Homeowners say new appliances are getting worse: USA TODAY Homefront survey

Home prices and mortgage rates aren’t the only culprits contributing to the high cost of housing. Home maintenance costs present their own obstacles for homeowners, who report their expensive home appliances break down sooner than expected.

Ninety-six percent of homeowners have repaired or replaced a major appliance, such as a dishwasher or HVAC system, in the past five years, according to our May 2024 survey of 2,000 homeowners. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of respondents said the quality of new home appliances has decreased over time.

The typical homeowner spends $5,775 annually on maintenance and repairs, with 30% reporting that they feel “house poor,” according to another recent USA TODAY Homefront survey.

Replacing expensive appliances can quickly drain your emergency fund, and 18% of first-time homeowners regret not having a home warranty to help cover costs.

Below, we dig into homeowners’ biggest appliance headaches and how to avoid them.

Key findings

• New home appliance quality has decreased over time, according to 74% of homeowners, with 64% of those reporting shorter appliance life spans.

• Over three-quarters of homeowners believe appliances are purposefully designed to break down sooner to encourage people to spend money on newer ones.

• Over a third of homeowners have had an appliance break down within a year of purchase.

• Nearly all homeowners have repaired or replaced a major appliance in the past five years, with washing machines, microwaves and refrigerators the most often addressed.

• About 1 in 5 first-time home buyers regret not purchasing a home warranty to cover appliance repair or replacement costs.

83% of baby boomers said the quality of new home appliances has declined over time

Americans are adamant that their home appliances aren’t as reliable as they once were. Most homeowners (74%) believe new home appliances have declined in quality, according to our survey. Of that group, nearly two-thirds said they’ve noticed shorter appliance life spans, and 31% said their appliances have broken down more frequently.

For consumers, these experiences fuel the perception that appliances are designed to not last as long, causing them to buy new ones more often. Our survey revealed that 76% of homeowners believe appliance makers use planned obsolescence to bolster sales. 

Baby boomers — who have been buying homes since the 1970s and have seen multiple generations of appliances — hold especially negative views of newer appliances. About 83% of boomers said home appliance quality has declined over time, and 84% said manufacturers today design appliances to break down sooner to encourage more consumer spending.  

“A major cause is the price point and complexity of modern appliances,” said Ben Schlichter, who owns an appliance repair business and runs a popular YouTube channel on the subject. “If you look at the price of a refrigerator or washer, it has not kept pace with inflation. Although this is good for consumers in the short term, in the long run, it’s been accomplished through cheaper parts and manufacturing processes,” he added.

96% of homeowners have repaired or replaced a major appliance in the past 5 years

Stories of homeowners purchasing an expensive appliance only to have it stop working soon after have gained traction lately, including anecdotes from frustrated refrigerator buyers. In fact, 34% of homeowners have had an appliance break down within one year of purchase, according to our survey.

Gathering data on specific appliance life spans proves challenging because appliances may have been installed years before homeowners call a moving company. Dedication to regular maintenance can vary widely as well.

To navigate these obstacles, our survey asked homeowners whether they have had to repair or replace 14 popular home appliances within the past five years. Nearly all (96%) homeowners said they’ve had to address problems with the appliances listed. The most problematic were washing machines (57%) and microwaves (56%).

Homeowners willing to invest time in repairing their appliances still run into roadblocks — 69% said newer appliances are harder to repair than older ones. 

Appliances today are driven by printed circuit boards, which can have a single point of failure, causing a washing machine to break, Schlichter said. To restore it, a technician has to replace the entire board, whereas in the past, replacing a simple pressure switch could resolve the problem. 

“On average, [it] will cost $200 to $300 to replace the board and pressure switch, whereas a standalone switch on an older machine may have been $40 and was purpose-built for high usage and reliability,” Schlichter continued. 

22% of millennial homeowners regret not having a home warranty

Home warranties reduce the risk of homeowners paying expensive out-of-pocket repair costs. Our survey showed that the most common reasons for purchasing a home warranty included protecting against high costs (77%) and minimizing the hassle of finding repair services (46%). 

About 1 in 6 homeowners surveyed (15%) said they regret not purchasing a home warranty, including 18% of first-time homeowners and 22% of millennial homeowners. 

Those who decided against buying a home warranty did so because they said warranties are too expensive (54%), they don’t trust home warranties (30%), or they prefer to handle repairs on their own (27%).

How can you save money on home appliance costs?

Repairing and replacing home appliances is bound to put a dent in your budget. Limit these costs by putting the following tips into action. 

Inspect home appliances regularly 

Take a proactive approach to home appliance care. Make time in your monthly routine for inspecting and cleaning household appliances, especially those you use more frequently, such as your dishwasher, refrigerator and microwave.

“Regular cleaning is a great way to extend the life span of your appliances,” said Glenn Lewis, president of Mr. Appliance, A Neighborly Company. “Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for maintenance, do regular inspections and address small issues quickly before they become big problems.”

Keep a home appliance inventory 

Create a list of your home appliances with the year they were manufactured and their typical life spans, so you can better anticipate when each machine might break down. 

If your dishwasher stops working and you don’t know when it was built, it becomes harder to decide whether the appliance needs to be repaired or replaced altogether. If, however, you’ve already done your research and know that your dishwasher model typically lasts nine years, and you’ve owned it for 10 years, you’ll know that it may not be worth paying to have it repaired. 

Consider a home warranty

Among our survey respondents who have a home warranty, 31% said they used to spend too much money on repairs before signing up for coverage. 

Washing machines, dryers, water heaters and garbage disposals are a few examples of home appliances that typically fall under home warranty coverage. If you find yourself replacing these items more often than you’d like, you might prefer paying a home warranty monthly premium over paying for unexpected appliance breakdowns out of pocket. 

Be sure to understand what’s covered and what isn’t by home warranties. Some providers offer add-ons, such as HVAC tune-ups, that aren’t typically covered in standard plans but can go a long way toward keeping your home cool in sweltering summers.

Final take: Don’t let home appliances blow up your budget

The costs of homeownership are climbing — a report from Zillow found the typical monthly mortgage payment has nearly doubled since January 2020. If your mortgage is already straining your budget, a surprise appliance breakdown could put a dent in your emergency fund. 

Don’t risk a financial crisis by letting your home appliances become an afterthought. Think carefully about which appliances you purchase, how you will look after them and how you plan to pay for solutions when appliance problems arise.   

Our methodology

The research team at USA TODAY Homefront examined homeowners’ experiences with home appliance repairs and home warranties through a survey of 2,000 Americans. The survey was run using Pollfish, a third-party market research and survey platform, and ran from May 17 to 19, 2024.

We weighted responses to align with population demographics across age and gender to be representative of all U.S. adults (aged 18+). The margin of error is +/- 3% with 95% confidence. 

Questions about our study? Please contact Homefront at press@homefront.usatoday.com.

Reference policy

We encourage journalists to share our findings on home appliances. If you choose to do so, please link back to our original story and credit USA TODAY Homefront for the research.