I've got a Hotpoint CTX18BACGRWW fridge (1999 mfg date on the tag) that's stopped working. The lights and fans run but it's no longer providing any cold.

I can hear a click from the compressor area and then another click about 2 seconds later. This cycle repeats every 3-5 minutes. Turning the thermostat makes no difference (other than Off working, of course).

It's a low-use fridge in the basement, basically just beverages and carry over from the daily fridge. It gets opened no more than twice a week, typically. It was only luck that I opened it when I did, while things were still a bit cool. Obviously I did not refreeze anything.

So what's the typical cut-off point in bothering to fix one of these? A new freezerless Frigidaire is around $500.