We try and repair. I hate throwing something out with a minor defect just because it is inconvenient/expensive to repair or there is a better one with more bells and whistles.
Examples.
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Have changed power supplies in PCs etc. Easy to do if you have a bit of knowledge.
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The turntable in our Panasonic microwave stopped turning. After doing some research online, found out that it could either be one of two things…the synchronous motor or the controller circuitry. I rang up Panasonic to see the price for a synchronous motor and/or controller panel and they said not worth fixing and would be cheaper to buy a new one (original microwave was about $300, 8 years old, very good condition, worked well except for the turntable and had very light use). I then decided to see if I could buy a synchronous motor on line and found out a new replacement one (non-genuine but incidentally identical brand and model to the one installed in the factory) was less than $15 inc. postage. Took a punt it was the motor and bought one. The motor came with replacement instructions and the motor took about 10 minutes to replace…the motor was held in with slide connectors so no risk of making a mistake causing a problem. It fixed the microwave and now have had over 2 years additional problem free use.
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But all the stories are not good. The rubber seal in our Sunbeam stainless steel stick blender got sucked out during use when about 7 years old. Again, it had light use. Contacted Sunbeam and asked it they had a replacement seal which I expect would cost less than 1 to manufacture. The said don’t hold such parts and recommended buying a new one…they even offered a 30% discount on a new one I purchased. I thought that the device still had years life left in it and made a home made seal using some plumber rubber and silicon. The stick blender works well (just more careful with it now).
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Washer in our sink waste trap. Caroma also don’t have parts and was expected to purchase a whole new stainless steel waste trap. A waste of resources and money buying a whole new one when it is just a replaceable seal. Now using a different sink brand washer which more or less fits and that had stock available.
