Microwave repair – is it affordable?
When your microwave quits heating, the inevitable question is whether to repair the microwave or replace it. While the answer will never be 100% clear without having a factory trained technician inspect the microwave, allow me to educate you as to some of the factors to weigh:
- Microwaves are made of up of about 2-3 relatively expensive parts, and many little inexpensive parts. There’s not much middle ground, so generally the microwaves are repairable at an affordable price, because it’s the small affordable pieces that fail most often.
- For some of those expensive pieces there are often aftermarket options available. Magnetrons are a semi-common failure in microwaves, and are somewhat expensive, but there are often aftermarket versions of the magnetrons available for half the price of the original manufacturer’s parts. We don’t often recommend aftermarket parts, but magnetrons are the exception, as none of the large OEMS build their own magnetrons directly anyhow.
- Carry-in service is also available, and is generally significantly cheaper than in-home repairs. For our business our diagnosis fee is $30 less for in-shop repairs, and the repairs are also less. This is a good option for keeping repair affordable on smaller portable appliances like microwaves.
- We generally do not recommend that customers work on their own microwaves. Microwaves in particular have a high voltage capacitor that can retain a dangerous amount of electricity even when the machine is unplugged. While we are happy to give advice on anything, this fact precludes us from recommending do-it-yourself microwave repair.
As always, if you need quality service in the Omaha metro area on your microwave call Hometown Hero Appliance Repair at 402-399-0202 to get a trained and certified technician out to your home at once. Alternately you can schedule online as well. Remember, we are here to help.
