I fixed breakfast for my D & SIL yesterday and the microwave was fine. At lunchtime, I put something in and noticed it was making an odd noise and then found it hadn’t provided any cooking heat. Played with it by putting a measuring cup with water in, per troubleshooting in user guide, and nothing except the odd noise, no heat, and towards the end twice it gave off a slight electrical burning smell. It’s about 4 1/2 years old and I paid around $425 for it when I redid my kitchen. I can replace it for just under $250 with same make and cubic foot size. I haven’t researched the exact measurements yet, but it shouldn’t matter too much as I chose a painted cubby for the microwave above the oven, rather than a trim kit around it.
My appliance repair folks haven’t been here in some time, but it’s about $90 for the first hour charge and then of course there are parts, extra time, whatever. I won’t be able to get a phone consult from them until tomorrow.
As I type this, it seems like I ought to just bite the bullet and replace, but what do you guys think? Repair or replace?
Probably replace? Years ago my microwave door latch broke (with food inside the microwave). I was told it would only be $30 for repairs, so I took it in to have it repaired. Turns out the $30 was for the new door latch. It cost $100 for the service charge. I waited a week while they were repairing it, which reminded me how much I used the microwave. I should have just purchased a new microwave.
Your microwave is more high-end than mine. But it also sounds like more is wrong with it than just a door latch, and that’s probably going to be more expensive to repair. You might also have to wait for parts to be ordered.
Just browsing the internet it appears that the parts to repair (once you figure it out–I just googled noisy microwave with no heating) may be pretty cheap. Some say 30-50 bucks. If you have a clue and think you could manage fixing it yourself then repair it.
But adding the 100 bucks in for the service call (plus lack of willingness to electrocute yourself) and the chance it’s something more expensive makes replacing the better option. At least for your stand alone unit (if it really is that much less expensive now)…
A few years ago I got my MW fixed. I did it because it was a built in unit and changing it out would be a whole 'nother can of worms. Took the guy 20 minutes and much cheaper than if I’d messed with replacing it.
We just went through this over the summer. DH is very handy and felt he could fix it himself. Turns out the parts were over $100, and we could replace and even upgrade for about $250, so DH felt his time would be better spent elsewhere. We replaced.
Replace. Check the manual for the new microwave to make sure there is adequate space around the microwave for venting. Insufficient venting can cause premature failure. Some models are designed for bench top use only.
I have a built in microwave, 10+ years old, the back seam where the wall meets the base it ugly rusty looking and the kids insist it smells funny, though DH and I cannot smell anything.
Microwave paint? Repair? Replace?
Is there a way to figure out, for the layperson, how to just buy a regular microwave and trim kit rather than an official built in?
Mine broke a few days ago. After a really exhausting search on the internet and in stores, I realized that stores don’t seem to carry much anymore.
Today I ordered a tabletop Whirlpool online from Costco for $209 with no shipping or handling and 3% tax delivered to my door. I figure that at least it is vetted.
The broken one is 3.5 years old, a Sharp, and I paid $179 for it. The only thing I need to do however is to bring it to ewaste and that will probably cost about $25.
Thanks for all of the feedback. I ended up ordering a new one this morning from Amazon this morning. $169 for a Sharp that was comparable to what I had. I hope it’s better than yours that broke, @rockymtnhigh. It was down to that or an LG that I saw at Home Depot for a few dollars more. I liked the settings on the Sharp model for softening butter, cream cheese, etc. I’ll be glad to see it on Friday:)
I’ve just about had it with expensive built-in appliances! Have a Sub-Zero that ices up and recently replaced a scary microwave that wouldn’t shut off even when the door was open. Hope your microwave story has a happy ending.
You are lucky you can replace. Our oven has a microwave above it that looks like a separate unit but is in fact joined to the conventional oven in a way that prevents the microwave from being replaced by itself. We have had a couple of expensive repairs of the microwave. I would have gladly replaced it, but couldn’t.
@NJres I might not have thought of that. Double ovens sound great, but when they are actually attached at the hip, ouch. When I was remodelling I decided just to make a built in that was more than big enough for my microwave. It will be easy to replace if I ever need to.