Don't Despair, Just Repair

But woe to you when it comes to fixing some of those sexy Europeans, particularly the dishwashers. "If you expect it to be silent and beautiful and sit there it will be great," Lefever said. Operating consistently is another thing entirely.

"And the trend toward professional ranges is not a trend toward reliability--they will increase my repair business," he added. "There are more parts and features, downdraft blowers, convection blowers, extra parts that can go bad. There's more to go wrong. And they're more expensive, so you'll spend more money to . . . protect the investment."

If you want an appliance to last, "buy a machine that would be readily repairable," Lefever said. "If you buy an exotic European model, getting the parts will be a problem. If you stick with Maytag, Whirlpool, KitchenAid, you improve the odds of keeping it a long time."

The alternative to calling a repairman is to fix it yourself.

"The problem is not with the product, it's the repair cost," said Chris Hall, a former appliance repairman and the founder of www.repairclinic.com . "Manufacturers are producing appliances for nearly the price they were 10 years ago . . . but the repairman's expenses have gone up. I did some calculations and the cost of the part is 25 percent of the repair. You can save 75 percent by doing it yourself."

Hall sells everything from knobs to broiler coils to glass panes, to entire doors for just about every appliance made; the company carries parts for 80 different brands.

It also provides a trouble-shooting section that reminds you to check for common problems such as blown fuses and burnt-out light bulbs, or to see if that cold, dark oven won't heat up because it's set for a timed or self-cleaning cycle.

And it dispenses free advice to about 30,000 people each month on fixes as simple as "putting the knob back on the stove to replacing a washing machine transmission," said Hall.

Consumers' Checkbook will be reviewing local appliance service companies in the issue of its Washington magazine that is due out in late March or early April. (For details go to www.checkbook.org .)

And if you do call one and he tells you to toss something you would rather keep? "The secret is to say, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, but just fix it'," said Capen, who eventually found a third repairman who improvised a fix for her ailing dishwasher.

Judith Capen found a temporary solution for her 18-year-old leaky dishwasher -- an aluminum pan. An appliance repairman later made a more permanent fix.