Buy new stove or fix old one?

Catlady

Well-known Member
Location
Southern AZ
My 2005 electric stove's two of its burners no longer work, the big 8inch ones. My handyman wants $225 to buy 4 new burners (2 8inch and 2 6inch) and the element, including his $75 fee for labor. The 2 8inch burners cost $71 and I was going to buy them, but I read the element MUST be replaced anyway, which I don't want to mess with trying to do myself. A comparable brand new stove will cost me about $500, which includes free shipping and installation and disposal of old stove.

Ordinarily I won't pay more than 1/3 the cost of a new appliance to fix the old one, but on this I am stumped. Would you pay $225 to fix a 13 year old stove that you can buy brand new for $500? And $500 is the cheapest I could find, most of the others are way higher and almost all the others have the smooth top and I would rather have the coils and pretty soon I won't be able to buy the ones with coils (I heard the smooth ones scratch easily and you have to be extremely careful).

Opinions please!
 

Were I you, I'd buy a new one. There are many reasons, too numerous to list here.

Can you give me just a few reasons, am curious. My reasons is that the longer I wait the more expensive the stoves will be and I will no longer be able to buy the ones with coils since they will be absolete. And we all need a stove. But paying 50% to repair an old stove sounds like a lot.
 
Buy a new one. My stove is a couple years old now, but it has a ton of features like a setting for dehydration, and one for proofing bread dough. New is the way to go.
 
Another vote for new one. You didn't mention your oven but if you spent that much for repairing the burners then the oven had to have a costly repair on top of that, you'd be kicking yourself. It sounds like your possible new one is a good deal especially if you want to keep coils.
 
Appliances aren't built to last forever, the way they used to be. 13 years sounds like about par for the course. I'd definitely get a new one, as more and more things will probably continue to go wrong with the one you have.
 
I would do a little research before I bought a new stove.

If the replacement coils are basic plugin coils you should be able to buy them inexpensively and replace them yourself for $50.00 or $60.00.

If they are more complicated and do require a professional then I would go out and buy a replacement stove before spending $300.00 on the old stove.

Good luck!
 
If the replacement coils are basic plugin coils you should be able to buy them inexpensively and replace them yourself for $50.00 or $60.00.

I really only need the two 8inch burners and those two cost about $71 for the pair plus shipping. My problem is that I've read that the element MUST also be replaced (another $22), not just the coils, and I don't want to mess doing that, especially electrical stuff. I already saw a fire in one of the 8inch coil element and that means that one element will never work anymore, even if I get a new coil. Since all you guys are voting for the new stove, I think that's the best way to go, especially since I've been burned before. A LONG time ago I opted to have a condenser replaced on a refrigerator, cost me 50% of a new one, and three months later it died again.

Thank you guys, I just LOVE this forum!

Edit = It's a Whirlpool electric stove, love the brand. The two smaller coils work fine, but can you imagine trying to boil a pot of water for pasta on the small 6inch coil?
 
This is the one I'm thinking of getting at Home Depot. I'm figuring it will be close to $500 after you add installation and take away the old stove and taxes. I'd love to get the glass top (no more dirty burner pans) but I'm not very careful with stuff and will scratch it for sure.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/null-4-...n-in-Black-Counter-Depth-WFC150M0EB/205931441

That looks like a nice stove PVC, if you're not comfortable with the smooth surface then you really shouldn't get it. I never heard of the Null brand. My husband does a lot of the cooking in my house, and I know he's not very careful about the stove top surface, but so far, no problem at all for us.
 
I always fix things, myself, until that point where I know replacement parts are no longer available. The replacement parts you need are not expensive, and as long as you unplug your stove and pull up a "how to" video, online, you can do the job yourself. You can buy two universal 8" burners, with elements, for about $25, delivered, on Amazon. Since you're going to spend five bills for a new stove, apparently, enjoy your purchase!
 
Why are you going through all the grief of fixing an old stove? You might be able to repair it below the cost of a new one. You are having a "handy man" repair it, and the stove is having serious mechanical deficiencies. That doesn't sound like a safe bargain. Let's face it, this appliance has the potential to burn your house down, and cause great harm to you and yours. For mere couple of hundred dollars, I would choose safety before saving a buck.
 
I've been fixing our appliances for years. I get my parts online from either AppliancePartsPros.com, or RepairClinic.com. Unless it is something major, like a compressor in the refrigerator, I can usually fix anything for a fraction of a new appliance cost. The one time I opted for a new appliance in recent years was the dishwasher...its pump was going bad, and the parts cost was almost 1/3rd the cost of a new unit, plus replacing that part is a Royal Pain. However, if you don't have the skills/tools to do the work yourself, calling in a repairman is almost a waste of money...between his markup on parts, and his labor costs, you can quickly run up a bill that is half, or more, of the cost of a new appliance.

In the example you posted in your note, spending over $200 to fix an old stove, vs. $500 for a new one, I would go with the new stove. If you were able to do the work yourself, it might cost $50-$75 for the parts online, but anytime you have to call in a repairman, you can bet the charges will rapidly increase.
 
That looks like a nice stove PVC, if you're not comfortable with the smooth surface then you really shouldn't get it. I never heard of the Null brand. My husband does a lot of the cooking in my house, and I know he's not very careful about the stove top surface, but so far, no problem at all for us.

I don't know why it says Null, if you look closely at the photo it says Whirlpool on the stove. And the reviews says (on the right hand side) that it's a Whirlpool review. The stove is identical to the stove I have and mine is also black, all my appliances are black.
 
I always fix things, myself, until that point where I know replacement parts are no longer available. The replacement parts you need are not expensive, and as long as you unplug your stove and pull up a "how to" video, online, you can do the job yourself. You can buy two universal 8" burners, with elements, for about $25, delivered, on Amazon. Since you're going to spend five bills for a new stove, apparently, enjoy your purchase!

I checked Amazon and the ones there were not good for my stove model number. Then I went to the RepairClinic.com that Don M said to go to. The price for the four burners and the receptacles that I stated at $150 were from Whirlpool itself, but Repair Clinic is only $85 including shipping plus the $75 labor for my handyman comes out to a total of $160 instead of $225. As for ME installing the receptacles, I don't mess around with electrical stuff. There's a saying that goes, "Being smart is knowing what you're dumb at" Amen to that!

Thanks Don M for the website. Now I need to do some more thinking on this. Thanks everybody!
 
I am an electrician and I suggest that before you buy
a new cooker that you compare the build quality between
your old one and the new one.

New things today I notice are built to last a few months
past the warranty.

I would get the new rings and fit them, it is not a big job,
I am sure that you can find replacements in Ebay then
all you need is somebody to fit them.

But the choice is yours.

Mike.
 
I checked Amazon and the ones there were not good for my stove model number. Then I went to the RepairClinic.com that Don M said to go to. The price for the four burners and the receptacles that I stated at $150 were from Whirlpool itself, but Repair Clinic is only $85 including shipping plus the $75 labor for my handyman comes out to a total of $160 instead of $225. As for ME installing the receptacles, I don't mess around with electrical stuff. There's a saying that goes, "Being smart is knowing what you're dumb at" Amen to that!

Thanks Don M for the website. Now I need to do some more thinking on this. Thanks everybody!

What is the model number of your stove? The universal fit units I found should fit it, but I'm willing to research it, further. Just PM me the make and model number. I strongly agree with Mike that newer major appliances last just up to the end of their warranty periods. Your older unit is probably made better, as it's made it up to now. My gas oven is thirty years old. I've only replaced an igniter on it over all that time.
 
It appears NOT to have a self-cleaning oven! I couldn't deal with manually scrubbing an oven anymore- not to mention those burner pans.

(634) | Model# WFC150M0EB
null 4.8 cu. ft. Freestanding Electric Range Oven in Black, Counter Depth
$44910
$499.00

Save $49.90 (10%)


Size 30 in.
Surface Type Coil
Range Type Freestanding
Cleaning Type Manual Clean

No of Elements 4


Free delivery

Glasstops aren't that bad. True, you shouldn't use cast iron pans and drag them. Old, warped, thin pots jiggle on glass tops.
 
One suggestion: please reconsider getting a smooth top stove. Even if it does get a scratch or two, it is MUCH easier to keep clean and to use than the old-fashioned coil type. I'd never go back to coils, after having smooth
top stoves for about the last 15 years.
 

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