Klark wrote:

Has anyone actually repaired an older appliance instead of replacing it? My refrigerator has started making strange noises, and a friend keeps telling me to just buy a new one. I’m not sure if a repair is worth the money or if I’ll end up spending more later. Curious to hear from someone who has gone through this recently.

I was in almost the same situation when my refrigerator started making a loud buzzing sound and occasionally stopped cooling properly. I assumed it was reaching the end of its life, but decided to have it checked first. A technician from Lafixit https://lafixit.com/ inspected it, showed me what was causing the issue, and it turned out to be far less serious than I expected. The repair cost much less than replacing the appliance, and several months later it's still running without any problems. In my case, getting a professional opinion first saved a lot of unnecessary expense.