Prices and advice
Should I Repair or Replace My Fridge?
Most fridge faults are cheap to fix and the answer is obvious. The hard cases are the expensive repairs: a compressor, a leaking evaporator, a control board on an old fridge. This guide sets out how we think about that decision, and we will give you the same honest answer at your kitchen table.
- How repair cost compares with the fridge's real value
- Why a sound cabinet matters more than the fridge's age
- When an old fridge is worth keeping and when it is not
- The running cost question people forget
- Fridges and freezers only, nothing else
- Mobile across Harare, no need to transport the unit
- Open 24 hours, 7 days a week
- Price agreed before any work starts
Start with the cabinet, not the age
People ask how old a fridge has to be before it is not worth repairing. Age is the wrong measure. A twenty year old KIC or Kelvinator with a sound cabinet, good insulation and a clean evaporator is a better candidate for a new compressor than a six year old budget fridge with rust creeping through the liner. What matters is whether the parts you are not replacing have years left in them.
The things to look at are the cabinet and door for rust, especially at the bottom and around the hinges; the insulation, which has failed if the outside of the cabinet sweats or feels cold in patches; the evaporator and its pipework for corrosion; and the door gasket and hinges. If those are good, almost any single fault is worth repairing.
The second question is the cost of the repair against what the fridge would cost to replace like for like. A rule of thumb that works well is that a repair costing less than half the price of an equivalent new fridge is worth doing on a sound cabinet. Above that, it depends on how much life is left and how the running cost compares.
Repair is usually the right call when
- The fault is a thermostat, relay, fan, defrost part, gasket or drain
- The cabinet, door and insulation are sound with no serious rust
- The fridge is a quality brand or a simple, robust design
- The fault is a compressor on a commercial unit or a large chest freezer
- A replacement of the same size and quality would cost several times the repair
- The fridge has sentimental or design value, such as a Smeg or a built in unit
Replacement starts to make sense when
- The evaporator is leaking inside the cabinet walls of an old, cheap chest freezer
- Rust has gone through the liner or the cabinet floor
- The insulation has failed and the cabinet sweats or runs constantly
- Two or more major parts have failed, such as a compressor and a control board
- The repair cost is close to the price of an equivalent new fridge
- An old fridge is costing far more to run than a new one would save
Our promise
We will tell you when not to repair
It is easy for a repair business to fit an expensive part to a fridge that will fail elsewhere within the year. We would rather lose the job. When our technician finds a fault that is not worth repairing, you are told so plainly, with the reasons, and you decide. If a repair is borderline, we explain what else is likely to go and roughly when.
If you do replace, we can tell you which brands and types we see fail least in Harare conditions, and what to look for in a fridge that will cope with load shedding. That advice is free with the visit.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is it worth replacing the compressor on a ten year old fridge?+
On a good quality fridge with a sound cabinet, usually yes. A compressor replacement costs far less than an equivalent new fridge and the rest of the fridge has years left. On a cheap or rusted fridge, often not, and we will say so.
Do old fridges use much more electricity?+
Older fridges with worn gaskets and dirty condensers use more, but a well maintained older fridge is not as bad as people think. A new gasket and a clean condenser recover much of the difference. Very old fridges with failed insulation are the real power hogs.
Will you give me an honest opinion even if it means no repair?+
Yes. We tell you what we found, what it would cost, and whether we would spend the money if it were our fridge.
Want an honest opinion on your fridge?
Call 0782 886 252 or WhatsApp us. A technician will assess the fridge at your home and tell you straight whether it is worth repairing.