Much as I am not happy with needless landfill, nor with the tissue-paper economy that builds irreparable crap these days, there comes a time when it is best to simply dump the item rather than attempt to salvage it.

Microwaves are one of those things. Given the very real safety issues raised by after-sales work on these devices, there is no particular reason to make such repairs unless the unit is otherwise special (perhaps a vintage Amana or similar, or an early built-in) or hideously expensive to replace.

And, as Jeff suggests, a visit to any thrift-store will yield any number of options.

That being written, our incumbent microwave is 10 years old, the one on our third floor followed us back from Saudi in 2005, and the one at our summer house is now seven (but gets little use).

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA