Garage Door Opener-Repair Or Replace

If you are in need of a garage door opener repair the thought might be on your mind whether to repair your existing garage door opener or install a new garage door opener.

This is a very valid question and here are some tips to help you make a more intelligent decision about your pending garage door opener repair. The first question I always ask a customer is how old is your existing automatic garage door opener. All overhead door openers manufactured after January 1, 1993 were required to have infrared safety beams installed at the bottom of the garage door tracks as part of the garage door opener system. Therefore my first rule of thumb is if your garage door opener is older than 1993 making it at least 19 years old as of this article, don’t repair it replace it. Now there are several reasons for this, first and foremost most all of the parts are obsolete, especially any electronic type components. My second reason for replacing a pre-1993 garage door opener is the infrared safety beams.

The infrared safety beams on your garage door opener provide a very valuable safety solution and can prevent entrapment or your pet or child being severely injured, crushed or killed. Other safety features built into your garage door opener can fail or be defeated but the safety beams are virtually failsafe.

The life expectancy of a new garage door opener is roughly 10-15 years with that being said once an automatic door opener is 9 years or older I recommend weighing the repair costs versus the cost of a new garage door opener.  Your local garage door company can help you with garage door opener repair versus garage door opener replacement. If the expected garage door repair is half the cost or more of a new garage door opener I recommend replacing the overhead door opener.

If your existing garage door opener has been working trouble free and is less than 10 years old I would repair the unit as long as the cost is less than half of a new garage door opener installation.