Thrifty Thursday: Save Money On New Appliances

My 10-year-old dryer died last month. Right in the middle of doing the sheets and towels, I realized it wasn’t working. Oh crap!

I had Handy-Man Chip (aka my Daddy) check it out. After much analysis and testing, we came to the conclusion that it would cost more to fix it than to buy a new dryer. See, it would cost $90 just to have a Sears Appliance Repair tech show up. Then add on parts and labor – not worth fixing.

Panic sets in. How can we afford a new dryer? We have a tight budget and I didn’t plan on this. Then Hubby reminds me that this is what we have an emergency fund for – to take care of the unexpected expenses.

After finishing my laundry at the laundromat {ahh, alone time} we head to Home Depot. We find the dryer we want and find the sales person.

He says “Oh I have one of this model in our scratch and dent section. It’s a lot cheaper. Want to see it?” Umm, yes!

He shows us the exact same energy-efficient, super capacity dryer that we wanted. It still had the protective plastic on it. But there was a 3-inch black scratch on it’s side. And it was only $179.00 (plus tax).

A dryer that I was willing to pay $349 for is only $179 because of a scratch? OMG – that’s half the price! Who cares about the scratch! I just want a working dryer that doesn’t break the bank! We’ll take it!

The next time I need to buy an appliance, I’m going to find a sales person first thing and ask if they have a scratch-and-dent section. Unless the problem is mechanical, I don’t mind a ding or two. {fingers cross that the horrible harvest-gold stove is next}

So to save money on new appliances, visit the scratch-and-dent section the store first. As long as you’re not brand specific, and you don’t mind a cosmetic flaw, you can save lots of loot!