Refrigerator-To Buy A New One or Repair?

We have a Whirlpool side by side refrigerator, made in 2004, that we inherited from the previous owner of the house. About a month ago, I noticed that the fridge section wasn't getting cold enough. I put a thermometer inside and the temps were in the mid forties. I called a repairman who basically told me nothing was wrong as far as he could tell. I turned the temp control higher in the fridge, almost to to the highest level, and the fridge worked better, temps in the mid to high thirties. However, the fridge has now stopped getting cold, and it seems like the vents from the freezer that blow cold air into the fridge are not blowing any air. (The freezer is working fine.) We are trying to decide whether or not to try and repair the fridge or to replace it. If the repair is going to just be a few hundred dollars we are fine with doing it, as we are likely going to renovate the kitchen in a few years and would rather buy a new fridge then. Any advice would be appreciated, as well as the name of a good repairman, if we go that route

Time for a new fridge. labor day sale @ Sears~

Yes, an 11 year old fridge is going to cost you more than it is worth to fix, and new ones are much more efficient, too, saving you money and gaining you points for killing fewer penguins.*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*A soon to be standard measure of ethical energy use. You heard it here first.

needs a cleaning?? dust accumulation?

oots said:
needs a cleaning?? dust accumulation?

Already cleaned the coils. The problem is that no air is coming from the vents

Oots raises a good point--if the coils are accessible, see if they are covered with dust. If so, vacuum and use a soft brush to clear them and then see if it works better.

If they coils are not accessible, or if cleaning does not work, get a new refrigerator. As Max says, they are far more efficient than the older models, and a better investment than paying to replace the compressor or coils.

I have found that the Korean manufacturers--Samsung and LG, mainly--offer the best warranties for the compressors--10 years. They also use better sheet metal and components than most American made units these days. Even the top of the line GE and Kenmore units are not as good as Samsung and LG, which offer lower price points for top of the line units.

In the last decade most American manufacturers were bought up by one company, and even though they sell under different manufacturer names, the philosophy is the same--cheap sheet metal, short warranties on compressors, overall shoddy construction. It is very sad, as I like to buy American when I can.

Check out Sears Outlet in Watchung on 22. The "outlets" seem to specialize in scratched or dented appliances. Our fridge has a dent in the back you can't see, but it was marked down hundreds of dollars. I believe the one in West Orange is also an outlet.

warning about Sears outlet -- many items are not damaged in any way, in fact, they won't discount them the extent the regular store does!

Maybe the self defrost mechanism is not operating and the condenser is iced up. That happened to my freezer, and it has become non-frostfree. If you can diagnose that, you have a choice of DIY or getting an estimate.

If you go to njenergy.com you will find how to get a payment of $50-$100 for your old fridge ...maybe something for your new purchase too

Good repairman (Anerican brand appliances): Larry of Astre Appliance Tech. (908) 272-7744 or (908) 273-4166

He will charge a visit fee (~$75 I think) to come out, but it will be deducted from the cost of any repair.

By any chance were you on vacation or was your house very hot before this problem occurred? I ask because a similar thing happened to us a couple of years ago (when our A/C broke during a heatwave) and it seems that with the refrigerator went into overdrive when the house was hot, which caused something to freeze the coils (or something like that). At any rate, Larry (of Astre Tech) diagnosed it. The fix was simple and it was solved with a $75 repair charge. I think my refrigerator was older than yours when it happened (and we're still using it today).