24 Nov 4 Best Practices for Buying Used Appliances

With no warning, your refrigerator decides to go from cold to hot. You open the door to see all the spoiled food inside – hamburger, lunch meat, salad dressings and condiments. Your heart sinks like your savings account. It’s time to buy another one.

Whether your older appliance have gone berserk or it’s just time for upgrading, used appliances should always be an option. Before you strike out to the first ad you find online, you need to understand the pro’s and con’s of used appliances.

For starters understand that the higher prices you pay at a retail store come with some advantages like product warranties and possibly free delivery.

What’s more there’s a certain element of risk that comes into play when you purchase anything used. Not one single category is any better than another in reliability. Product quality varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, different segments of the market, to say that one appliance is consistently better than the other. Shop smart. Be observant. Do your homework.

• 1. GO WITH A NAME YOU KNOW

There is so much information available today, right at our fingertips, there is no reason not to do your research. Consumer Reports is the best resource for unbiased reviews.

Don’t just research brands. Investigate particular models within the brand. Again with, Consumer Reports you can find out about specific products that are awesome or always in need of repair.

Depreciation does have some affect on pricing. Most products have a life expectancy of 10 years. Make sure you know how to read the product tag to see the original MSRP. Then you can negotiate from there.

• 2. CONSIDER COST OF REPAIRS

Dependable appliances are popular appliances. The latest and greatest dishwasher make look amazing, but if parts and repairs are sky high, it’s a losing proposition. Unless you know how to do repairs yourself.

The more common the parts, the greater the chance that you can buy them quickly and affordably.

Always have the exact model number of the appliance you are considering. Sites such as RepairClinic.com make it easy to find out how hard to find the various components. Ask yourself why you would buy something that you couldn’t get parts for?

These kinds of details are often telling in how long you might expect your used appliance to last. A little higher price might be worth the extra money in the long run.

• 3. BUY FROM A REPUTABLE SELLER

Another benefit of the wealth of information available to you is your ability to research the businesses that are selling used appliances. Google My Business gives each business a free basic website, which contains all of the Google Reviews a business has received. Do their customers consider them reputable? Are people consistently have problems with products and services? Facebook also contains reviews. Don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations from your friends.

• 4. SIZE MATTERS

Major appliances such as refrigerators and deep freezers generally require little in the way of maintenance in repairs. They are also the most expensive to buy brand new.

You would hope that the more expensive the appliance the longer it should live. But that is not always the case. For example, refrigerators and freezers have a life expectancy of 20 years.

How an appliance ended up for sale is good to know if you can get it. The couple that replaced all appliances for a move…that is useful information.

If it’s a truly major purchase, hire a professional to go with you. It may cost a little bit of money, but it could be worth it in the long run.