My grandmother had a simple Whirlpool refrigerator bought in 1984. The only repair it had is replacement of the compressor start relay, which I did (part $30). I have contact with the people who bought the house after she died three years ago. They're still using the refrigerator.

I have a 15yo Amana top-freezer in the garage and a 9yo Kenmore (manuf. unknown to me) in the kitchen. Both still work very well.

A year ago I had to temporarily move the Kenmore out of its place and, on a whim, removed the cardboard back that covers the refrigeration innards. They were chock-full of dust, but after vacuuming and using a toothbrush, I cleaned them good. Afterwards the compressor started operating much more infrequently.

Bottom line is that a top-freezer is very reliable (being so simple in construction); I'm pretty sure that the repairman, if competent, will find that it requires a simple fix or maybe just some cleaning :-)

Most appliances have a roughly 8-12 year life span before repairs become not worth the investment. Refrigerators can last longer than that but it's usually jot worth investing a few hundred bucks into if you can get a replacement for only a little more money

We have a Kenmore (Whirlpool) side by side refrigerator that is 13 years old. The problems we have had were really do-it yourself fixes. The door on the external ice maker shute stopped sealing allowing ice to melt and refreeze in the ice maker. The rotating fin ice tray needed to be replaced. The rest of maintenance like cleaning were performed under warrantee. Now we just take the bottom cover off and vacuum it. I expect it to last quite a while more. Another (Hotpoint was in the house when we bought it is still going strong after at least 15 years. The freezer in our garage has been going for almost 20 years. I don't think they make them like they used to!!

I have a 1999 model KA sxs. We have had no repairs on it yet (and that includes a trouble-free ice maker). Of course we weren't the original owners (it came with our previous house) so maybe something broke in its first few years.

Perhaps that's why it has managed to stick around after being written out of not one but TWO kitchen remodels. Nah. I just hate fridge shopping and it's hard to get motivated when the one I have works just fine.

I have a 1997 KitchenAid top-freezer (placed on garage-fridge duty 11 years ago) that has had no repairs.

I hope you went through your manual and had cleaned the condensor etc. there are some very nice smaller fridges if you need a new one.

We had several from the 1930's and 40's that were in continuous use for 60+ years until they were replaced because they were just too small (and terrible energy wasters), not because they stopped working. The folks who bought them may well still be using them. Why should we tolerate major appliances that only last a few years?

FWIW, I bought a 21 cu. ft. Maytag top-freezer in 1998. I sold it to friends in 2012 when I needed a larger fridge,. The old Maytag is still running fine.

>>>"The kenmore top freezer refrigerator is cycling on and off every few seconds as of about an hour ago."<<<

With the little info we have so far, It is difficult to say whether your fridge is dying or not. As practigal notes, there could be a cleaning issue. (A good vacuuming might fix it.) Another thing that sometimes produces the cited symptoms might be ice build-up from condensation in the fans/evaporator area or a plugged condensation drain pipe. (Move your food into coolers, shut off the fridge and leave the doors open for 24 to 36 hours. Check every so often for water overflows and mop it up if you see any while defrost is going on). In a small, vintage-2005 top freezer fridge, there might be a failing electrical relay. (Inexpensive part, often easily replaced.) If there is a circuit board and circuit board problem or a failing compressor, then the cost of the part(s) and the replacement likely will be several hundred dollars. For that kind of money, I'd let the fridge go (hopefully to a place that can repair it and resell it at a profit so it doesn't have to be thrown away.)

>>>"I need another simple small (14 cuft?) one because there is only a
small space where this can fit. I am hoping they still make them."<<<

Yes, 14 cu. ft. fridges are still made and sold. Depending on what brand you choose, where and when you buy it, prices will run from around $450 to $600. Here is a listing of 14 cu ft fridges at one vendor to give an idea of what might be available. (Note that at many sites, like this one, you may have to put the model in a "shopping cart" to see the actual selling price which may be lower than what you see in the first scan.)

http://www.ajmadison.com/b.php/Top+Freezer%3BTotal+Capacity%3A+12+-+14.9+%28cu.+ft.%29%3BRefrigerators/N~26+4294966342+789

Also note that you might or might not be limited to 14 cu. ft. capacity. If you measure the dimensions of your fridge space and use those in searching sites (rather than using capacity) you may find more choices. You can do this at Sears and Lowe's sites, too.