How much is your washing machine/ freezer/fridge worth? If you bought it off Gumtree and paid $100 it may be worth nothing (buyer beware – you can’t pick guarantees on that tree), or like my customer Aileen today, it may be worth whatever it costs to replace it if you don’t want to fix it. Sometimes its a gem, and for $100 it continues to provide good solid service as a freezer or washer, for sometime, but suddenly there is a problem.
Because you only paid $100 for it, you think its not worth fixing for more than $100 because you didn’t pay much for it. But wait, what was it worth to you? Not ‘how much did you pay for it?’ Last week when it was working, it was worth the price of a new freezer, because you have to look at its replacement value. Having been a great appliance, you need to think of it as something you paid full price for. Will you value it more highly if you do?
We tend to think because something is cheap or free, that it is not worth anything, but remove it and you will have to replace it. This means an appliance store, or..
no no NO…..try not to buy electrical goods on Gumtree, unless you can get some kind of warranty if it breaks down in 2 weeks’ time. We get lots of calls from people who bought a great bargain there only to find the fridge tripping the power or not keeping the milk cold once they get it home.
