My Fridge/Freezer Quit Working - Repair or Replace?

[Earlybird]

My fridge/freezer stopped working entirely yesterday. I've studied the owner's manual, and have done everything suggested to troubleshoot, with no results. It is an 8 year old Siemens that is built in to the kitchen wall units.

Is it worth incurring the charge for a service call (and wait/cost for the inevitable replacement parts), or am I better off simply gritting my teeth, and buying a new fridge/freezer? I've checked the John Lewis website, and know I can get a comparable replacement for approx £300 (anyone know if they charge extra for delivery/installation?). Would rather not spend money to buy a new unit, but also don't want to spend the next week with no fridge. If a new one seems best, does anyone have any recommendations? I've not had any problems with the Siemens until now, but wonder if wise mumsnetters have suggestions about brands to buy/brands to stay away from...

And, it goes without saying that I did a major food shop the day before the unit quit.....grrrr....

Have you enquired as to how much they would charge? If you've had no previous problems with it, I personally would have it repaired as long as it was around the £100 mark, no more. As for brand recommendations, I have a smeg fridge/freezer which is lovely (retro style) but I've not had it long enough to experience any problems TBH

Phone the Siemens helpline (John Lewis will have the number if you can't find it) and talk to them about it. They will be able to suggest other things you can try, or else tell you what the likely problems are and what they would/should cost to fix. They can also recommend someone in your area to do the work who hopefully will not then rip you off...! Good luck!
(PS this sounds stupid but make sure that you didn't accidentally turn it off at the wall...or that the fuse hasn't gone in the plug. i did this once. very embarassing. If, when you open the door, the light doesn't go on, it is a clear sign that the power supply to the fridge is interrupted and it isn't a problem with the fridge itself.)

lmb - thanks for feedback. I've emailed Siemens customer service, and will hopefully have an answer from them tomorrow. There wasn't much else to do, as it happened on Saturday and everything was closed for the weekend.

Many appliances are (relatively) inexpensive these days, and it hardly seems worth it to incur repair costs (thinking VCRs, hoovers, etc). But, a fridge/freezer is a bigger item. I estimate a service call will be at least £50 (based on recent charges for boiler and hot water heater repairs ). So, I could easily be halfway to the cost of a new fridge by the time replacement parts are added in. And, at that point, am I better off simply buying new?

If you don't mind my asking, what made you buy a Smeg?

pph - thanks for the suggestions. I googled this morning and located customer service details on the Siemens website. I emailed them, so hopefully will get some feedback in the morning when they're back at work.

I turned the power off at the wall this morning on purpose when I was awakened at 6AM by the motor which had started rattling and vibrating. Not exactly the start to my day I had hoped for!

Earlybird, we were having a brand new kitchen fitted so could make decisions about new appliances. Having previously had separate integrated fridge and freezer, we decided on the Smeg simply because of the look of it - sounds pathetic I know, but we just liked it and it looks great in the kitchen, although a bit pricey if I'm honest