People wanted ridiculous amounts of money for second hand ones on Craigslist so we were looking at a new one for at least $400. Enter stage left: Freecycle. Freecycle is an email distribution list that has local chapters where you can post stuff you don't want anymore - I've got rid of loads of stuff on it (air conditioners when we moved back to the UK), and received loads of stuff (air conditioners, and bizarrely the exact same ones, when we moved back to the US). When someone posted a microwave, stove, and 2-year old dishwasher on freecycle the day after mine went tits up, I was fairly keen to get them. As there is considerable competition for anything decent I didn't expect to get them. Short story, we did - the dishwasher was the one I was going to buy new minus two years, the microwave worked (as compared to our old one when you had to increase the suggested timing), and the stove was much nicer. All came in white so we have matching appliances.Of course, as is the norm with this house, the install did not go smoothly - to power the dishwasher they had punched two holes in the wall, spliced into an existing wire, then just wrapped the wires with masking tape: The holes in the wall and elsewhere provided great mouse habitat (which I see on a regular basis). Had to fix all that up before proceeding with what is an annoying and awkward job at the best of times. Still, mustn't grumble, a great dishwasher, good microwave, and an upgraded stove for nada, zilch, nuffink, is worth some scraped knuckles and swearing under my breath.
