When to Fix It? When to Scrap It?

[tulsa_sr5]

Google really is your friend. We put a hole in the wall moving and I found instructions to patch it.

I love it! Christmas morning 3 yrs ago the furnace stops working, I was dreading what that was going to cost. Couple hours with google and the multi-meter I found a sensor that was dirty and keeping it from firing.

Same thing with our gas dryer, googled it, found the bad part with the troubleshooting tips, $20 for the part. I figure between those two jobs my $50 multimeter more than paid for itself.

Depending on what you drive the net can be really valuable too. For example, older toyota trucks are extremely well documented online. I've been severly overcharged for car repairs before and love being able to figure out the issue myself. Lot of the automotive forums will also have members who are in the parts department at a dealership and can cut some really great deals if you can wait a few days for parts.

[jIM_Ohio]

In 11 years I am on dryer #4. In fairness one dryer was left at condo as part of purchase agreement. 2 others died within 6 years of each other.

My general philosophy is to have a repair/maintaince budget for stuff.

For example consider:
new HVAC once per 20 years, cost $2000, budget $100/year for example.
new roof once per 30 years, cost 9k, avg $300 per year.
new washer/dryer once per 8 years, cost $800, avg $100 per year.

Add all that up (and similar things to include like hot water heater etc...) and you need that in your budget (maybe $2000 per year) and a that to short term savings.

Most people see me suggest 15/5. 15 percent of gross to retirement. 5 percent of gross to short & mid term expenses. A person should have the cash on hand to fix this without touching the EF. Take the 2k for example out of the 5 percent of gross.

That was the long answer, short answer is I would replace after 4-6 years.