Recently, the refrigerator at home suddenly stopped cooling in the fresh food compartment. Initially, I thought it might be due to seasonal reasons, as the temperature in Guangdong had dropped to around 10 degrees during the New Year, and the fresh food compartment was also around 10 degrees. However, with the recent rapid temperature rise to 30 degrees, the fresh food compartment reached 25 degrees, confirming that it was indeed broken.
The broken refrigerator was a bargain purchase during the Double 12 sales in 2015. I opted for a cheaper, antique brand—Xinfei. Over the past two years, it has been quite reliable, especially compared to the smaller Galanz model I used before. The Xinfei was much quieter; the Galanz model’s vibrations and noise could be felt even from another room.
So, why did I buy a Galanz in September 2014 and then a Xinfei in 2015?
The reason is quite awkward. In 2014, I had just returned to Foshan and was renting a place. My priority was affordability and practicality, so I settled for a 998 yuan refrigerator without much fuss. By 2015, I had bought a house, and with more family members, the small refrigerator was clearly insufficient and too noisy. I needed a larger one. However, with the new house and various expenses, I had to compromise and bought a 1500 yuan refrigerator during the Double 11 sales.
This is a classic case of poverty limiting one’s thinking.
So, why not repair the Xinfei refrigerator?
There are three issues:
Xinfei is a Henan brand, and it seems it was sold off in 2017 due to losses. In Foshan, a hub for home appliance manufacturing, this brand has no market presence, and there are no official repair points. After reporting the issue on JD.com, the case was transferred four or five times, from JD’s after-sales service to Xinfei’s, then to Guangzhou Shenzhou Lianbao Company, and finally to a local repairman who, upon checking his phone number, turned out to be a second-hand appliance recycler from 58.com. This repairman seemed unreliable; after hearing my description, he immediately suggested taking the refrigerator to his shop for repairs, quoting a starting price of 500 yuan.
Before reporting the issue on JD.com, I had already contacted several refrigerator repair services on 58.com. Most said they were too busy to handle it. The only one available came to my home, took a look, and said it was too difficult to repair and left after charging a 30 yuan service fee.
Online research on refrigerator repairs suggested that my refrigerator’s issue was significant. The best approach would be to send it back to the manufacturer or an official repair shop to avoid being scammed. Otherwise, relying on individual repair services could lead to more problems, potentially creating a bottomless pit of issues. Repairing a refrigerator is costly, and it’s easy for unscrupulous repairmen to cause further damage. For instance, not drying the water properly, not tightening screws enough, or not performing vacuum operations correctly can lead to temporary fixes that soon fail again. The risks are substantial.
Thus, the only option left was to not repair it and buy a new one.
Learning from past experiences, this time I decided to exclude non-local brands. Buying a local brand means that if issues arise, I can send it directly to the manufacturer if no repair services are available. Therefore, I focused on local brands like Midea, Galanz, and Ronshen. I also ruled out Freon-based direct cooling refrigerators, as Freon-related issues are too troublesome to repair. Instead, I opted for a frost-free model. Lastly, I prioritized warranty coverage. The Xinfei only had a one-year warranty, which left me without support after two and a half years. This time, I chose a model with a longer warranty, even if it meant purchasing an extended warranty separately. Considering all these factors and needing to act quickly (as the food worth over a thousand yuan in the refrigerator would spoil otherwise—the freezer could only reach -5 degrees, indicating a likely complete leak), I found a Midea frost-free model on JD.com with a discount for Women’s Day and placed the order. 
After thorough research, I found that as long as the compressor in a frost-free refrigerator doesn’t fail, other issues are minor. Plus, JD.com offered a 10-year compressor warranty service worth 300 yuan, which alleviated my concerns!