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Tough economy: People fixing old computers rather than buying new
By COURTENAY EDELHART, Californian staff writer
e-mail:
cedelhart@bakersfield.com | Friday, Jun 13 2008 10:00 AM
Lori Crown keeps a lot of digital photos on her computer, so when her PC started running low on space, she had a choice: buy a new computer with more storage, or put a bigger hard drive in her old PC.
She opted to spend $200 on a hard drive with triple the storage. [NOTE: Seriously, this is from last year, and a 500 gig WD only costs $150. Who needs 500 gigs for pictures?]
“If everything is working OK and you don’t need all the bells and whistles on the newer models, it’s cheaper to just upgrade what you already have,” said Crown, 50, who lives downtown. “As long as everything on it keeps working, it will probably last another five years.”
As the economy slows, more and more computer owners seem to be making that choice, according to Bakersfield area stores that both sell and repair computers.
“We started noticing it in the middle of last year, when gas prices started inching up,” said Latif Laari, director of stores for PC Club. “They come in first to sales, and then if they don’t like the prices they’ll go over to service and ask, ‘How many more months or years can I get out of this PC?’”
There are lots of options if your computer is nearing the end of its shelf life, and the best route depends on what you’re going to use the computer for, experts say. If you’re a big gamer, for instance, you’ll need a very fast processor and it may not be cost effective to upgrade your current model. But if you’re merely writing papers with a word processor and sending an occasional e-mail,
it’s overkill to buy a whole new unit just because you got a virus. [NOTE: WTH????]
“Most computers can be repaired for less than $300 unless you’re using them to run some really powerful applications or games,” said Adam Pedroza, co-owner of Swat PC in Bakersfield. “Fixing what you have is a lot more economical.”
But there is, of course, a point when investing in an old model doesn’t make sense.
“Computer prices have dropped a lot,” said Brian Lynch, PC Repair Center president. “Some models are as low as $300, $400. If the cost of fixing or upgrading gets down around there, people will go ahead and buy new. But either way, they’re either replacing or fixing them when they go down. Even in this economy, nobody’s willing to just not have a computer.”
Jim Chua, 60, who lives in the southwest, generally buys new when a better model comes on the market, which means he has plenty of older computers, some of which he still uses.
“I’m an early adopter. I like to have the latest and greatest and fastest,” he said. “To me, a computer is not a toy. I look at it as a tool to increase my productivity. While one is processing, I want to be able to go to another one and do something else. My time is more expensive than the cost of an item that depreciates, anyway.”
That’s not to say he won’t ever invest in a computer. He recently increased the storage on his newest model, only because there’s nothing faster on the market yet.
If you’re on the fence about which way to go, ask yourself a few questions, because “there are pros and cons to both,” said Barry Bailey, center dean of DeVry University, Bakersfield.
As a rule of thumb, replace any broken laptop that’s more than three years old. The cost of repairs won’t make sense, and parts may not be available.
If it’s a desktop that’s old or misbehaving, identify what you want to accomplish with it, and what specifications are required to complete that task, Bailey said. A computer store sales associate should be able to tell you how much storage and memory you need for particular activities. If you’re running specific software, the manufacturer will usually print its specifications on the packaging or on its Web site.
Don’t be unduly impressed by those rock-bottom prices on new computers, Bailey warned. By the time you factor in the price of
buying software (not included on cheaper models), a mouse, keyboard, monitor, a warranty and transferring data, the price of a new PC can easily double from the initial list price. [NOTE: WTH? Why can't you just use the peripherals from your old computer?]
Fixing an old computer has a downside, too. Labor costs can be expensive, depending on what you have done.
Even if you’re technically savvy enough to do the labor yourself, that could have implications on warranty coverage, so read it carefully before you tinker. [NOTE: Not if you build it yourself!]
