Repair of appliances and electronics: does it make sense?

The change in the range of household and digital appliances, as well as the increase in prices for some categories of goods, again actualized the question: if a thing has stopped working, what is better – to buy a new one or to hand over the old one for repair. Whether it will be possible to save money if you give preference to the second option, Moskovskaya Pravda found out from experts.

The repair of household appliances has such a parameter as economic feasibility, recalls Timofey Litvinov, a leading specialist in the warranty service and repair department of the Dr.Head audio equipment store chain.

“The economy consists of the cost of work and the cost of spare parts,” the expert explains. — Repair can be carried out with the replacement of a component or module. The cost of one component can be several hundred rubles. But if they have to be replaced in large quantities, then in general the cost of parts will be several thousand rubles. In most modern devices, only modular repairs are possible (that is, replacing a board, block, module, and so on). Such a module can only be purchased from a manufacturer that sets its own price. Thus, in some cases, it turns out that the cost of the module can be more than half the price of the entire device. In this case, the cost of the work of the master is added. And in certain cases, the cost of repair is ultimately comparable to the cost of a new product.

As an example, Timofey Litvinov cited several options for the development of events when determining the feasibility of repairing wireless headphones that have stopped charging.

The first option is a faulty battery (battery). The cost of the battery is 1,200 rubles. Plus, the cost of replacement work is 960 rubles. Total: 2,160 rubles. If the cost of new headphones is 18,000 rubles, it is cheaper, of course, to repair them.

The second option – to correct the stated malfunction, the mainboard of these headphones is required to be replaced as an assembly. The cost of this module from the manufacturer is 9,450 rubles. Plus, the cost of replacement work is 3,270 rubles. The total is 12,720 rubles. Taking into account the fact that the headphones have served a certain period of time, and even selling them for the price that a repair will cost is unlikely to be possible – it is better to buy new ones.

Another example is the repair of a Yamaha or Denon receiver if the sound is lost in one channel.

In one case, it is required to replace a pair of output transistors, which cost 520 rubles, the cost of work is another 1900 rubles. Total: 2420 rubles.

In the second case, the Digital PCB needs to be replaced. The cost of such a module is 27,800 rubles, plus the cost of work is 4,200 rubles. Total: 32,000 rubles.

With the cost of a new receiver at 40,000 rubles, it is easy to understand in which case the repair will be economically feasible.

“A similar principle of the economic feasibility of repairs in approximately the same proportion applies to the repair of mobile phones, gadgets and laptops,” the expert sums up.

The technical director of the BQ brand, Timofey Melikhov, generally agrees with his colleague, although, in his opinion, in most cases, repairs are still more profitable than purchasing a new device.

— Today there is an opinion that it makes little sense to repair laptops, smartphones, headphones, TVs and other household appliances — it’s easier to buy a new one. But this opinion is fundamentally wrong, because the second such purchase will cost much more than repairs, the expert expresses his point of view. – At the same time, it is important to understand that in most cases, restored equipment is no different from new. That is, in technical terms, it is completely identical.

Timofei Melikhov also gave several examples.

Example 1 The cost of a push-button telephone BQ 2432 Tank SE is 2,490 rubles. In the event of a removable battery failure, its replacement will cost 450 rubles, that is, approximately 18% of the full price of the model, and the replacement of the display will cost 1,000 rubles (approximately 40%).

Example 2 Smartphone BQ 6868L Wide with a large screen costs 6,990 – 7,490 rubles, depending on the model. Replacing a non-removable battery or the main camera will cost 1,500 rubles (about 20-21% of the cost of the device). And even if you need to replace the display module, which is the most expensive “spare part”, now its cost is 4,200 rubles. So even in this case, the savings will be about 40 – 44%.

The expert clarifies that we are talking about repairing the phone in workshops that carry out work as part of warranty service. Otherwise, you will have to pay extra for the work itself.

As for equipment, which has risen in price recently, as Ilya Karpuk, director of the Printeria office equipment repair and maintenance service center, said, the number of people who prefer its repair to buying a new product has increased significantly.

— Previously, there were situations when the repair was on the verge of expediency, and we often dissuaded the client from a rash act. But after the introduction of Western sanctions, the load of the service center increased by 200%, since almost any repair became expedient. New printers have become obscenely expensive, some items have risen in price by 5 times and have become almost a “luxury item”. So, for example, earlier the repair of the thermal unit of certain Kiocera devices cost the client 16,000 – 18,000, and the cost of a new one was 23,000 – 25,000 rubles, and customers often simply purchased a new device. Now a new printer costs 43,000 – 48,000, and repairs have become more expedient than ever. Although the cost of spare parts also jumped significantly, and there was also some shortage of them. However, in general, we always inform the client about the amount and feasibility of repairs in advance, and let him make a decision.

The expert also warned that it is necessary to choose a service center, especially in the case of repairing equipment at home, carefully.

— There are many unscrupulous service centers, — said Ilya Karpuk. – So, the master, without really doing anything, in a couple of hours he can bill you for 30,000 – 40,000 rubles. The scammers call this “check checks”. And they give first to sign a rather “muddy” contract. Therefore, in order to avoid a “divorce” and get a quality service, you should contact organizations that have been working for a long time, have reviews, a real office and their own premises, or better, accreditation from the manufacturer.

Rospotrebnadzor also drew attention to the dishonesty of some repair shops. Recently, the department has increasingly received appeals from citizens who have encountered fraud in the repair of household and digital equipment.

The complaints mainly consist in the fact that the workshop employees promise to make a free diagnosis and establish the cause of the breakdown, and after a few days they report that the product has been repaired, and in order to pick it up, you need to pay for the work of the master. In this case, the repair price can reach up to 80% of the cost of a new product. If the client refuses to pay the exorbitant price, he is threatened that they will “sell” the repaired goods “on account of the debt.”

Naturally, no contract is concluded in advance either for diagnostics, let alone for repairs, which is a direct violation of consumer rights.

Experts advise in such situations to refer to the Rules for consumer services to the population, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 21, 2020 N 1514. In particular, they indicate that equipment diagnostics or the elimination of deficiencies are paid work and in all cases must be accompanied by the conclusion of an agreement in writing . Moreover, if the contract does not contain the exact name, description and price of the thing transferred by the consumer, as well as the type of work performed and its price, the contractor cannot demand any payment from the consumer for the work performed and must return the thing to him, since he has no legal grounds to keep her.

At the same time, according to Article 35 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”, the contractor is responsible for the safety of the item transferred for repair.

If you are still not given your property, you can make a claim and file a complaint with Rospotrebnadzor.

Good to know

A complete list of conditions that should be fixed in the contract for the repair of equipment:

– company name and address of the organization-executor (for an individual entrepreneur – last name, first name, patronymic, information on state registration, taxpayer identification number;

– type of work;

– the price of the work;

– the exact name, description and price of materials (things), if the work is performed from the materials of the contractor or from the materials (with the thing) of the consumer;

– a note on the payment by the consumer of the full price of the work or on the advance payment made during the execution of the contract;

– dates of acceptance and execution of the order;

– warranty periods for the results of work, if they are established by federal laws, other regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation or a contract for the performance of work, or are provided for by business practice;

— other necessary data related to the specifics of the work performed;

– the position of the person who accepted the order, and his signature, as well as the signature of the consumer who submitted the order.

What should be alerted when concluding a contract:

– the prescribed right of the contractor to unilaterally change the type of work or their cost;

— the absence of a warranty period or its formal nature (for example, 7 days) for the results of the work performed;

– reference to other documents (tariffs, conditions, applications) that are posted on the Internet, but are not presented for review and are not transmitted along with the contract.

You should not agree to repairs if you are not offered to conclude an agreement and sign an act of acceptance of the faulty item.

Alena Bodrienko.

A photo With site doctorhead.ru