Do you repair or replace items (can be anything) ?
The reason for this query is that within the past two weeks, I've done both for two items that were costly when new (one more than the other), but not at all similar.
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| 2007 Jeep Liberty |
If that sounds confusing at first read, here's what happened.
The first repair was more of a replacement, 4 tires for my vehicle, a 2007 Jeep Liberty, I'm the original owner. Yes, I know, this auto is considered old by many, but it suits me perfectly. The mileage is now nearing 111,500 miles and it runs well with regular maintenance. Compared to Grenville's 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee which has a complicated (to me) onboard computer, this car is easier to operate and maintain. It has the basics — auto transmission, power windows and locks, satellite radio, heater, AC and a CD player (hardly used).
Maybe it's happened to you that what's thought of as bad luck is a blessing. That's because when checking the service records, I saw that the tires were 7 years old with 38K miles, about time for new ones. Before arriving home, I had an appointment with a local Goodyear tire dealer who luckily had 4 of the same tires in stock. The day after our return home, the Jeep had new shoes tires. Total out the door cost with balancing, alignment, tire disposal — little over $800.
The next item was a repair that was much less costly than buying a new one.
Those of you who are iPhone users may already know that Apple unveiled its new lineup of newer and greater phones early last month. (Does anyone else enjoy watching these new product roll-our presentations? They're eye-popping to say the least.)
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| iPhone 10s |
After considering a couple of BIG ?s, specifically: Do I really want to spend $$$ for a new one and, more importantly, was a new one really needed? The answer was no and no, so a non-issue.
Instead, there was an easier (and less costly) solution. I went online to the Apple store here in Nashua, NH and made a service appointment for a battery replacement. After answering a few online questions, my time slot was this past Sunday.
Two hours later, not only did my phone have a new battery, but a new speaker as well. It seems the speaker needed removal to replace the battery and would be replaced at no charge—win-win. Total cost was $69 (no sales tax in NH). The battery level is now 100% again, so it's all good !
Your turn—have you replaced, repaired or bought anything new? If so, please share—what and why.
26 comments:
Almost 2 years ago, I replaced my iPhone 6 with the XR. I wonder how long it will last, but my present intention is to replace the battery when it becomes necessary. The ipad on which I am typing now needs a battery, and I plan on doing that at some point, but I don’t really take it anywhere, and I have charging cords handy.
We are presently awaiting the replacement of a board on our stove. The stove is still working not too badly in the interim. We just have to turn things in the oven to heat somewhat evenly.
We tend to fix things rather than replace. If we do need to replace we always check the thrift store. Our coffee maker was very old, more than twenty years and perhaps even close to thirty, so we figured it was time for a new one. We found a replacement at the thrift store that looked like it had been hardly used, and the thought occurred to me that maybe someone just had to have the latest Keurig or some other machine with their obscene landscape-polluting cartridges, and took their "regular" machine to the thrift store. That was about a year and a half ago and it has been working fine ever since. Cost us $8.00.
No. No replacements or repairs lately. My daughter offered me her several years newer car recently, Alas, it also had high mileage. My car has very low mileage. I don't get around much anymore. I read with interest your information about iPhones. I don't want a new one, but perhaps a new battery is in order.
Thank you SOOO much for the info about changing your iPhone battery and speaker. I didn't know that it could be so simple. Good to know.
Can't think of much smart shopping except the new (to me) car. I tried to do a little barganing when the dealer said, are you ready to purchase? I made the customary offer (just a small amount below asking price) which he said he couldn't do. (And they had made a small repair that I requested before the purchase. So I simply said, what's the lowest you can go? Not very much. But with the repair as well, I was happy. And I drove away!
Repair, if possible. It is simpler.
I love how you had that iPhone repaired. Well done!
I haven't had to repair anything in quite a while, and I'm hoping it stays that way!
We tend to replace because a lot of times the repair can cost as much as buying new (things like washers, dryers, and small appliances). We also take into consideration the age of the item and concern whether the repair will last long. I’m glad you were able to get a new phone battery!
I am on team repair whenever possible. Too much stuff gets thrown out that could be repaired. Of course not everything can be fixed but with a bit of research, I am always surprised just how much can be. Sometimes we discuss replacing an item when an older version is maybe no longer compliant with legislation. I think companies make it really hard or expensive to repair or update stuff, which annoys me. Glad to read your are is safe to drive with new tyres and that your phone is good for another few years.
I wish I had unlimited resources to replace the things I need, but I've learned to repair as many things as possible.
I recently repaired my oven and it's working beautifully (knock wood....)
My laptop is over eight years old. It's still working well, but I'm sure I'll have to replace it soon. Trying to repair it would be foolish.
I do both. It all depends on the repair vs. the new cost, the age of the item, etc. I repaired our stove up north (the oven) even though we hate the stove, because a new stove (which we would like!) was around $500 and the repair $200. But my 1995 dishwasher was beyond reasonable repair when a new one that would last the longevity of my time in this house was less expensive. All my appliances at home were bought in 1995 or came with the house (I finally replaced the 1963 stove three years ago). As they go, I'm replacing with more energy efficient things. Or not replacing at all (Washer, dryer -- now I take things down the street to Rick's!)
Your car isn't that old...my husband drives a 1997 Honda Accord. We drive our cars into the dirt.
We pretty much always repair & we pretty much buy used except for appliances. It's how we've been debt/mortgage free for over 25 years & we still have a few good years before retirement.
We bought a retro 1960s cabinet on eBay which lasted years but water got spilt on it and ruined it. eBay came up with a similar cabinet at similar price to 10 years ago so overall we are "up"!
When we were on vacation our water heat let go and was leaking a lot. My husband would have done it himself but we were gone, and we had to have them come and replace it. It was a big ouch, but when we realized we'd had the water heater for 22 years, we realized it didn't owe us anything. That helped the ouch quite a bit. I would have bought new tires too, because I hate being stranded in my car, and I think the new battery for your iPhone was a super fix. Hope you enjoyed this beautiful day. hugs-Erika
I'm glad you were happy with your decisions. We don't replace anything until it's run into the ground, so to speak. We had to get a new washer a couple of months back. We have had repairs on our old car. When repairs happen more frequently and are more expensive, it might be time to replace that car. We have a list of repairs around the house that we are getting to one by one. It's almost 40 years old so we expect it.
We recently replaced two tires and rotated the others. So far so good. We just have the one vehicle, so that is a blessing in some ways. My iPhone is getting old, but it still works, so I see no need to change. I bought it as a refurbished one, a 6s, and paid $50.00 for it. It works perfectly. When it finally dies, I will look again online for another refurbished one. I like the idea of replacing the battery and getting the volume fixed (speaker) too. I'm thinking my speaker is getting weak, or else I am getting more deaf. LOL. Have a blessed week. I always enjoy your interesting and informative posts.
You did well. So many times i try to get goods repaired and find that it is either not possible or costs more than a new one. The most recent replace was Bill's printer. It was working until he upgraded his computer's operating program. Then the message came up that the printer was no longer compatible because it was too old??????
Wise decision for you with those items.
I just bought a new phone $2,000AUD no big deal the old phone was worn out as I used a phone a lot, so mostly every two years it's replaced, usually the battery dies with such heavy use.
The vehicles, we often buy a new one but also have in the past replaced tyres as it's normal to do that along with other things as in vehicles.
We find here in Australia you often have to buy new things as it's cheaper than getting them repaired.
I have a old Audi which does me to get about and is reliable when it's not, maybe I'll get a new one even though it won't be used much.
in my opinion both your decisions were the perfect ones to make. we had to get a new roof, the only decision was who and how much. because of that nothing is being spent except needs. like when the vac quit. we got a new one. sadly it would cost more to repair than buy
My dad used to say that the tires of a car are your life insurance - so yes, if the tires need to be replaced I do exactly that. That's a no-brainer. Usually I prefer repairing to replacing, but sometimes that's just not an option. If an appliance breaks down and is beyond repair or a big energy sucker I would replace it with a modern, energy efficient appliance. The problem with replacing is always that something needs to be thrown away - trash. If items can still be donated, great.
We've just bought some new curtains, and are very pleased with them :)
All the best Jan
To those of you who may be wondering…….. Beatrice as not replaced me although some parts could stand replacing,,,,, in the future of course😉
Do you switch out for winter tires?
I'm thankful that big items such as a washing machine, fridge freezer don't have to be replaced just yet. As for our car it became a money pit on repairs in order to be road worthy. In the end we exchanged the car for one that was more economical to run. We try to repair other items if possible although sometimes it gets to a point when it becomes false economy. Coming from an era of 'make do and mend' I look after our casual wear clothes by stitching holes in pockets etc.
A fifteen year old car doesn't sound very old to me. Both our previous cars were older than that, were running well and were only disposed of when some expensive repairs were looming. The only thing we've bought recently is a new dehumidifier because the old one was getting very noisy. Since we'd had it for 13 years, it had a good run for its money.
My sister and I were just talking about this issue today.
Her scale is not working, but we don't have the old handyman stores that we used to have back in the day.
Everything is digital today and made to be thrown away.
I work for a business publications and I've covered the Apple roll-out presentations in the past, but not lately.
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