Dishwasher woes -- repair or replace?

April 25, 2023 10:29 PM

My dishwasher broke and I need to decide whether to pay to repair it, or invest in a new one. Please help me decide. Details inside.

My apartment has a "built-in" dishwasher that is about 12 years of, a General Electric model -- BUT it was never used until I moved into this apartment a year and a half ago. So it is quite old as a model, but has not been in use for that long.

Last week it started malfunctioning. The appliance repair guy spent some time with it, and finally told me that a part (draining pump I think) was defective. Because the model is so old, he would have to special order it. The part would be $250, the labor to fix it would be $300. But they would apply the $100 I already paid for the diagnostic visit to the total, so my cost for the repair would be $450.

He said another option was, I could buy a new dishwasher. I have been researching this and it definitely appears like there is a wide range of prices, but even the low end ones are a bit more pricey than the repair costs would be (not counting delivery if it's not free, and installation, which is definitely something I would have to pay for separately). On the other hand, I would have a new device and could get an extended warranty for it. But I think it would be like $800-$900 minimum with taxes, installation, etc.

One extra piece of information that gives me pause is: I measured my current dishwasher and it is 17 inches long. The space it occupies is exactly, to the millimeter, 18 inches long. I see that there are a number of 18 inch dishwashers available, I don't really see ones that are more narrow (so, 17.5 inches, or 17 inches) and I am concerned that an 18 inch dishwasher won't necessarily fit into this exactly-precisely-18-inch-space.

What would you do if you were me? Thanks in advance

posted by virve to Home & Garden (18 answers total)

I don't know about General Electric dishwashers but unless they are generally felt to be terrible machines, I personally would go for the repair. Part of this is ethical reluctance at adding to the mountain of electronic junk in the world, and part of this is horror at contemplating getting a dishwasher to fit that narrow space and either having to compromise on cost or quality because of it, or buying it and realising it's 5mm too big in one dimension unless the cabinets are ripped out. All of this assumes that the repairman is knowledgeable etc.
posted by tavegyl at 10:40 PM on April 25, 2023

So, if it's within my abilities, I often baby old mechanical junk along for a long time, but I think you need to consider here what failure might look like. Are you prepared to deal with one or more floods? Because those can be awful, especially if, e.g., you set the d/w to run before you go to bed and so don't see anything til morning.

Also, if the parts already need special-ordering, how much will it cost if there's another issue another year or two down the line?

My parents kept hauling home crappy used dishwashers when I was a kid and getting them "fixed", which repairs only lasted five minutes, though, so I might be biased.

(I'm assuming you own this place, otherwise [if in the U.S.] your landlord should be dealing with this!)
posted by praemunire at 10:54 PM on April 25, 2023

FWIW, 18" dishwashers are often a bit less. E.g this Frigidaire one says its actual width is 17.63".
posted by zompist at 3:13 AM on April 26, 2023

You have an 18” dishwasher now. It’s a nominal dimension, meaning it’s built to fit in an 18” opening. Any 18” dishwasher will fit.

I would not sink $450 into a 12-year-old dishwasher that has already failed once despite minimal use. If one component is suffering such age-related degradation, others are too.
posted by jon1270 at 3:30 AM on April 26, 2023

Assuming you own the place so it's your problem, things I would think about:

*Does the current dishwasher piss you off? Is is really loud, or does it do a terrible job cleaning, etc? The more it pisses you off, the more it might be worth dropping $1k-1500 on a fancier, quieter model. Similarly, if you decide to replace it, ojala you're gonna live with it for a long while so IMHO it makes sense to spring for something on the fancier side of what you can afford.

*Do you know if there's anything weird about the hookup? Is the dishwasher right next to the sink it connects to? Is it connected with normal supply hoses? We've dealt with violations of these and both times it meant plumbers.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 4:07 AM on April 26, 2023

I would ask the repair guy if he considers this brand of dishwasher to be worth repairing - previously when our washing machine broke the repair person said that brand was really good and would last a long time (and after repair, it did). I'm always of the mind to repair things where it makes sense to save money and reduce the amount of waste generated. A 12yo dishwasher that only has a couple of years of actual use might actually have a long life ahead of it since there won't be much wear & tear.

But I think it would be like $800-$900 minimum with taxes, installation, etc.

Don't forget that the new one will effectively cost $900-$1000 including the diagnostic bill for the old one.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 4:09 AM on April 26, 2023

The best selling dishwasher at my local Lowes is $399. Installation is $220. I would pay that before spending $450 on a 12 year old dishwasher.
posted by LoveHam at 4:31 AM on April 26, 2023

New dishwashers use a fraction of the water old ones do. A 12 year old consumer commodity grade appliance, no matter how lightly used is going to be full of brittle plastic and rubber parts, seals that are drying out etc. I vote replace all day long.
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 5:57 AM on April 26, 2023

I would not sink $450 into a 12-year-old dishwasher that has already failed once despite minimal use. If one component is suffering such age-related degradation, others are too.

Same. We just replaced ours (different size than yours, so not directly comparable) and there were in-stock options from the low hundreds of dollars up to around $1500. (I'm sure you can spend even more for a luxury model, but that is what was available in town.) Installation was around $150 or $200, if I recall correctly, but the new, much more efficient dishwasher also qualified for rebates from both the power and water utilities, which more than paid for the installation costs. And, the new dishwasher cleans noticeably better than the old, failing one, so there's that benefit as well.

(I've installed dishwashers before, it isn't exceptionally hard, but this time around I was very happy to pay to have it done.)
posted by Dip Flash at 6:49 AM on April 26, 2023

The life expectancy of a dishwasher is about 10 years, according to manufacturers surveyed by Consumer Reports.
If the repairs would cost 50% or more of the cost of a new unit, you should replace it. So, for example, if it would cost $900 to replace your current dishwasher, $450 for the repair is 50%, so time to buy a new dishwasher!
posted by SageTrail at 7:12 AM on April 26, 2023

New dishwasher! Most appliances I’ll baby along but not the ones that could leak. A leak is a ton of hassle and liability - well worth paying a bit extra to avoid it!

Or, if you do keep this old dishwasher, invest in a water alarm to live under it that will text you if it leaks, and leave a spare key with a competent pal who can get in there and turn off the water if you’re away when it leaks. (But even that is kind of a poor solution because the area under the dishwasher is way harder to access and dry than the area under, say, a sink.)

I have an 18 inch dishwasher. We run it twice a day to deal with 4 people’s dishes.

One piece of advice - seek a model that doesn’t have a zillion pegs inside. Mine has so many pegs to hold plates upright that it actually doesn’t have enough space to wash bowls and pots. But it’s an easy fix - cut off some of the pegs at the base with strong pliers, and seal the bare metal with a ton of nail polish to prevent rust.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:52 AM on April 26, 2023

We just replaced our ancient 18" Kenmore dishwasher after repairing it a bunch of times. I usually repair appliances as much as possible. The last breakdown involved a leak and I was done with it.

That said, the cost of your repair on an old machine is too much. I would replace it. When we replaced ours, we splurged on a Bosch 18" model. No regrets, it is fantastic, quiet, and does a much better job cleaning dishes than the old one. It is 100% worth the extra cost over cheaper dishwashers. I installed it myself as it was not too complicated a job for me and I had all the tools.

Any 18" dishwasher should fit if you already have an 18" machine.
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:10 AM on April 26, 2023

Definitely replace.
New ones are so much more energy efficient and use less water, much better cleaning, too.
Seals dry out and will leak--especially if it was not run for all that time.
Price-wise you can wait for a good sale--Mother's Day is coming up. Take your measurements into the store, and they will fix you up with a fit.
posted by BlueHorse at 9:49 AM on April 26, 2023

I vote repair, unless you can find a new model with positive testimonials including explicit personal-experience comparisons to older dishwashers.

As BlueHorse notes above, newer dishwashers by law are designed to be more energy-efficient and water-sparing. However, with respect to BH, ime this can frequently come at the cost of making them much, much worse at cleaning dishes on normal cycle- that's from firsthand experience, after marveling at the terrible cleaning and insanely long cycle times of various expensive new dishwashers in AirBnBs, versus my cheap, old basic home model that just Gets The Job Done. (Ironically, the best option to get clean-ish dishes from the newer dishwashers is to pre-wash by hand and always use the super ultra high-intensity mode, thus cancelling out any water/energy savings from the eco-conscious design while still taking twice as long).

Not saying that there aren't new dishwashers that clean just as well as old ones, but I'd want comparison data to back that up before letting go of a still-repairable older-gen dishwasher.
posted by Bardolph at 11:01 AM on April 26, 2023

I just bought a Bosch 100 for under $500 and despite being the low-end model it's basically the most reliable dishwasher on the market. The higher models are slightly less reliable but more featureful. I replaced a GE that failed within 5 years. It took an afternoon to install and I am not only terrible at that kind of thing but generally physically unsuited to the task.

GE (non-Profile) dishwashers are universally contractor-grade garbage, regardless of how bougie they might appear to be, and not worth repairing unless you can do the repair yourself with inexpensive and readily available parts. Likewise with Kenmore, Whirlpool, and all the other brands that are made by the same manufacturer. Avoid like the plague and invest nothing in their products.

Also, that guy is ripping you off.
posted by majick at 1:01 PM on April 26, 2023

I'd buy a new one before I spent that much on a repair. That's the cost of a brand new one.

I have a Bosch 900 series; I'd have no problem buying a GE again. Modern dishwashers are all the same. My Bosch doesn't perform better (or much worse) than any other dishwasher I've ever had. It is far quieter, so much so it broadcasts a red light on the floor to show it is running - which is nice, but does it get the dishes awesomely clean? Not really...
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:00 PM on April 26, 2023

I have had repair people look at a broken dishwasher, and they advised me not to fix the dishwashers, as the repairs are rarely long-lasting. Replacement can be more economical. Best Buy has a nice replacement service that you can schedule online after buying a dishwasher. I have used that service a few times now and had good results.

To make your dishwasher last longer, I suggest using paper plates, and scraping dishes clean with rubber dish scrapers prior to placement in the machine.
posted by metatuesday at 2:53 PM on April 26, 2023

Thank you all! I don't know how to select the best answer, but as a totality of opinions, this was really helpful, and has convinced me to buy a new one.
posted by virve at 2:58 PM on April 26, 2023