A significant share of Mission Viejo's housing was built in the 1970s and 1980s. A lot of the appliances in those homes are approaching the end of their useful life — or have already passed it. When a 15-year-old refrigerator compressor fails, we'll tell you what the repair costs, what a comparable new unit costs, and what our read is on whether it's worth it.
The general rule we use: if the repair cost exceeds 50% of the appliance's current replacement value, and the unit is more than 8 to 10 years old, replacement usually wins. But there are exceptions — a well-maintained Sub-Zero or a Bosch dishwasher with one bad seal often makes sense to repair at year 12 because the quality is there underneath. A 10-year-old entry-level refrigerator with a failed compressor almost never does.
We don't push repairs that aren't worth doing. That's how we've built return customers in Mission Viejo — people remember that we were straight with them.
For the newer Rancho Mission Viejo builds, the calculus is different. A 3-year-old Bosch dishwasher with an E15 error is absolutely worth repairing. Same with a Samsung refrigerator with an ice maker failure at year two — these are known issues on specific models with straightforward fixes, and we carry the parts.
