# Buyer's remorse (I got a new fridge) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 24, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563 "2013-04-24T03:38:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/1 "2013-04-24T03:38:26Z")
So me and the SO were thinking that our fridge had failed (it came with the apartment, and it looks pretty old. At least 5 years, at most 10). I’d left the fridge door open, and we only found out at 3am. By 8am, the fridge still wasn’t really cooold. So we rushed out and got a new fridge. The new fridge is a bit more fancy than we really need (automatic ice cube maker!), but, eh, it’s well within our means money-wise. But when we got home, we realised that the old fridge was still chugging along fine. :smack:☹ So we have a (rather) nice new fridge coming in on Saturday, that we didn’t really need. Somebody make me feel better. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/2 "2013-04-24T03:39:52Z")
Return the new one. Which is easy because it’s still at the store. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/3 "2013-04-24T03:42:11Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Return the new one. Which is easy because it’s still at the store. Pretty much this. It’s not too late. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/4 "2013-04-24T03:42:50Z")
it’s got an ice maker. you picked the color. it will save electricity and have a payback in maybe 5 years. it will likely be quieter. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/5 "2013-04-24T03:43:09Z")
A couple of years ago my garage door opener broke. I ran out and bought a new one. Didn’t troubleshoot the old one at all. I knew, really and truly, I could probably fix the old one, but I wanted a new one dammit, and I wanted to try my hand at installing it on my own. I went out and bought a nice new one, super quiet, super fast, took it out of the box and as I was taking down the old one I found the problem. Blindingly obvious. The reason the door wouldn’t go down was because the carriage was wedged against a stop. There was a bolt the prevented it from going to high. If I had gotten up on a ladder, even just to get the model number to look it up on the internet I would’ve seen that and been able to unwedge it and save a few hundred dollars. Either way, I still like my super fast garage door opener. I always forget how fast it is until I see someone elses garage door go up and it takes like 10 whole seconds. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/6 "2013-04-24T03:44:42Z")
I had no idea a 5-10 year old fridge was pretty old. Guess I’ll have to take the 20 year old one I have out back and shoot it, then. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/7 "2013-04-24T03:56:41Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > So me and the SO were thinking that our fridge had failed (it came with the apartment, and it looks pretty old. At least 5 years, at most 10). I’d left the fridge door open, and we only found out at 3am. By 8am, the fridge still wasn’t really cooold. So we rushed out and got a new fridge. > > The new fridge is a bit more fancy than we really need (automatic ice cube maker!), but, eh, it’s well within our means money-wise. But when we got home, we realised that the old fridge was still chugging along fine. > > :smack:☹ > > So we have a (rather) nice new fridge coming in on Saturday, that we didn’t really need. > > Somebody make me feel better. ☹ Well done. So now you can put different stuff in the different fridges. Have one for fresh food and one for leftovers, or one for food and the other for drinks. I have 4 fridges. Kitchen one is for fresh food Laundry one is leftovers and some alcohol Rumpus room one is kids alcohol and soft drink Beer vending machine is mine. The Laundry one can double as a spare freezer if I turn it up a bit. I had the compressor replaced under warranty 20+ years ago and they put in a freezer one by mistake so I run it with the “Cold” dial on 1 for fridge and 4 for freezer. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/8 "2013-04-24T04:23:38Z")
Yeah, this isn’t the US, so no returns, unfortunately. And our apartment doesn’t have enough space for 2 fridges. And yeah, I know 10 years isn’t old-old. But it’s not new-new either. \>.\> ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/9 "2013-04-24T04:31:11Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > Yeah, this isn’t the US, so no returns, unfortunately. And our apartment doesn’t have enough space for 2 fridges. > And yeah, I know 10 years isn’t old-old. But it’s not new-new either. \>.\> Any space outside? I have 2 fridges inside and 1 outside, and use them all ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/10 "2013-04-24T06:02:27Z")
Worst case scenario, if you can’t keep both, and can’t find a way to get rid of the old one, ask the deliverymen to take it when they deliver your new fridge. At least you’ll get rid of it for free. Now explore better options from here. ---
**Author:** ![\_Olive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/4af34b/32.png) [@\_Olive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Olive)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/11 "2013-04-24T06:11:48Z")
Can you donate it? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/12 "2013-04-24T06:28:24Z")
> [@stui\_magpie](#): > > Rumpus room one is kids alcohol and soft drink Kids alcohol? Am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/13 "2013-04-24T08:09:45Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Kids alcohol? Am I missing something? Well, my kids. Son is 23 and daughter is 21:cool: ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/14 "2013-04-24T08:12:58Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Kids alcohol? Am I missing something? They are European. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/15 "2013-04-24T10:50:41Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > They are European. Or Australian 😛 ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/16 "2013-04-24T11:29:06Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > So me and the SO were thinking that our fridge had failed (it came with the apartment, and it looks pretty old. At least 5 years, at most 10). I’d left the fridge door open, and we only found out at 3am. By 8am, the fridge still wasn’t really cooold. So we rushed out and got a new fridge. > > The new fridge is a bit more fancy than we really need (automatic ice cube maker!), but, eh, it’s well within our means money-wise. But when we got home, we realised that the old fridge was still chugging along fine. > > :smack:☹ > > So we have a (rather) nice new fridge coming in on Saturday, that we didn’t really need. > > Somebody make me feel better. ☹ I just impulsively bought a new Subaru after getting extremely frustrated with poor service at my local VW dealer. The car is great, but I really hate CVT transmission. Sigh. I’m hoping someone other than VW will soon come out with a turbo diesel sedan and 6 speed manual transmission. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/17 "2013-04-24T12:31:22Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > I had no idea a 5-10 year old fridge was pretty old. Guess I’ll have to take the 20 year old one I have out back and shoot it, then. Heh, our kitchen fridge is nearing its 30th anniversary and we’ve never had an issue with it. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/18 "2013-04-24T12:37:56Z")
Do you have room for and could you use a 2nd fridge? I remember replacing an old one and my Mom strongly suggesting we keeping it as an overflow / party fridge. I didn’t think we’d use it but we did all the time. Admittedly we’re in a bigger place now and entertain more but I’ve actually got three fridges now and each one of them is full. (The 3rd is frozen game and beer, but still…) ETA: Awile back we gave an extra fridge to a neighbor going through a divorce. It was a huge help for her, there’s always someone out there that could benefit from your generosity. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/19 "2013-04-24T12:49:48Z")
[QUOTE=SeaDragonTattoo] I had no idea a 5-10 year old fridge was pretty old. Guess I’ll have to take the 20 year old one I have out back and shoot it, then. [/QUOTE] There have been huge advances in energy efficiency in the past ten years. If your fridge is over ten years old, a new one will probably pay for itself in electricity savings in about three years. If your fridge is 20 years old, replacing it will probably generate a post card from your electric utility wondering what happened. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563/20 "2013-04-24T12:52:48Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > > [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > > > I had no idea a 5-10 year old fridge was pretty old. Guess I’ll have to take the 20 year old one I have out back and shoot it, then. > > Heh, our kitchen fridge is nearing its 30th anniversary and we’ve never had an issue with it. A twenty- or thirty-year-old refrigerator isn’t as efficient as a new one. So if you’re happy with yours, keep on using it if that’s what you want. But you will almost certainly save energy with a new one. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buyers-remorse-i-got-a-new-fridge/656563.md?page=2)