Out of Debt Again has an interesting story about My Mom’s $6,480 washing machine.

A snippet:

I started wondering how much she paid each month for this used washing machine. I got the chance to talk to her on the way home from work and I asked her who she rented from, and how much. …

I told her that a new machine would probably last at LEAST five years without breaking down… but she doesn’t want to think about the possibility of having to worry about the repair issue. She says if her machine breaks down, she calls the rental place and they just bring out another used one.

And how much has she paid for those washing machine privileges over the years plus the remaining time she expects to use the service? That’s where Out of Debt Again came up with the $6,480 estimate.

Now, there is a practical use for household and appliance rental places – consider the families who are moving cross-country and waiting for their stuff to be shipped (active duty military families and corporate transfers might run into that situation); and families who are living in a rental while waiting for a home to be sold in another city (my parents had that situation for a year).

But what solves a problem for a few weeks or a few months may be horrible for your finances in the long run.

My husband and I did have an older washing machine break down a few weeks ago. It wasn’t a fun situation to be in. It was my task to haul wet clothes to the pay-as-you-go laundry center that afternoon.

We quickly realized the best way to deal with that situation was purchase a new machine. Our new washer, even without EnergySaver credentials, does use less water and electric and is quieter than the machine it replaced. So while we spent more money than we wanted to, we’re better off in the long run for having first run an old machine to the ground and then getting good equipment to replace it.

Unfortunately, we did have to call a repairman a week after the new machine went into service. There was a blown fuse and it would not cycle through. I had to leave work early for that repair appointment. But the machine was fixed, on warranty, and back in action 15 minutes after he arrived.

We didn’t spend any more time on purchasing and repairing our machine than those who rent equipment and have to make a repair call.