There May Be a Cheaper Option for Repairing Your Expensive Appliances.
Some appliances these days are more or less necessary for survival, such as the refrigerator. Others, such as dishwashers or washing machines, save us a lot of time and personal labor. These devices may require a significant investment, but the time and effort they save is priceless.
If there was only one upfront cost for the device and you were set to use it for a lifetime, that would be great. Unfortunately, like everything in this world, household appliances have a certain service life and eventually break down. And then you go through a rite of passage known as “Finding the Cost of Appliance Repair,” which economists consider to be very expensive. If your hair turned gray when you found out the price of an appliance repair, don’t despair: for many appliance repairs, there is a much cheaper option.
Why can repairs be so expensive?
What’s frustrating about appliance repair is that it’s essentially paying money to go back to zero, the situation you were in yesterday when your dishwasher wasn’t flashing a mysterious error code or making a weird grinding noise. And the money you pay can be significant: the average cost to repair a large appliance, such as a dishwasher or clothes dryer, is around $175, and some appliances, such as an oven, can cost up to $500 , meaning that repairs can cost almost the same as a new unit.
There are many reasons for these costs. Companies have to produce and store spare parts for a long time after the device is introduced to the market, and this costs money. And the older the device gets, the harder it is to find these parts, making them even more expensive. And then there is labor, which costs on average between $50 and $150 per hour. This means that after some repairs, you’ll already be out $300 without even paying for the replacement part.
For some device parts, such as small motors or mechanical parts, your only option is professional repair or a replacement model. But many modern devices fail due to failure of control boards—essentially the circuit board that controls the mechanical parts of the device. The control board is kind of the brain of your device, and replacing it can be one of the most expensive parts . If you get an error code on the display, it is often a problem with the control board. And you can repair control boards by mail – often for less than $100.
How to send a letter to the control board
The first step is to identify the specific control board you need to repair, so you will need to know the model number of your device. If you saved the manual, you’re golden. If you haven’t done so or have inherited the device, there are a few typical places where model numbers are located. The Home Depot Appliance Repair Center can help you find your model number if you’re unsure.
Once you have your model number, you can use Home Depot or a site like PartSelect to find the exact part number for your control board, then go to a mail-order repair site like Electronic Restore , Circuit Board Medics , or FixYourBoard. com to check availability and price. Repairs typically cost a flat fee of $70 to $100 plus shipping, so it can be much cheaper than hiring a professional.
Of course, there are a few things to keep in mind:
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Convenience. For this type of repair, you will need to be dexterous enough to identify the part you need, remove it from the unit, and then put it back. The Home Depot repair clinic can be a great resource for this, but if you’re not comfortable doing this kind of thing, it’s best to hire a professional, despite the added cost. There are also many videos that will show you how to remove the control board from various devices.
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Confidence. Be sure to properly diagnose the problem. Problems with the control board usually show up as error codes on display panels or flashing lights on the unit. If there seems to be a physical problem with the appliance—for example, there’s no gas on the stove burners or the dishwasher is running but won’t drain properly—it’s probably not the control board that needs repair.
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No guarantees. Repair sites do not promise success; you can spend $100 to ship the control board to them, only to be told it can’t be repaired.
Keep in mind that if you are dexterous enough to remove the control board from your instrument, you are probably dexterous enough to replace the other parts yourself. For example, you can order parts from PartSelect at a relatively low cost compared to calling in a repair.