More consumers repair rather than replace

Northern Nevada businesses have seen a rise in service work as cost-conscious customers seek to repair items they already own rather than purchase new.

Brad Riley, manager of Nevada Transit and Laser, says that although service accounts for just 12 to 15 percent of gross revenues, his company does far more service nowadays than sales. Margins are smaller on repair orders.

Nevada Transit and Laser, a subsidiary of Rocky Mountain Transit of Salt Lake City, sells construction-grade laser levels and global positioning equipment for earth-moving and survey work

"Service has become everything," he says. "You have got to have it in a business like this, but now it is even more important - people can't afford to buy brand new products."

Riley says when construction was booming, contractors couldn't wait for service times and simply bought new products. Now, though, they are almost universally fixing rather than buying.

And customers are more careful these days to get a price estimate rather than simply telling him to fix a piece of equipment, he adds.

Willy White, owner of Capital City Appliance, says most of his customers wish to fix older appliances rather than buy new ones. In many cases, clients can't afford a new refrigerator, washer or dryer.

"I would rather fix them," says White, who has been repairing appliances since 1961 and has been in Carson City for 20 years. "People are hurting right now. They can't afford to go out and spend ridiculous prices for this stuff."

White typically fixes washers, dryers and refrigerators. Service on broken dishwashers is scant because it's usually cheaper to buy a new one than to purchase a new motor and pump, he says.

Service on some electronic items, such as televisions, has lagged, says Roger Wells, owner of J&R Electronics in Carson City. Parts are either hard to find or items aren't designed with service in mind.

With newer flat-panel televisions, Wells says, it's usually easier to get a new model than to service a broken one.

"TV sets nowadays are not built for repairs," Wells says. "Prices continue to go down, and it's just cheaper to replace the set rather than replace parts - and parts are hard to get. You could have a three-year-old TV set and not be able to get parts for it."

Wells has been repairing electronics and television sets in Carson City since 1968. Though he started out fixing televisions, his primary revenue source now comes from building miniature cable systems for hotels and casinos.

"New TVs are getting to be a throw-away market," he says. "They are nothing but computers. You buy a computer, and three or four years later if you have problem, it is cheaper to buy new than to repair - and you get an updated piece of equipment."