Repair or replace? Experts share tips for holiday appliance dilemmas

CHICAGO - Repair or replace? That is the question many of us who are hosting holiday dinners this year are facing when it comes to our stoves and other home appliances.

In tonight's special money saver report, Dawn Hasbrouck looks for some answers.

Matthew Mullins' refrigerator started leaking. That's definitely something he did not put on his holiday wishlist.

"It was important to us before the holidays that were coming up to have a refrigerator that works well and have room for the stuff that we buy and not have to worry about things going bad on you," Mullins said.

Since his fridge is only three months old, he quickly made the decision to call an appliance service and have it repaired. But what would he do if his other kitchen appliances weren't working? Would he still repair them or replace them?

"It depends on the severity of the problem," Mullins said.

A recent survey by Consumer Reports found a majority of people with large appliance problems in the last few years either had them repaired or tried to repair them before replacing them. Only about a third went right out and bought a new one.

Since we are bombarded with appliance sales during the holidays,  we headed north to get some answers on when to repair and replace them. We didn't go to the North Pole but to Wood Dale instead.

That's where we found James Dolbeare. He's the president of AAA Appliance Service Center, a company that has been in the business for nearly 75 years.

Dolbeare is also the former president of the United Appliance Servicers Association.

"Price point is where you get down to it," Dolbeare said. "When your repair cost tends to exceed say 35-40 percent of the total replacement cost, that’s when you start thinking about replacement."

Dolbeare also said you want to take into account the type of appliance you may be about to give up.

"Depending on the product that you have, tends to be about 12-15 years you want to hang on to them because they’re going to last much longer than than the newer product," Dolbeare said.

"The problem is that a new product is made for a price point. It's not necessarily made for quality or quantity," he added.

Depending on the model, Dolbeare said a new refrigerator is now estimated to last seven to 10 years compared to 19 years when purchased 15 years ago.

While the lifespan of a new dishwasher can range anywhere from two to 20 years, a new oven is projected to last around 15 years.

You also need to look at your old appliances' features. Dolbeare said if you like them, then keep it. Don't forget to look at the logistics involved to just have a new appliance delivered and installed.

Finally, no matter how old your oven is, Dolbeare has this last tip for all home chefs this holiday season:

"I strongly recommend when you’re within, I would say, four-to-five days of a holiday, don’t use your self-cleaning feature. The reason is they have safeties in them and if something happens and it malfunctions the oven will shut down and require service and maintenance. It might not even unlock," Dolbeare said

He said it has happened to a lot of consumers and when you are that close to a holiday, you might not be able to get your oven repaired in time.

If you are wondering which appliance causes consumers the most stress when it goes out, based on his customers, Dolbeare said it's not the oven or the stove, but the dishwasher.