How to choose an appliance repair shop in Philadelphia

Household appliances used to be made to last. Those trusty avocado-green stoves and refrigerators from the 1960s and ‘70s kept on kicking well into the 2000s. But now, more complex features and less durable parts mean the machines we rely on tend to be less reliable.

When your equipment breaks down, you need a fix and often quickly. Nonprofit Delaware Valley Consumers’ Checkbook rated local appliance-repair services and found shops that were rated highly by customers and offered low prices. Choose your shop carefully: Some were rated "superior" for overall service by more than 90% of their surveyed customers, but others received such favorable ratings from fewer than half of their surveyed customers. To help you find a quality service, Inquirer readers can see Checkbook's ratings of local appliance-repair services and tips for free until July 5 at Checkbook.org/Inquirer/Appliance-Repair.

You’ll want to shop around for price. Checkbook's undercover shoppers priced specific repair jobs and found that shop-to-shop price differences can be substantial. For example, the amount to replace the bake element on a GE Café Series oven (model C2S985SET6SS) ranged from $130 to $399, and prices to replace the washer door boot seal on a front-loading LG washer (model WM2140CW) ranged from $163 to $500.

When you’re looking for a repair shop, first check if the appliance is still under warranty — if it is, you’ll be limited to factory-authorized shops. Unfortunately, manufacturers don't necessarily pick the best companies to perform their warranty repairs. Manufacturers rarely, if ever, check on the quality of their authorized shops, and those that do often conduct only occasional cursory reviews. Checkbook found that shops that perform warranty repairs get far lower ratings from their customers than shops that don't.

Once you find a good repair service, you’ll need to know how to deal with it. Here are some guidelines.

When you call for an appointment, ask how the company calculates charges — especially what its minimum charge covers. Also find out the company's policy on travel charges if the technician must return to the shop for parts. Repair services usually don't charge for travel time for the second visit, but make sure. If the company charges on a time-and-materials basis, ask how it calculates time charges.

Describe your appliance's woes as accurately as possible: when the problem occurs, what it sounds like, how the appliance responds to different settings. This will help the company send the right technician, put necessary parts on the truck, and schedule enough time for the job.

Before the technician arrives, clear everything away from the appliance so that work can start at once.

Describe the appliance's problem to the technician just as you did over the phone. Avoid offering your own diagnosis or the pro may make the repair you request instead of fixing the machine.

After the diagnosis is complete, request a final price to fix it. If the estimate seems too high, ask the technician how long the estimate is good for and whether coming back will incur an additional travel charge — many companies will give you a few days to think it over and not charge for more travel. Then call a few other repair services for price quotes.

Ask about any warranties on parts and labor.

Ask to see any replaced parts.

Before paying, obtain an invoice that includes your name and address; the company's name and address; a description of appliance repaired, including make and model; date of service; itemized charges; and any warranty on parts, labor, or both.

If you can, pay by credit card. If there is a problem, you can dispute the transaction with your credit card issuer.

Before seeking service on an older appliance, or deciding to make a costly repair, you may have a choice to make: To fix or replace? It's not always a clear-cut decision.

For example, the "average life span" cited for appliances can be misleading. If you have an appliance that is seven years old, and it has an average life span of 12 years, it's actually very likely to work well beyond that average figure. Also, don't assume that because one component of an appliance breaks, others will soon follow. The appliance might last years without any further problems. Also factor in your usage — if you only do a few loads of laundry a week, the washer/dryer is apt to last longer than average.

On the other hand, you might yearn for new features, a new look, or greater energy efficiency. Keep in mind that some appliances, like clothes dryers, aren't much more efficient today than they were years ago, and even with appliances that have made strides, energy use won't change if you only do a handful of loads a week.

On the other hand, you’ll do the world — and your electric bill — a big favor by getting rid of old fridges or freezers.

Delaware Valley Consumers’ Checkbook magazine and Checkbook.org is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help consumers get the best service and lowest prices. We are supported by consumers and take no money from the service providers we evaluate.