The duct-tape economy

Cash-strapped consumers are postponing purchases and attempting to make do with their possessions, repairing old clunkers, mending clothes that haven't left the closet in years, and reviving troublesome laptops and broken blenders. The new thirst for thriftiness is providing a windfall to those on the front lines of repair - the cobblers, the tailors, the auto mechanics, and even the Geek Squad at Best Buy.

"We're fixing cars that would normally trade in for junk," said Bruce Sedgeman, owner of Bruce's Auto in Hanover, where business is up about 25 percent as customers sink hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars into clunkers because they cannot afford to replace them. "We're seeing a lot more customers and a lot more older cars."

The thriving repair business is a silver lining in this bruised economy of rising unemployment, falling home values, crushing debt, and tight credit markets. A new era of frugality has supplanted conspicuous consumption and the "everything-is-disposable attitude" that marked recent years, says Marshal Cohen, a retail analyst for NPD Group, a market research firm in Port Washington, N.Y.

Consumer spending declined 0.2 percent in February as people continued to delay purchases. This shopping hiatus hurts the economy in the short term - consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of the US economy - but it also creates pent-up demand for products that ultimately need to be replaced. And that could help the economy recover in the next year.

"Before, newness trumped everything. When a washing machine broke down, you wouldn't get it fixed. You'd go out and buy a new one and a dryer that matched it in a new color. The disposable mentality is what helped drive the economy," Cohen said. "Now, consumers are looking at ways to keep products alive to save money."

That "make it work" attitude is showing up at repair stores and fix-it businesses in Massachusetts and across the country.

At the Concord Shoe Repair, owner Barkev Besnilian said he believes fear is driving up his trade more than anything else. Nervous customers are turning over $25 on average to mend their tired loafers and worn-out pumps at his small shop, where business is up nearly 15 percent.

"There's just fear of losing the jobs and you never know what's going to happen," said Besnilian, who has worked with his father at the store for 20 years. "So they're cutting expenses wherever they can."

Jose Brandao, of Affordable Appliance Repair and Installation in Dorchester, is getting about 10 percent more calls, including more requests to fix microwaves and other small items that consumers, until recently, had never thought twice about replacing.

"People are trying to keep everything they have because they don't want to spend money to buy new ones," Brandao said.

At Best Buy, the tech repair coterie better known as the Geek Squad has seen double-digit increases in computer repair service calls nationwide in the past six months, according to Best Buy spokeswoman Paula Baldwin.

The electronics chain even created an online "Fix or Replace Calculator" to help consumers determine whether it's worth salvaging their goods. The site also includes tips on how to properly care for and maintain electronics.

"Certainly people are choosing to hold onto their existing gear a little bit longer," Baldwin said. "They've noticed their machines are running slower, or they fear they've been hit by malware, or they're just looking for a 'tune-up.' "

It's not just small appliances and old shoes that people are choosing to patch up. Nancy Brooks and her husband were ready to make the biggest investment - a new home - to accommodate their growing family. They searched for months last year for a larger house in Pembroke before giving up because they couldn't afford the ones they liked and didn't think they could sell their own ranch.

So they decided to stay put and hired contractors C.A. Morneau & Son to double the size of their space, adding a second floor, extra bathroom, and larger bedrooms for their two children. The Brookses took out a construction loan to finance the $140,000 project and expect to save $300,000 by keeping their existing home.

"When we bought this place in 2000, we thought it would be our starter home and that we would move in five years," Brooks said. "But with the economy the way it is, this addition just made more sense financially, to stay where we were."

Contractor Fred Morneau said requests for pricier new-home construction have slowed considerably, but he is expecting to do 12 additions this year - up from around three last year - mostly for clients who can't sell their homes or don't have enough money to buy a house. The projects these days cost on average between $100,000 and $120,000.

"Five years ago, people wouldn't have wasted time putting on an addition," Morneau said. "Now because of the economy, they're willing to put up living in a construction zone because it's basically their only choice."

For David Bookbinder of Peabody, repairs are the only option right now for his wife's 1998 Honda Civic and his own 2002 Honda Civic, each with over 100,000 miles. He started looking at buying used vehicles to replace them but he's too worried about job security - and intent on building savings - to take the plunge.

So in recent weeks, Bookbinder has poured more than $1,500 into the two cars to put on new tires, a new exhaust system, a timing belt, and front brakes.

"The deals on cars are good. Now is the time to buy, but the fact is I don't want to spend that much money on a car," Bookbinder said. "It's a Catch 22. The best time to buy a car is when you can't buy a car."

Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com.