Most garage door openers are very reliable and when they are properly installed and maintained, they generally give years of good service. However, like any mechanical device, they can sometimes have problems and when they do, you are faced with the decision whether to spend money on repairing the garage door opener or applying that money towards a new opener.
Garage door openers range in price from about $150 to $400 plus installation. In many cases, a broken garage door opener can be repaired for much less than the cost of a new opener. That generally makes going ahead with the garage door opener repair the smart move unless there is some compelling reason to take the opportunity to replace the opener.
For example, if your opener is more than 15 years old or lacks modern safety features like a photoelectric eye that reverses the door to the open position when it detects objects in the path of the door, you should seriously consider replacing the opener rather than repairing it. All openers sold since in the United States since 1993 have this safety feature and for good reason – hundreds of people, especially children, were being seriously injured or killed when they were crushed under a closing garage door. This important safety feature alone is worth the cost of a new garage door opener.
An important security feature found on all new garage door openers is the use of rolling codes for the remote control. Older garage door openers used a fixed code that is easily cracked by criminals. These older openers leave your garage, home and family vulnerable to criminals. Consider replacing rather than repairing your garage door opener if it lacks this important security feature.
