My 25-year-old Hotpoint dryer is getting flaky. I have to run it two or
three times to dry a load of wet clothes. I cleaned out the vent pipe
and got quite a lot of lint out, but it still doesn't dry very well.
I'm guessing either the heating element is partially dead or the
thermostat is bad or both. I haven't opened up the machine to test the
parts yet. A new heating element seems to cost about $100.

I'm wondering if modern dryers are better, more efficient, and more
reliable these days than they were in the late '80s/early '90s. Do you
think it's worth sinking $100 into such an old appliance, or would it
be better to cut my losses and put the money toward a new one?