Repair or Replace

The overall rule of thumb, as is the case with any product, is to decline the repair if the estimate is quoted at more than three quarters the price of a new one. Remember that you can get a cheap TV, computer , printer or a really expensive Plasma TV (which are very expensive to repair sometimes due to the cost of parts alone). Whatever the product, you want to make sure your warranty covers the worth of the Item and extends for as long as you plan on keeping it. If it's easily replaceable then replace, but for the big plasma and LED, really get that extended warranty!  If you decided that your best option is to have it repaired, we will give you the most reasonale rates and the best service, including our 90 day warranty which we honor immediately if you have any problems.

We have been in the consumer electronic repair business since 1995 but only in the last few years have we noticed that we are being asked this one question now several times a day, “Should I fix it or buy a new one?” With the advent of cheap home electronics, TV sets, stereos, computers and now even printers and fax machines, people want to know what to do when their equipment breaks. To fix or not to fix, that is the question? Their dilemma is only compounded by the prevalence of cheap replacements on the market. Well, at a time when we are being asked to separate our garbage for recycling, why are manufacturers urging us to just throw away that old TV monitor or computer -- not recycle it but dump it in the nearest landfill? Just throw it away, even though it is full of toxic material, including lead, and other harmful stuff? Are the manufacturers actually urging us to just dump it, even though special precautions are now made (at huge expense) to get lead paint off of a house and have it carefully dumped in special toxic control sites? Not to mention there is now an added mandatory toxic fee charged on new TVs and monitors.

Besides the toxic issues, just consider for a moment all of the wasted energy and resources that go into making any of these products. Metals, plastics, IC chips, PC boards -- all made using our resources and energy. Not to mention the Styrofoam, cardboard, and fuel necessary to ship it, usually from China. All to deliver you a poorly made product that now lasts only one or two years, and all too often, only six months. Then, you, as a consumer, are given the privilege to drive down to your local store and start all over again. Wasting more resources to acquire another product that may not last as long as the one you just tossed. The quality of new products has been dropping for over 10 years now. Most products today only last 2 years or less before needing repair compared to ten years for products made a decade ago. When people discover this, they often mention the TV or computer in the bedroom that lasted 15 years. This is because some of the best quality products were made in the 1980s.In the 1990s, as Wall Street thinking started driving the economy, quality went out the window. Welcome to the New World economy, driven by “the bottom line” to deliver you a poor quality item so some Wall Street stockholder can have a higher dividend on his investment.

About 30% of all TVs and computers just need to have their circuit boards properly soldered. The reason they come un-soldered is the manufacturers are now making the circuit boards by putting parts on both sides of the circuit board so that they will not have to drill as many holes. Because of this, they can no longer dip the circuit board in solder as they used to do or they will destroy the parts they put on the bottom. Instead, they are sprinkling the board with a poor quality solder dust and melting it with a type of blow dryer device. The connections come un-soldered in just 2 years instead of lasting 10 or more years like they used to do. This is all done in order to bring you that cheap TV, although this same poor way of soldering is done on the more expensive models, too, so they don’t last too much longer than the cheap ones. This problem is readily repairable by soldering the broken connections by hand with the proper solder; the way circuit boards should be soldered. When done properly, your product can easily last many times longer than when it first left the factory.  The second most common defect is, the manufacturers often put in a few undersized or low quality key parts, which promptly fail. Once these flawed parts are replaced with a quality part, your machine can last longer the second time around, sometimes by many years. We are actually in the business of re-manufacturing electronic equipment when you get down to it. And consider this, another 30% of all broken VCRs, CD players, DVDs, fax machines and printers are not broken at all but just need a good cleaning and nothing more.  What is the solution to all this? Don’t give up on your equipment so quickly. Have it checked by a competent repair person first. Spare our environment from more toxic waste. And, as most electronic manufacturers are now foreign-owned; taking your money out of the country, investing in a repair is good for our “local” economy. Save yourself some money, too. It is often the cheaper option because our American ingenuity can make it better and last longer, saving you money and energy in the long run. 

Call us anytime; we are available to serve you 24 hours a day,   7 days a week.