$373? No. $307? No. How about $137!

The ice maker on our 16-year-old Whirlpool refrigerator stopped working a couple of weeks ago.

I called Strong Arm Appliance Repair, a local company that has worked on our appliances before, and their technician said we need a new valve for the ice maker. He said it had to be ordered and they would call me with an estimate. They never called. Finally, a week later, I called and was told they contacted me and I okayed the repair for an estimated $307. WTF? I told them I never got the call and I decline the repair.

So I called a nationwide company and they sent out a guy yesterday afternoon. He told me I should have taken the Strong Arm deal because his company would charge me $373.

However...

I could fix it myself and he showed me where to find the valve (with installation instructions) online for way less than the $109 he would have to charge me. I thanked him profusely and gladly paid the $120 diagnostic charge. Then I went to Amazon.com and got the valve kit for $17 with free shipping.

In the meantime, I'm happy to keep filling the ice bin with $1.53 bags of ice from the Dollar General store down the road.