Most refrigerators are designed to last 10 to 20 years. If you have any of the other problems on this list and your refrigerator is more than ten years old, you'll likely save more money in the long run by simply replacing it. Otherwise, you could invest money in repairing a refrigerator that is already about to run out. Built-in refrigerators are almost always worth repairing. Not only are they less expensive to repair, but they tend to have a longer lifespan anyway.
Before calling a technician, you can fix the problem yourself by unplugging and reconnecting your refrigerator. In fact, our research shows that if your refrigerator is less than 10 years old, it's generally cheaper to repair it. Previous surveys indicated that refrigerators are fairly easy to repair: 62 percent of repairs are successful on the first attempt and an additional 25 percent do so after two or more attempts. But if your refrigerator really isn't worth repairing and you decide to change it, below you'll find tips on how to change it, as well as some high-performance models drawn from our tests.
