Is my dishwasher worth repairing?

[Morning Glory]

I apologise I couldn't find the old dishwasher thread from a few months ago.

My beloved 18 year old Kenmore is starting to work only intermittently. Husband thinks the control panel is going bad. Problem is the part is about $130, and I could buy a new dishwasher for a little over 300 right now. Husband could do the repair in about the same amount of time as it would take to install the new one, so time isn't a factor. I am a bit concerned that the new ones won't clean as well as the old one, but also concerned that if we fix the old one something else could break very soon, and then we wasted our time and money.
So repair or replace?

 If replace, which one should I get? I only care that the dishes get clean. I don't need fancy features and I don't really care how quiet it is. I don't want one that I have to take apart and clean.

[Another Reader]

Older dishwashers use more water but actually get the dishes clean.  I wish I had repaired my Kenmore (made by Whirlpool) two years ago when it died.  I would probably look for rust and scale build up as part of the decision making process, but I would lean toward fixing it.

[APowers]

Or you could buy a similar model to what you have now by looking on craigslist/fbmarketplace/etc, and likely only pay ~$100 for a win-win replacement. There are still a lot of older model dishwashers that are on the second-hand market through no fault of their own (removed due to remodel/upgrade/etc. and not due to malfunction).

[Freedomin5]

DH is our family dishwasher so if anything happened to him, I’d definitely go for repairing over replacing.

[Morning Glory]

Or you could buy a similar model to what you have now by looking on craigslist/fbmarketplace/etc, and likely only pay ~$100 for a win-win replacement. There are still a lot of older model dishwashers that are on the second-hand market through no fault of their own (removed due to remodel/upgrade/etc. and not due to malfunction).

Thanks, I think I will try that first. I am in a good area to find nice things on Craigslist.

[chemistk]

Another vote for secondhand, if you can.

Dishwashers are disposable. Not within a short timeframe, but eventually they wear out beyond practical servicing.

My in-laws were told this by the second consecutive Miele dishwasher repairperson who agreed with the first one that their near $2k dishwasher was well beyond repair and they would be better off replacing it. to their credit, it was run 2x a day, every day, for nearly 5 years and then 1x a day until it died on year 9. (7 kids + plenty of dinner guests).

The control board may be the issue now, but what about the pump, or the valves, or the heating coil? All these will eventually crap out. Our dishwasher (well, our landlord's) is literally rusting away. As in, the racks are disintegrating. They won't replace it unless it's broken but it's only a matter of time until a big piece of the rack gets through the filters and into the pump.

Finding a similar (if not newer) model that's used but in good condition is probably better than hoping you've fixed your own.

[lthenderson]

My beloved 18 year old Kenmore is starting to work only intermittently. Husband thinks the control panel is going bad. Problem is the part is about $130, and I could buy a new dishwasher for a little over 300 right now.

So repair or replace?

If you haven't already, google the symptoms first online along with model. The last several "problems" I've had with my dishwasher not completing a cycle were due to plugged filters or dirty sensors which are easily remedied. Newer washers have a lot more of these things which can cause problems than older ones which just had a control board and a pump.

Also, if it doesn't work on one particular cycle, have you tried others? My last dishwasher had the main cycle go out of it several years back but continued to work like a champ the last three years using the "pots and pans" cycle. We only got rid of it when we gutted our kitchen and got a free dishwasher from the appliance store with our other purchases. It is still working still but in a rental.

[Morning Glory]

My husband googled the symptoms, which is why he thinks it's the control board. Only the "normal wash" works, all the other buttons are unresponsive. Sometimes the start button is unresponsive too, but the cancel/drain will come on and make noise. Turning the power off and on doesn't help, but sometimes we can wait an hour and press the button again and it works, like hitting the jackpot. Once it's on it runs the full cycle just fine. My husband thinks water is getting into the controls. A lot of the screws on the door are rusty.

[affordablehousing]

Buy a bosch or nothing. American brands are crap.

[Morning Glory]

Buy a bosch or nothing. American brands are crap.

I’ve had a Bosch before and it was horrible. I had to take it all apart and clean it every few cycles or it would make the dishes dirtier.

[Kevin_T87]

I know it can be quite difficult to change an appliance that you have been using for such a long time, but maybe it's time to let go. New models have much more programs to select between and are a lot more advantageous when it comes to water consumption as well, so a change is likely your best option.

[Wrenchturner]

18 years old is well past its intended service life.  I'd replace it but do plenty of research to find the next one.  If you can find one that's only a couple years old that would be a good choice.  Should have an established reputation by that time as well.

[Cranky]

My Bosch has been repaired 3 times in its 2 years of existence.

[jpdx]

I often advocate for fixing things, but 18 years is a long time to expect any appliance to work. I would install a new Energy Star model which will conserve hot water and electricity. The one I have takes a few hours to wash but gets my dishes thoroughly clean every time.

[Tig_]

My husband googled the symptoms, which is why he thinks it's the control board. Only the "normal wash" works, all the other buttons are unresponsive. Sometimes the start button is unresponsive too, but the cancel/drain will come on and make noise. Turning the power off and on doesn't help, but sometimes we can wait an hour and press the button again and it works, like hitting the jackpot. Once it's on it runs the full cycle just fine. My husband thinks water is getting into the controls. A lot of the screws on the door are rusty.

Helpful thread! I'm having the same issues with my washing machine. :(