The best time to buy new appliances
Kitchen appliances are the Rodney Dangerfields of the home – they don’t get no respect. When they are working, your home is running smoothly and they go unnoticed. But when they break, your routine is quickly thrown into a tailspin.
The problem is, most appliances don’t give you much warning before deciding to call it quits. One day you’re pulling a cooked meal from the oven, and the next you are ordering takeout because that same oven decided to not heat above 180. Stinks.
In addition to the inconvenience of not having a working appliance you rely on, you’ll also have a sizable repair bill / replacement cost on your hands. Replacing a full set of kitchen appliances could easily cost you $6,000.
So when is the best time to buy new appliances? There are two relatively straight-forward options: on your schedule, or on the schedule your appliances seem to demand from you.
On your schedule
You might be saying to yourself “What kind of answer is that?! Of course I’m going it will be on my own schedule.”
Ideally you shouldn’t wait to be in a situation where you are forced to replace an appliance. If you stay on top of things and plan ahead, you should have a good idea of when your appliance is reaching the end of its useful life. Knowing when an appliance is likely to start giving you trouble will give you a chance to shop around and find a replacement that both fits your needs and your budget.
To get a sense of where your appliances are in their lifecycle, you first need to determine when your appliance was manufactured. You can do this by breaking out the product manual (if you still have it) or look for information on the product label – manufacturers will sometimes include a “date of manufacture.”
Once you have the date of manufacture, you then need to determine the expected lifespan of the appliance. There are a number of independent organizations that estimate how long appliances should last. Two of the more reliable sources are Consumer Reports and the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors.
November is for appliances!
Black Friday isn’t just for “fun” holiday gifts. And it isn’t just for the 4th Friday in November – it’s now extending throughout the entire month. Turns out it’s a fantastic time to buy appliances.
First, November is the “end of model-year” for many appliance manufacturers. This means that retailers offer steep discounts in an effort to clear out last year’s stock.
Second, big box retailers want to snag pre-holiday shoppers as soon as they can. If you head out on a Saturday to have a look at new refrigerators, you might happen to walk by a gaming console or tablet that is on your holiday shopping list. In fact, we have seen some retailers offering $50 – $100 store gift cards with the purchase of multiple appliances. And that’s on top of discounts in the 40% off range.
You’re not alone
As retailers have been increasing discounts on appliances during the month of November, consumers have started to catch on. Search trends on Google show huge spikes in searches for things like “best refrigerator,” “best stove,” etc. occurring like clockwork every November.
So as you get ready to buy the hottest gifts for the holiday, consider whether it’s time to make a new stove part of your list, too. Check out our story on the total cost of appliance replacement to be ready to take advantage of the best deals!
