Decision guide

Repair it, or replace it?

There is one rule everybody quotes and a second one that disagrees with it. This page works both out for all 12 appliance types and for the 89 repairs priced on this site, because the answer is not a rule — it is a number, and it is a different number on a $200 garbage disposal than on a $1,200 refrigerator.

Appliance types: 12
Repairs judged: 89
Lowest line: $100
Highest line: $600

The two rules, and where they part company

Both are worth knowing because they answer slightly different questions, and on an appliance that is more than a few years old they routinely disagree.

Rule one

Half the price of a new one

If the repair quote is more than half the price of an equivalent new unit, replacement is usually the better spend. Below half, repair almost always wins on cost per remaining year of service.

It needs one number you can look up, which is why every technician quotes it. Its weakness is that it ignores age completely: it gives the same answer on a two-year-old machine and a twelve-year-old one.

Rule two

Half of what yours is worth today

The stricter version is to spend no more than half of what the appliance is worth today, which is the ceiling the value estimator returns. At age zero the two rules give exactly the same number, because a brand-new unit is worth what a new unit costs. Every year after that they diverge: the price of a replacement stays where it is while the value of yours falls.

It is the stricter test and it is the one the value estimator reports as your repair ceiling, because it accounts for age: an eight-year-old refrigerator is not worth half of a new one, it is worth half of an eight-year-old one.

Then check the age against expected lifespan. An appliance past roughly three-quarters of its expected life has little runway left to earn back a large repair, so the threshold drops as the machine gets older — on an old unit, a repair at a third of new price can still be the wrong call.

The line, appliance by appliance

Where each appliance's fixed threshold sits, how long it is expected to last, the ages at which this site's value model changes its verdict, and the last year the cheapest priced repair on that appliance still pays back. Sorted commonest first.

Repair costs →

New unit price, replace threshold, expected life, depreciation curve, the ages at which the value model turns borderline and then recommends replacement, and the age the cheapest priced repair stops paying back, for every appliance type
Appliance	New unit	Replace above	Expected life	Borderline from	Replace from	Cheapest repair pays through
RefrigeratorAverage	$1,200	$600	14 yr	10 yr	12 yr	Year 12
WasherAverage	$800	$400	11 yr	8 yr	10 yr	Year 9
DryerAverage	$750	$375	12 yr	8 yr	11 yr	Year 7
DishwasherLoses value fast	$700	$350	10 yr	7 yr	9 yr	Year 6
Oven & RangeHolds value well	$1,000	$500	14 yr	10 yr	12 yr	Year 15
MicrowaveLoses value fast	$250	$125	9 yr	6 yr	8 yr	New only
Garbage DisposalLoses value fast	$200	$100	10 yr	7 yr	9 yr	New only
Ice MakerLoses value fast	$400	$200	8 yr	6 yr	7 yr	Year 4
FreezerHolds value well	$600	$300	15 yr	10 yr	13 yr	Year 10
Wine CoolerAverage	$500	$250	10 yr	7 yr	9 yr	New only
Range HoodHolds value well	$350	$175	14 yr	10 yr	12 yr	Year 6
Trash CompactorAverage	$800	$400	10 yr	7 yr	9 yr	Year 9

"Replace above" is half the price of a mainstream new unit. "Borderline from" and "replace from" are read off this site's value model rather than asserted — the page probes the same function the estimator runs, so these ages cannot drift out of step with the tool. The last column applies the stricter rule to the least expensive repair priced for that appliance, which is the bluntest reading available: once even that job is over the ceiling, nothing else on the menu clears it either.

Where the two rules disagree

Taken at roughly half of each appliance's expected life: how many of its priced repairs the fixed rule still approves, against how many the value-today ceiling still approves. The gap is the argument.

For each appliance at about half its expected life: repairs passing the fixed fifty-percent rule, repairs passing the value-today ceiling, and the ceiling itself
Appliance	At age	Ceiling then	Repairs the fixed rule allows	Repairs the ceiling allows
Washer	6 yr	$186	8 of 8	1 of 8
Dishwasher	5 yr	$147	8 of 8	1 of 8
Refrigerator	7 yr	$245	8 of 8	2 of 8
Wine Cooler	5 yr	$132	6 of 8	0 of 8
Trash Compactor	5 yr	$211	8 of 8	2 of 8
Dryer	6 yr	$174	8 of 8	3 of 8
Ice Maker	4 yr	$100	6 of 8	1 of 8
Freezer	8 yr	$141	6 of 8	1 of 8
Range Hood	7 yr	$91	5 of 6	0 of 6
Oven & Range	7 yr	$259	8 of 8	4 of 8
Garbage Disposal	5 yr	$42	4 of 4	0 of 4
Microwave	5 yr	$53	3 of 7	0 of 7

Which one should you use

The fixed rule if the appliance is young, the value-today ceiling if it is not, and both if the quote lands between them — that gap is where the decision is genuinely a judgement rather than a calculation. Neither rule knows how well the machine has been looked after, and that is the input you have and they do not.

Why the gap is widest on cheap appliances

A repair has a floor: a technician has to drive to you, diagnose the fault and fit a part, and that costs roughly the same whether the appliance cost $200 or $1,200. So on an inexpensive appliance the ceiling passes under the floor early, and the answer stops depending on which fault you have.

What your appliance is actually worth

The ceiling is half of a value, so the value has to come from somewhere. This site computes it from four inputs and publishes all four.

Input one

The price of a new one

An editorial estimate per appliance type, from $200 to $1,200 for a mainstream unit. Everything else multiplies this.

Input two

The brand tier

A single multiplier on that starting price, and the only thing brand does here. It does not change the expected life or the rate of depreciation.

Input three

Age, compounded

Three depreciation curves assigned by appliance type. A garbage disposal is on the fast curve, a freezer on the slow one, which is why their ceilings fall at different rates from different starting points.

Input four

Condition, honestly

The one input the model cannot check and the one that moves the answer most at the bottom end. Rating a broken appliance kindly is how you get a flattering number.

Every ceiling on this page is half the value the estimator gives a unit of that age in excellent condition. Excellent is deliberately the generous end of the model — it values the appliance as it will be once the fault is fixed, which is what the repair is actually buying. Rate your own unit honestly in the estimator and every figure here moves down.

Appliance Blue Book

Run the four inputs on your own appliance

Everything on this page is the mainstream case. The estimator takes your appliance type, brand, age and condition and returns what it is worth today, how much of its life is left, and the repair ceiling that follows — with the whole method written out so you can judge it rather than trust it.

Value my appliance Try fixing it first

Three things the arithmetic does not know

The thresholds are a starting point. These override them, and two of the three push in the opposite direction to what the numbers say.

What replacement really costs: Every threshold here is built from the price of the appliance, which is not the price of the job. A built-in, stacked, ducted or plumbed appliance carries cabinetry, ductwork, plumbing or an electrical connection with it, and those push the real line higher than the arithmetic suggests. That is why the same fault can be worth repairing on a built-in unit and not on the freestanding version of it. Each appliance page below sets out what replacing that one actually involves.
What breaks next: A repair does not buy a new appliance, it buys one new part in an appliance where everything else is the same age and has done the same work. On most machines the failures come in a recognisable order, so the honest comparison is not this quote against a replacement but this quote plus the next one or two. A second failure on the same machine inside a year is that argument arriving on its own.
What is not a cost decision: Three things override the arithmetic entirely. Safety is not a cost decision: an appliance that is a fire, gas, water or electrical hazard comes out of service regardless of what a repair would cost. A part that is discontinued ends the conversation whatever the quote was going to be. And a second failure on the same machine inside a year is telling you about the rest of the components, not about the one that just broke.

None of this includes the diagnostic fee, which is charged for the visit and the diagnosis whether the verdict is good or bad. Many shops credit it against the repair if you approve the work the same day and many do not, so ask before the van is dispatched rather than after.

Work it out for one appliance

Each page takes that appliance's priced repairs, judges every one against both rules, and sets out what makes the decision different there — including what replacing it actually involves and what tends to fail next.

Refrigerator repair or replace$600 Washer repair or replace$400 Dryer repair or replace$375 Dishwasher repair or replace$350 Oven & Range repair or replace$500 Microwave repair or replace$125 Garbage Disposal repair or replace$100 Ice Maker repair or replace$200 Freezer repair or replace$300 Wine Cooler repair or replace$250 Range Hood repair or replace$175 Trash Compactor repair or replace$400

The four appliances that anchor the range

Every other appliance sits between these, and knowing which end yours is nearer is most of the answer before you look up a single figure.

Highest line

$600

Refrigerator

A $1,200 replacement leaves room for almost everything on its repair menu. The expensive faults are the ones that open the sealed system.

Lowest line

$100

Garbage Disposal

A $200 appliance sets a line that very few repairs with labour attached stay under. Here the fitted price of a replacement matters more than the sticker.

Longest life

15 yr

Freezer

On the holds value well curve, so its ceiling stays useful for longer than its modest replacement price suggests.

Shortest life

8 yr

Ice Maker

The clock runs out first here, which is why its verdict turns borderline at year 6 — sooner than on anything else listed.

Typical repair bands for comparison: $200–$400 on a refrigerator, $85–$250 on a garbage disposal. Set each against its own line rather than against the other, which is the mistake that makes an expensive appliance look unrepairable and a cheap one look worth saving.

Repair-or-replace questions

Are some appliances never worth repairing?

On the stricter of the two rules, 3 of the 12 appliances here come close: on a microwave, a garbage disposal and a wine cooler, no priced repair stays under the value-today ceiling past the year the unit was bought. That is not a trick of the arithmetic, it is what an inexpensive appliance means — half of $200 is $100, and a technician cannot drive to your house, diagnose a fault and fit a part for that. The fifty-percent rule is more forgiving on these, and the case that genuinely reverses the answer is installation: a built-in or ducted unit is worth repairing at prices that would total a freestanding one.

Should I repair or replace my appliance?

Compare the quote against half the price of a comparable new unit, then check the appliance's age against how long its type is expected to last. Both halves matter, and the line is a different number on every appliance: half of a new unit is $100 on a garbage disposal and $600 on a refrigerator. That is why one quote can be an easy yes on one appliance and an obvious no on another — a refrigerator repair at the top of its typical band, $200–$400, sits comfortably inside its line and well outside the garbage disposal's.

What is the 50% rule for appliance repair?

If the repair quote is more than half the price of an equivalent new unit, replacement is usually the better spend. Below half, repair almost always wins on cost per remaining year of service. It is the version most technicians quote, because it needs only one figure you can look up. Its weakness is that it ignores age: it gives the same answer on a two-year-old machine and a twelve-year-old one. Across the 12 appliance types on this site that line runs from $100 to $600.

How do I work out the most a repair is worth on my own appliance?

Take half of what the appliance is worth today rather than half of what a new one costs. The two are the same figure the day you buy it and diverge every year after, because the replacement price stays put while yours falls. The value estimator does this for your actual unit: put in the type, the brand, the age and an honest condition rating and it returns the value and the ceiling that follows from it, with the whole calculation published rather than hidden.

Which appliances are worth repairing longest?

The ones with a high replacement price, a long expected life and a slow depreciation curve — on this site's figures that is the freezer, at about 15 years, and the refrigerator, whose $600 threshold leaves room for almost every repair on its menu. The ice maker is at the other end at roughly 8 years, and the garbage disposal at the other end again: a $200 appliance has a $100 line, which very few repairs with labour attached stay under.

Does the diagnostic fee count toward the repair-or-replace decision?

It sits outside every threshold on this page, and it is charged for the visit whether the news is good or bad. It matters more than people expect on inexpensive appliances: where the ceiling is small the call-out fee is a large fraction of everything you were prepared to spend, and on several of the appliances here it eventually exceeds the ceiling outright — on a garbage disposal, from year 6. Asking whether the fee is credited against the repair is a bigger lever on a cheap appliance than negotiating the repair itself.

Is a repair quote above the threshold always the wrong call?

No — the arithmetic is a starting point, not a verdict. Repair wins above the line when the installation itself has value, which is why a built-in, stacked or ducted appliance is worth fixing at prices that would total a freestanding one: replacing it carries cabinetry, ducting or plumbing that a repair does not. It also wins when the alternative is a machine you cannot get: a discontinued part or a model no local shop will service changes the answer regardless of what either rule says.

You still need a real quote to decide

Every number on this page is a typical case. The figure that settles it is a written estimate for your appliance, from the technician who will do the work, with parts and labour on separate lines. This directory lists 873 repair businesses with their own phone numbers, free to browse and free to contact.

Find repair pros near me See what the repair costs

The prices, lifespans and thresholds on this page are our own editorial estimates and arithmetic on them — not quotes, offers or guarantees, not survey or manufacturer data, and not derived from the businesses listed on ApplianceRepairListing. No listed business has set or approved any figure here. Real replacement prices, service lives and repair costs vary by brand, by how the appliance is installed, by market and by how the machine has been used. Only a written estimate for your own appliance, from the technician who will do the work, is a real number. Disconnect power before inspecting any appliance, and treat gas and sealed refrigeration systems as licensed work.