Discussions

There's been quite a bit in the news lately about "right to repair" and the eco footprint of fixing vs. replacing.  
 
Here's a few:  
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/climate-concerns-boost-interest-in-repairs-1.5482563  
 
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/marketplace-appliances-right-to-repair-1.5475649  
 
Are you a fixer or a replacer? Why? If you're a fixer, at what point to you stop fixing and just replace?  
 
Do you buy the manufacturer's story about it being "dangerous" to the consumer to open up their products and fix them?  
 
We're fixers by nature - my husband can fix *almost* anything. My kids have a firm belief that it's not honestly, truly broken until Daddy can't fix it, LOL.

a couple of years ago my washer started leaking badly...I googled "washer leaking" and there was a video of how to open the washer. then it showed the plastic hose that connects to the intake ...the clamp had broken off..I bought a small metal clamp (the type that tightens) and put it on..It's been several years now and no leak..It only took about 15 minutes to do it...

The internet has made fixing things yourself much easier now.

Is doing things right - they have passed a law that the tax rate is reduced to HALF on repair services to encourage repair over buying new.  
 
I don't have a link but this was on last weekend's Marketplace.

A little information which as mentioned before is easily available now it is amazing what you can do for yourself with the right attitude. I fix everything I can unless it’s not viable or I’m out of my depth ( I am a mechanic). It reduces the environmental impact of manufacturing and many modern goods are poorly made anyway plus it’s fun to achieve something for yourself. Also reports of Slave labour being used in factories puts me off buying new.

If it is going to cost more to fix then replace....replace it is. Anything electronic I won't bother. With shop rates over $100/hr most of the time a new item is cheaper than a repair. My washer was starting to go. New parts were 800 plus couple hundred in labour. Got a new washer. Vehicles, when the repairs start costing as much as payments I get a new vehicle. I wish we were more of a repair society. On my truck I needed new front wheel bearings. Well they don't do just the bearings I had to buy the whole hub assembly. $25 vs $1000. My center bearing on my driveshaft went. Bloody thing is built around the driveshaft. No bearing replacement. Needed a new driveshaft. Again $25 bearing......$1600 driveshaft. Those instances really tick me off.

Yeah, I hate when car repairs are like a $50 part, but the bill comes to $800-$1000 because of the work involved or the assembly. We don't have car payments, so for us it's when the cost to replace exceeds the cost to fix, usually when you're getting into the $2000-3000 range.  
 
That being said, we've been able to fix a surprising number of things on our vehicles (not drive train, but other stuff) from watching YouTube and picking up a $12 part from NAPA.  
 
Our old washer too my husband fixed a few times, until we finally decided to buy a new one. Worse decision ever. I wish we had just fixed the old one, it washed way better. I've only had this new one 18 months and I think I might get another 6 out of it. It's supposed to top-load HE, but I haven't noticed an appreciable difference in our water consumption.  
 
We've fixed our dishwasher multiple times, but finally quit as we to tired of spending money on it. We keep saying we're going to replace it, but it's like $800-$1000 to replace it with something comparable, and I know it'll be one that won't easily to fixed. Not to mention we've had to take it apart and clean it enough times that I'm disgusted with dishwashers anyway. So we keep washing dishes by hand! It's been a year, and I think I'll pull the old dishwasher so I can make a pull-out garbage there instead.  
 
We fixed our ancient dryer too. Again, like a $12 part ordered online.

Yeah, they do a lot of things better than us. I love that they're forcing Apple to make charges compatible with everyone else's instead of their own. Literally every device in my house can use the same charger, except the iPad. And the old iPad can't use the same one as the new one. *eyeroll*  
 
https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-war-eu-iphone-lightning-charger-2020-1

I fix what I can but it's getting harder and harder. Manufacturers have adopted "built in obsolescence". For example the life span of a washing machine used to be 20, sometimes 25 or 30 years. Now they intentionally make them to last 6-10. And if you think you can try a different manufacturer, guess what, most of the appliance brands are owned by one company.

Don’t believe it. I immigrated here from Europe. Everything is way more expensive in Europe. Their taxation is much higher.It’s very expensive to live over there and excessively regulated. We are much better off in Canada and there are more specialists available here to help you get things fixed. I’d live in Manitoba over Europe any day.  
 
Edited by Farmergeorge, 2020-03-03 18:05:48

I have family that immigrated from Europe, and goes back periodically. I also know lots of people who have ties to Europe, or have moved from Canada to Europe. Both have their pros and cons.  
 
Yes it's expensive, but many countries (not all!) have more expansive social nets than us so they overall have better quality of life in some countries. They are also more regulated in some important areas, such as agriculture and food safety.  
 
I love living in Canada, but let's face it there's things we are failing at mostly because of our close ties to the US.

We try to fix everything ourselves but we make the ultimate decision based on the age of the item needing fixing and the cost of fixing vs. the cost of a new one.  
 
If it is almost at the maximum life expectancy then it’s likely just worth replacing unless you can fix it for very very cheap.  
If fixing it costs near or over the price of a new item, definitely replace.

I’m definitely a fixer, and I also make new things out of old things

I do a lot of fixing things myself ( aside from bigger stressful vehicle repairs)  
 
I didn't grow up learning fixing skills, so the internet has helped, but I definitely understand people who do not fix things themselves. Everything in our lives has an interface that abstracts us from how it works internally, the initial diving in to break that abstraction and learn the unknown can be daunting.  
 
I do hope to start learning board level repairs. Everything new these days have complex expensive boards in them, which actually can be repaired. However, manufacturers don't release their schematics, so the people who learn to do these repairs are having to aquire the schematics illegitimately.

same goes for mattresses ....It used to be (not THAT long ago) when you bought a mattress, it had both sides usable, so you could turn the mattress over, and use the other side...now only one side is usable...what a rip off...seems to be all brands...now more mattresses in the landfill....pathetic money grab from the manufacturers.

I will generally try to fix things rather than replace them. I find that the build quality of older items is usually better anyway. I like fixing things, I always have. Not to mention that it's the only way I can afford to own some of them. I always get a certain sense of satisfaction from "bringing something back to life" that somebody else would have just thrown away.  
 
I'm glad the OP started this thread.

They are making it harder though, son just put a water pump on and older truck, was hoping for a rebuild kit but had to buy a complete water pump that is a sealed unit.  
At times you hear bad things about certain second hand places, but if something gets beyond repair I don’t have any problem buy slightly used. So much of the new stuff has a very short lifespan, and that just doesn’t fit my budget.

the fact of the matter is that is cheaper to replace rather than fix.  
 
in many cases some things you purchase or out of date before you even get out of the store.  
 
And please do NOT buy extended warranty on anything (a car maybe) as it is waste of money. think how that $5 or $10 adds up for profit for companies that will never have to fix anything.  
 
Always say no at the till. like really a DVD extended warranty you watch once and then put on the shelf.  
 
You might as well have extended warranty on a chocolate bar. Same waste of money.

On anything with wires/uses electricity I will NEVER fix!!!! It scares the bajeebes out of me... I even am scared of changing lightbulbs ....  
 
But, if it is like a bookshelf, chair, broken stairs, or any type of "build" I'll fix it. Back in my young days I used to pay my rent by dumpster diving, then fixing then selling.. like previous poster said, there is a definite sense of accomplishment!!

Oh, I'm so glad I'm not alone on the mattress thing. I hate hate HATE this new mattress-one-side-only business, where you can't rotate the darn thing. They're not even that comfortable!

I think in a lot of cases that's what we're told, but it simply isn't always true.  
 
Our dryer is a good example. It just needed one small part, so my husband, trying to support local, tried to order the part from a local place who sold appliances as well as parts. He was told the part wasn't available and that we'd have to order a whole new assembly (I think it was part of the drum gear mechanism, so nothing electrical just mechanical). But my husband had already taken the assembly apart and just needed that one piece. But the entire assembly was almost as much as a new dryer!  
 
So my husband searched online and was able to order just that one part for only a few dollars, put the works back together, and the dryer works like new.  
 
So when they say, "it costs too much to fix", I don't always immediately believe them because sometimes it doesn't.

For a new truck, or sixty bucks for two universal joints and a couple of hours of my time to fix the one I have which is perfectly fine. It ain’t rocket science.

Yes, always be cautious of places that sell new and do "repairs".  
Generally best to keep the older, much better built, things working long as parts are available.

An awesome story. You and your husband just proved what a little effort and some research can achieve.