It’s a common question – when your appliance needs repairs is better to fix it or start looking for a new one?  Often fixing the broken appliance can take days or even weeks if the parts are not available.  A new one can often be purchased and installed within hours.  But is buying a new appliance the right choice?

“We surveyed 13-thousand of our subscribers, covering more than 20-thousand broken products, and plenty of them had complaints about the repairs they got,” said Celia Kuperszmid-Lehrman from Consumer Reports.

The biggest problems were with electric cooktops and wall ovens.

“The parts were very difficult to find and the repairs often took two weeks or more to get done,” said Kupersmid-Lehrman.

When it comes to dryers, washers, and other larger appliances, the survey showed people have much better luck using an independent shop once the warranty is up, rather than a factory-authorized service center.

But Consumer Reports says sometimes an appliance just isn’t worth fixing.

“You should replace it if the repair is going to cost more than half the price of a new model.” said Kupersmid-Lehrman.

Additionally, Consumer Reports says that it is not necessary to buy an extended warranty, as the cost for repairs, if needed will likely be about the same as the cost of the warranty.