Sigh. If you know me, you know I'd much rather repair things than purchase a brand new one. Mainly because as it goes out the door I think of it taking up that much more space in a landfill...a place full of castoffs. A place of waste, where we put things we just don't want to look at anymore. Someday, those places will get full--some already have. We can only dig so much. There has to be a better way. I'm pondering this due to my newest dilemma. A few years ago (about 4) we decided that since I was going to homeschool our oldest (and since then, the others as well), and we wanted more children, I needed a way to go running without needing a babysitter. My husband was in graduate school, and his schedule--while not tight--was such that I wanted him to be able to focus on getting that PhD and moving on (though I do have fond memories of that time! I loved Notre Dame!!!). That year, we chose to take a portion of our tax return and buy a good, sturdy treadmill that I could RUN on at home (I trained for a 1/2 marathon on it, so it had to be tough!).
The other day, while digging a crayon out of said treadmill, I knocked my water bottle off the edge and into the motor casing, drenching the motor and circuit boards. Ug! So, I've called the fitness place where I live (not the same one I bought from, due to my husband graduating and getting a job; therefore, moving), and they estimated that the cost to repair would be almost (only like $70 short of) purchasing a new one of the same brand due to them being on sale this time of year (all of those broken New Year's resolutions puts treadmills back into the market!). Sadly, I see that I could get a nice, new treadmill for the same price as the motor on my old one right now. Why sadly? Because I look at this thing and think--what on earth will we do with all of the huge pieces of metal? I suppose we could take it apart and recycle each piece. That's one idea. The other sad part is that repairs cost so much! I had hoped this treadmill would last us a long time, knowing I'd have to repair a few things here and there. I didn't expect parts to cost so much. Of course, there is a lifetime warranty--but it's voided if you cause the problem (by, uh, dropping your water bottle into it perhaps?).
I suppose I could always use the old one to hold laundry...isn't that what most people do with treadmills?
Hi Jillian! I stopped over from Company Girl Coffee. Good luck with the treadmill! Have a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDeleteOur treadmill gave out on us about a year ago and we went through the same thing. We actually didn't replace it, my oldest is old enough to hold down the fort in an emergency and I just run early in the morning which I prefer to the treadmill anyway. But we did struggle with what to do with it. I was sitting here trying to remember and I have absolutely no idea...what do you do with a broken treadmill?
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
LOL, The last sentence is so funny. That is true, treadmills are helping with laundry even they are not broken.
ReplyDeleteIf you buy the new one, you could Freecycle the old one. Maybe someone handy can fix it themselves, and it wouldn't go in the landfill. My version of Freecycle is just to put something out on the curb 3 or 4 days before trash day. It's always gone before the garbage truck arrives.
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