Charging tenant for stove repair that equates to replacement
Hi there,
ISSUE: A tenant informed me she is responsible for cracking my glass top range and wants to know next steps for getting it repaired. The glass top / cooktop part is no longer manufactured. If the part was available for purchase, part + labor is almost $500. Since the part is not available, a new range must be purchased.
QUESTION: How would you propose I charge the tenant for this "repair" that has now turned into a complete replacement of the appliance?
MY THOUGHT: Take what part + shipping + labor would have cost the tenant and compare it to the new range + delivery + installation fee. If the installation fee and delivery fee are higher than shipping and labor, I will charge the tenant for installation and delivery given I wouldn't have had these expenses if the tenant had not cracked the glass top in the first place. However I would pay the difference between the part and the cost of the new range since I will get benefit of having a new range for the life of the appliance.
ADDITIONAL DETAIL:
I spoke to an appliance repair guy who told me it's possible to repair the cracked glass top, but in actuality the repair requires the glass top to be replaced for it to be "repaired". Unfortunately, the part is no longer made by the manufacturer and I haven't been able to find an extra part "laying around" via the Internet.
Based on one brick and mortar merchant in my property's city and one online source that still had pricing available, the part cost between $326.21 and $355.42 excluding labor. The appliance repair guy I wanted to use for the repair told me he would charge $125 for labor if I'm able to find the part. So the repair would have cost roughly $452 - $481 based on the data I was able to uncover.
Per a search on BestBuy.com, the cost of a new range is roughly $500 + tax + installation given the current Black Friday discounts. I will look at other stores for range pricing, but Best Buy was good for now since I could easily filter options based on the features of my current range to get pricing comparable with what I already own.
Appliance details in case it's helpful:
- Frigidaire stainless steel electric glasstop range
- Purchased in 2007
- Other than a loose oven handle I was notified about today, the range was fully functional prior to being informed of the cracked glass top.
Thanks in advance! I look forward to hearing your thoughts.