repair instead of replace

I learned something today.  There is no need to call the appliance manufacturer to get a good repairperson.  Judging by today's experience using a local appliance repairman, its about twice as expensive to go with the manufacturer recommended repairperson. Of course, it is even cheaper to do your own repairs, but sometimes I either can't figure out what the problem is or can't understand the directions to solve the problem.

Neither my husband nor I are mechanically-inclined.  I've had my daughter help me put together toys and once a piece of furniture because she can follow diagrams and I can't.  My Dad didn't have a lot of training in fixing things, but he managed to repair nearly everything that broke when I was a kid.  If he couldn't figure it out, he got a book.

Here's a good link on when to replace an appliance.