If gas, replace the igniter. For me, that was an early symtom of igniter failure. Once replaced, it went back to its normal +/- 5 to 6°F swings. (One of my probes has a phone app with graphing function.)
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I baked a potato successfully last night. This is not a good test of the oven, though, 'cause I think it’s hard (but not impossible) to screw up a baked potato.
Have you considered a small countertop oven?
No, absolutely no room for that. And it would be redundant, since I have an oven that mostly works.
I have. Just realized that my oven suddenly struggles to break 425 degrees F.
Me: I would like to bake some focaccia. Could you please heat to 450?
Oven: Sure.
Me: That’s actually 470. Gonna turn you down to 430.
Oven: Oh, you think THAT’S how it works? Hahahahaha.
Me: Huh. 290. Did not see that coming.
The focaccia came out a little hard, but at least it’s baked, not burned.
I need a new oven. 
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Or
A good repair person!
I wish I had one. But the last time we used a repair person, he told us our dishwasher was irreparable and charged us $125. I fear this will happen again.
That seems to be the minimum for a house call. Ugh.
I know. And it’s not like I want repair people to work for free. But I also don’t want to pay $125 for nothing.
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My former son-in-law arrived here in SF in 2010 with $600 cash. He’s now become a citizen. In India, he learned all kinds of building trades. Not just one ability like plumbing. He’s a hard worker, main job is a Stationery Engineer supervising 2 others, doing repairs for half way houses.
He also does side jobs on weekends. He has repaired my GE stove a few times. Nowadays with YouTube videos, he can do repairs even easier. Too bad it’s so hard to find good repair people, too often we’re told to just buy a new appliance.
Anyway, with a lot of hard work and some luck, he now owns 2 houses here.
I don’t doubt that good repairfolk exist, and I wish your ex-SIL were available to me!
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Me wish too. As it is, I have to wait in a long line and beg unless it’s a true emergency.
Just shows that if you have marketable skills and are really willing to work hard, you can still succeed here.
I’ll bet if someone is willing to take their time, watch YouTube videos, they could probably do a lot of repairs. I myself would steer clear of anything electrical.
Can you try to find a repair person here from another country who isn’t afraid to dive in and repair things? Maybe you just need a new thermostat. I’d get a factory certified part, not after market, if possible.
It’d be harder to find one from this country! My plumbers are Russian and Jamaican. The crews that have done our renovations are Romanian and South American and Chinese. The guy that charged me for a home visit without actually doing a repair is Israeli.
I’ll put a query out to my coop’s Facebook page.
That’s a way to make easy $, examine an appliance, say it’s not worth repairing, buy a new one, now you owe me $125 for a service call.
I’d never call that guy again.
I have a ‘95 MZB I bought when it was 4 years old. It still looks terrific, you’d never guess it’s age. Miles: 169,000 or so. Has new brakes, new tires. Recently started running rough, then red check engine light. MZB wanted $300 just to give estimate. Instead I took it to a mechanic in SF with a fantastic reputation for honesty and good work. Plus, my very close friend was very close to his late mother. I told him the friend recommended him.
He kept it overnight. All he said was, it’s too old to repair, it’ll cost you $2-5,000, wouldn’t be specific, wouldn’t talk to my service guy at MZB.
I had it towed an hour south to a mechanic another friend recommended. He quoted $1,200.
He did some kind of super tune up and repaired an oil leak, did oil change. Now running smoothly. If I did not have this car I’d have no car. I felt it was too soon to give up on it! It runs smoother than my daughter’s 15 year old Honda CRV.
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