up along the way and that he was Corgi registered. I thought no more about it until I discussed it later with my partner, who pointed out that nowadays gas fitters are obliged by law to have a Gas Safety Certificate, and that Corgi registration is out of date and no longer relevant. And also it is an obligation for Gas fitters to wear their Gas Safety ID pinned to their clothes, on display at all times whilst working. He didn't have any ID on show, and the legality of his operating as a gas fitter seemed open to question. I am not saying that he was definitely working illegally, but it would not be unreasonable to make this assumption.

After that experience I didn't trust anyone to get the problem sorted out, so I bought a new gas stove for about £350, having wasted £162 for nothing. I never did find out whether this was a scam, but a week later, on BBC TV Watchdog--Rogue Traders, they did show someone pretending to try to fix an appliance, even banging the back with a hammer to make it seem as though he was working. He stretched out the time so that it was over half an hour and then said that as the labour charges were for up to 30 minutes, a further payment was due. And he still didn't fix it--he said they would need to get a new appliance.

I'm not saying my man was a crook......but bells began to ring.

Avoid paying for repairs to kitchen appliances which are nearing the end of their life-expectancy.

Not only will it will save you money in the long run, it will save you having that bitter feeling that you have been caught in a no-win situation.