What to do? Replace microwave or all new?? Pic attached...

10 years ago

My appliances are 12 years old and white. Last year our dishwasher went and we replaced it with another white one. Today my microware broke
So do I replace all my appliances with stainless or just get a new white microwave.

Here is a pic of my kitchen. It is a older pic but basically looks the same. We intend to upgrade to granite this winter.

This is not our forever house and we would like to move in the next 5 years.

Comments (6)

MizLizzie
10 years ago
I've been there! We lived with a broken handle on our white OTR micro for four years. You might try Craig's List. Or maybe do an eBay nearest-location search. Everyone is busy going stainless so something will eventually turn up. I've also seen those white microwaves going cheap at Sears -- usually at the outlet. Below is a link to what I drilled down to. You can't sort by color, but lots of whites turned up FWIW, I also had a neighbor whose white OTRM broke and they actually took it down and found some little something had come loose. They were able to fix it. Not sure I could have . . .

Here is a link that might be useful: OTR microwaves at Sears Outlet
annkh_nd
10 years ago
When we had to replace our DW a couple of years ago, DH insisted we go with stainless (our kitchen had the same color scheme as yours). This year we replaced the fridge, and again had to go stainless. It isn't my favorite, but now we're 2 for 3 (we're sticking with our white range). I wish we had gone black.

MizLizzie brings up a good point - what exactly broke in your MW? If you could fix it for less than $100, you'd be ahead.
zoey75
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you both. It made a loud buzzing noise. And the only way to pshut it off was to unplug it. My DH is pretty handy and he said it was toast :(

This post was edited by zoey75 on Sun, Jul 7, 13 at 6:45
angela12345
10 years ago
I second the idea of trying Craigslist. My dad's went out and he asked me to look for him. I found a white GE Spacemaker OTR MW for $25 for him and he was thrilled.

MizLizzie, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who lived with a broken MW handle for years. I did too !! I finally got fed up with it and found a MW the same model as ours on Craigslist that someone was giving away for free because it was no longer working. I harvested the door/handle off of that one and replaced the one on ours. Why didn't I do that years sooner ?!?! LOL.
live_wire_oak
10 years ago
It honestly won't matter what color you do. In 5 years time, your kitchen will have 5 more years of wear and tear, and depending on your location will probably be perceived as even more dated than most buyers would perceive it today. Most buyers will purchase it wanting to do a complete tearout for a kitchen redo.

So, I'd go Craigslist.

And that is why I'd also advise NOT getting granite for that kitchen. If you want to change the counters out, do a plain laminate in a dark color without the attached backsplash. Then do a cheap tile backsplash and paint the walls with some soft color. That will make the kitchen "updated" enough to appeal to buyers to hold them over until they can do the demolition. And it won't break the bank or introduce more granite slabs into the landfill.
MizLizzie
10 years ago
Well, duh, Angela. Never thought of that! Smart. My sister actually took that old micro for her canning kitchen so I need to tell her to try your idea. And I will have to say, I actually glued it three times using JBWeld, and it would always hold for a while.