Fix or Toss
 

Do you fix things around the house or do you toss them and buy new?

I'll start, fixed the microwave by replacing the magnetron. Repaired the clothes dryer, replaced a bad circuit breaker, and try to fix any problems with the BMW or Porsche or Lotus(s).

Repair two laptops that I got for under $40, and repaired digital cameras that I gave to the neighbor kids as Christmas gifts an assortment of Ipods that I also gave to neighbor kids as Xmas presents.

I try to fix first. If I can't fix it I replace it. Sony DVD player, new power supply= $28

I replaced a 28 cent switch in the ceiling fan yesterday. Last week I repaired the electrolux cord winder for free avoiding the 125 dollars for a new one the shop quoted Mrs. Crusty. Helped one of the sons get his priorities straight.... oh, can't toss him yet so I guess I HAVE to fix him for now.

Generally I try to fix. As a general rule, I try to not buy "throw-away" crap and instead go for stuff that will last and/or otherwise not require throwing away in short order. In other words, I consider life cycle costs and tend to gravitate towards the "better" stuff.

I've had good luck fixing/repairing a lot of things but I occasionally get a stumper - case in point I have a bread maker that snapped a drive belt several years ago and I've been trying that long to source a replacement one! But I'm weird like that. I can't justify tossing it and buying a new one for $100 when I know that someone out there has a perfectly good replacement belt that will cost me about $1.00.

I tend to fix and repair...last week a two different lamp switches, a compound miter saw power switch, before that replaced thermostat in clothes drier and power cord on washer, etc.

Now if I can just figure out why I'm not getting fire to BMW 525 fuel pump, I'd be a happy camper;)

I think it works like this:

Pre-1995 Porsche 911 = "fix" type
Post-1995 Porsche 911 = "replace" type.

That goes for the cars too.

@ Dueller, impact switch?

I used to fix myself more, but now so busy that willing to pay to have someone fix. For instance, icemaker on fridge is kaput and will be having someone come fix it. I've gone through the troubleshooting stuff online and can't figure it what is wrong, figure 4 hours puzzling over it was enough.

I try not to toss, but struggling to balance against packrat tendencies that has the house littered w/ clothes we no longer wear, tupperware that has lost its lids, old magazines and books, peripherals for long-dead computers, outgrown kids toys, etc. One of these days I'm going to rent a mini-dumpster and bulldoze a big pile of crap into it.

I weigh my experience and knowledge against the cost of paying someone else to fix or buying a new one. Remember, I did have my 944S catch fire after doing some fuel system work. There's a lot of stuff I don't know how to do, the cost of failure is too high, or my wife won't let me attempt.

Imobiliser relay? Did someone push the code on the OBC? What year is your 525IT? I have the Bentley manual and can check why the fuel pump is not getting any current.

I generally fix things instead of replacing them. Some examples:

- Garage door - replaced belt drives, springs, rollers many times
- Snow blower - repaired chain, belts, drive mechanisms...etc.
- Gutted many a toilet.
- Fixed many leaky faucets
- Repaired many cabinet faces/handles in our old (soon to be redone) kitchen.

FWIW, I kept my 27" RCA TV for the past 20 years. About 15 years ago, the tuner on it went, so since then, I've been using my VCR's tuner! (Finally got an LCD TV this month!! Whoo Hoo!)

-Z-man.

Had the same problem with our Sub Zero Refrig. Turn out Mrs. Ruf turn off the ice making feature. This is after I brought a new valve and a new ice maker. Oh well I'm keeping it as a spare.

I replaced my garage door opener when it broke two years ago. The sprocket was stripped was no longer reliably turning the chain. I decided to replace it because it was winter and sourcing a new sprocket would take longer than my wife would tolerate, and it would make it easy to steal anything from my garage.

Now the garage door itself...The previous owners did not believe in maintenance. I've replaces most of the hinges and the pullies (I have side springs). I tightend down most of the bolts, adjusted the track, ground down spots where bolt ends protruded into the track, added extra bracing to the track (it used to sway back and forth), and retensioned the springs (something you can safely do yourself on a side-spring door).

I attempt to fix everything and usually succeed if it is mechanical in nature, sometimes I fail if involves circuit boards however. I will spend hours whittling a part out of scrap steel or aluminum on a milling machine to replace a 2 cent plastic part that broke on a $10.00 toy of my nephews. Yeah, I know it does not make sense, but I enjoy the challenge of making old stuff work like new again (unless it is an Audi which I will never own again ;):D).

I have a bunch of cars that were old and high mileage when I bought them. All are good drivers, most have been re-painted at least once by me. For at least the past 15 years, I have not paid anyone to do any kind of service or repair on any of my cars except for changing tires, balancing wheels and turning rotors on occasion. One of these days I will pick up a tire mounting machine and a balancer so that I may be forever free from having to pay numbnuts to screw up my perfectly restored wheels. :)

I try to fix stuff when I can. I don't do appliances, though... also haven't replaced a water pump in a long, long time, either... getting lazy about some things, I guess. Still do all our oil changes.

Minor stuff like a cracked radio knob or split heat/A/C knobs on Miz HnT's Camry gets the JB Weld treatment... the Scot part of my ancestry just won't let me pay $10-20 for a 25-cent piece of black plastic.

I really hate to pay people to fix something I know I can do myself. Most of the time I have done that work or service and know how long and what it takes to fix it so I am really mad when I see the labor bill. I am more mad lately as I am {in my old age} getting too lazy to fix everything myself. My justfication is that I worked for 45 years so I could afford to pay someone else to fix it. I did my time, let them do theirs.

Fix it if I can.

Unfamiliar things I will usually make the call based on how easy/difficult the initial dismantle is.

I fix.

I attempt to fix. If that doesn't work I ask advice from this board on how to fix. If that doesn't work I toss.

I don't toss much. I usually repair, decide I wasn't thrilled with the appliance in the first place, buy a new one and give the repaired item away or sell it on craigslist. Sure I spend more that way but what else is there to do? I enjoy repairing things and also enjoy new toys.

Fix. I had the same hair blow-dryer for 27 years. It was on it's 3rd or 4th power cord when it decided to randomly start electrocuting me through the case... tossed it then.

My husband, Steve, can fix pretty nearly anything. Good thing too with this economy!

angela

I fix

I can fix some appliances, some are not worth the trouble. Mechanical equipment is a no brainer, usually. There is the story I related awhile back about taking the 8 lb. sledge to the POS Sears rotary mower WHILE IT WAS RUNNING! That was fun. No more Sears even if it does say Honda on it.

House stuff is the biggie. You really have to work on your own house before calling a contractor. What a bunch of idiots and I is one.

if manf'd in Germany, FIX

if manf'd in China/Mexico/Brazil, TOSS

if manf'd in US, do not buy..

I fix stuff around the house and even make stuff or replacement parts out of scrap/spare parts from other things broken beyond repair. I rarely throw anything away that can be used or made into something useful. In my basement shop, I've got 2 or 3 boxes filled with parts useful for stuff:

Recently:
- made a tool to remove the drawers from my recently purchased (used) Snap On tool box. I used the thin metal strips from old windshield wiper refills and taped them side by side and bent them to resemble the "tool" that Snap On charges $6.50 for.

- took an old bi-fold door knob (cheap plastic thing), sanded down the diameter to make it smaller in size, and then screwed that to the winding lever on a 300' surveyors tape reel, because the original know was lost.

- used the scrap casters from an old office chair and made a wooden dolly with a piece of plywood and scrap 2x4s.

Its a '92. Black, too;)


Probably my own damn fault. It was running perfect when I parked it 18 mos ago:eek: I just neglected starting it after a while. Decided to put it back in service. Drained the bad gas (including fuel rail). Put fresh gas in it. Stared fine with starting fluid and ran well while trying to prime pump. Thot it was the pump relay but no such luck.

It is throwing a "check control" "owners manual" on the dash msg center.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

TYIA

Jim

The 6 disc DVD player in the Pacifica broke. I thought I could fix it. I took it out of the dash and then took it apart. There were so many pieces and it was so complex, I had to give up. I was going to at least try and get the discs out. Well, I guess they will find Nemo at CARMAX when I trade this POS in.

I try and fix stuff, but it depends on my time, talent and whether I'd just like a new one. I have a million of those little screwdrivers, hexs, allens, torxes, so I can take damn near anything apart.

Most things aren't made to be serviced at home (says so on the case! :) ) or anywhere....

I am adventurous - things worth fixing - I try to fix. Things not worth fixing - I don't.

Simple as that.

For example, I have a Dell 17" LCD monitor that went on me a few months ago. I found that there is a common failure in this particular model and it is an easy repair for someone with a radio shack near by and a soldering iron.

I have both & I am actually good at soldering!

So I will give it a go in the near future once some other projects clear from my path.

I do my own basic plumbing but when it came to replacing some rotted galv pipes in my kitchen - well I paid the plumber to do that (felt a little guilty because the replacement PCV is so easy to work with) because I wanted it done that night. Redoing faucets and valves is easy, replacing fixtures...minor electrical.

A while back I had a ceiling fan I really liked but the wiring in it was starting to burn, not from the electricity but from the light bulbs being too close to it. I replaced it with a newer better quality unit but the newer unit didn't have the style this one had. I saved it in the box in the garage for a while intending to resurrect it. It stayed there for about a year taking up precious space until I finally just tossed it.

What's a VCR?

SmileWavy

I really have never been able to "fix" anything. I have rigged a few things.

I remember my dad putting pennies behind fuses to keep from blowing the fuses in our house.

I had a very good teacher. Most of our old power tools and gadgets have pull switches.

Heres how bad it is:

I was building a shed this fall in my backyard, and the framing nailer broke (an old senco that weighs a ton), so I looked on craigslist and found a replacement nailer (porter cable, newer, lighter, plus a half box of nails - sweet deal for 100 bucks.

THEN, I got on ebay, found the part for the senco, and fixed it. I don't know why, I wont use it now that I have the update, but I just couldn't stand to have it sitting around broken, when parts are available to fix it.

I throw money away making my stuff last:-)

I try and fix everything I can on my own. Sometimes I get work down on the outboard (2 stroke Yamaha 115) just because I am not familiar with it. Easy stuff like plugs and oil is no problem. Not sure if I will tackle the carbs when they need rebuilding.

Everything else from the car to the house I usually tackle. Appliances - especially older ones usually aren't worth fixing but Pool stuff, boat stuff, house stuff - kids stuff - yeah I'll give a shot at fixing.

We used to joke when my Son was very young - he was constantly breaking his toys and would come running through the house yelling "Dad Dad - fik it, fik it...

I do put time limits on stuff to see if it's worth it. I've found I value my down time more these days...

Fix!

My Media-box (TVIX) died. Googled on it, seem to be common with PSU failures due to overheat. Opened up the box, found one transistor and one diode melt. Then I googled on Tranistor and diode numer, butchered an old PC power supply and found what I tought was good enough transistor/diode combo (transistor was right polarity, but a bit bigger). Swapped in them...and lo and behold, box booted up!

Other thing that was worth fixing is my old Bang & Olufsen stereo full-tube reciever from 1962. Couple of new tubes, few high voltage capacitors and light bulbs and it works as a charm. Rocks hard with it's 2 x 3W output :)

On the other hand, there were things that weren't worth fixing. My Audi S4 is one of them. I tought it was a good deal at the time...ended up replacing radiator, intercooler plumbing, whole ignition, complete front suspension (including brakes), plethora of bushings, god knows how many engine sensors, rear differential, ignition lock, stereo, cam belt, wheel arch...(i would like to know how to make font smaller and smaller :) )

In these times, more and more is worth fixing! Penny here and penny there...it soon adds up.

it's like an 8-track with pictures drawn inside - a whole buncha pictures

My motto is don't fix it if it is broken....just let it sit...

I'll usually at least take the thing apart, am pretty good at diagnosing the problem and coming up with a low-buck fix. My kid's buddies were pretty impressed that I could keep their air-soft guns working when they were ready to toss them.
Jim

Mechanical linkages... try to fix...

limited electrical malfarctions.. fix [operative word is "limited"..] tried to fix a panasonic projection TV with new 16 pin pieces... and no joy...